The body of John Wheeler, a Vietnam veteran and presidential aide to Ronald Reagan and both Bushes, "was found dead in a landfill a few miles from his New Castle, Delaware home this weekend." Police have ruled it a homicide.

Wheeler had been working as a defense consultant, and, among other past duties, had served as chair of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. He was last seen on an Amtrak train on Tuesday, and his body was discovered Friday night. From Wilmington's News Journal:

Newark police have had a crime scene unit at Wheeler's home at 108 West Third St. in Old New Castle all day today, with crime-scene tape roping off the prominent three-story brick home with black shutters.

Friends and neighbors were shocked to learn Wheeler had been murdered.

"This is just not the kind of guy who gets murdered," said Bayard Marin, a Wilmington attorney who represented Wheeler. "This is not the kind of guy you find in a landfill."

[via econdave]
[Image via AP/Newark, Del. Police Department]