I haven't found anything to verify that the wolf taken by the poacher whom was fingered for the killing of Romeo was actually Romeo.
The guy definitely took a wolf illegally - using a 22rf, and had illegally baited and trapped bears so was a culprit, but the wolf he had sounds to have been much smaller than Romeo and actually lighter in color.
He was an obvious scapegoat for the wolf lovers in Juneau.
The truth is, this Romeo was well toward the end of his natural lifespan and could have died from a number of things even legal trapping or hunting.
My bet is that someone legally took Romeo and when realizing the animal was that wolf, stayed quiet about it.
I know I wouldn't want the attention and I bet the Alaska Department of Fish & Game wouldn't mind keeping that quiet either.