Robert Spangler
From Rofflehaus
Robert M. Spangler earns the dubious honor of being the most cold-blooded killer ever to graduate from ISU.
Spangler was never brought to justice; only a deathbed confession revealed his multiple murders. When asked why he slaughtered his entire family, he said it was easier to do than going through divorce.
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[edit] Death of Nancy, David and Susan Spangler
Spangler graduated from ISU with a degree in broadcast journalism in the early 1950s. He married Nancy Stahlman in 1955 and had two children: David and Susan. The family moved to Littleton, Colorado in the 1970s. Here, Spangler met and fell for Sharon Cooper, who would later become his second wife. Spangler would later confess that his affair with Cooper, and the fact that she didn't seem like a children-type of woman, was what led him to kill his family. Cooper, attended with Spangler, the funeral and graveside services for Nancy, David and Susan in January 1979. The affair was well-known and caused Spangler and Stahlman to be estranged, though they reunited in September 1978.
On December 24, 1978, Spangler lured Nancy into the basement, saying there was a surprise for her. He shot her in the head with a .38 caliber handgun but not before getting her to sign a suicide note he had typed up previously (she thought it was a Christmas letter.) He then went upstairs, shot his sleeping daughter in the back, then shot his son and suffocated him. The bodies were discovered by a neighbor. Spangler was able to convince investigators that the deaths were a murder-suicide by Nancy.
Even though Spangler barely escaped charges of murder, he brazenly married Cooper in July 1979, seven months after his first family died, and the new couple lived in the very same house of the murder scene. He married Cooper in 1980.
[edit] Death of Merlin Spangler
Spangler returned to Ames to visit his family in 1986. His mother reported that he had come to ask for an "early inheritance" from his father so that he could retire. His father denied the request, and the two argued for several hours. Finally, Spangler apologized, and suggested that the they go for a walk to cool off. At some point during the afternoon, Spangler's father fell down four flights of stairs and died. Spangler told the paramedics that his father had been pale and sweating, and had clutched at his chest before falling unconscious down the steps. Doctors concluded that the elder Spangler had likely suffered a heart attack or stroke before falling to his death. Although the circumstances were suspicious, the medical examiner concluded that there was not enough evidence to indict Spangler for murder.
[edit] Death of Sharon Cooper
Meanwhile, Cooper fared a little better than Spangler's first wife and lived long enough to divorce him in 1988. By 1994, she was living with Spangler again. And then she died of an apparent drug overdose — questions remain because, during a subsequent search of the house, police were unable to find any prescription records nor empty bottles of the medicines that Cooper had taken. Investigators concluded that she committed suicide.
[edit] Death of Donna Sundling
In 1989, a Denver bookkeeper, Donna Sundling, decided to take a risk and answered a personal ad in the local weekly magazine. The ad was Robert Spangler's, and less than a year later, the couple married in 1990. They moved to Durango, Colorado in 1991 where Spangler worked part-time as a country radio disc jockey. His boss said the only complaint he ever had of Spangler, who became a popular DJ, was that "he was too cheerful too early in the morning." Spangler was known as an avid volunteer, officiating little league soccer and basketball games.
He also liked hiking the Grand Canyon, and this is where the 58-year-old Donna met her death. On April 11, 1993, Donna fell 200 feet from a cliff and died. Spangler claimed she fell while posing for a picture. Rangers noted in their report that Spangler was almost preternaturally calm when he came to report the incident; he stood quietly in line for twenty minutes at the Park Services building, then announced casually that his wife had fallen while hiking and he believed her dead. He said he hadn't bothered to hike down to see if she were still alive, because he assumed that no one could have survived the fall. Other hikers interviewed later reported that Spangler walked at a normal pace back up to the ranger station, greeting them and whistling cheerfully. Nonetheless, Donna's death was judged to be an accident. Her family was immediately suspicious because they knew Donna was agile and afraid of heights. She left behind five grown children.
[edit] Investigation, confession and death
Spangler went to live in Grand Junction with an old flame, 53-year-old Judith Hilty. They married in September 2000 and lived a life admired by the neighbors. He continued to work as a DJ on a talk radio station. During his programs, he frequently made references to the tragedies that had plagued him throughout his life. Listeners noticed that the stories he told shifted over time — sometimes he said that his first family had been killed in a car accident by a drunken driver, sometimes he claimed that his wife had killed their children in a fit of psychosis, and sometimes he stated that they'd all committed suicide after taking hallucinogenic drugs. He alternately claimed that Cooper had been assassinated by mafiosos and that she'd accidentally killed herself by handling a loaded gun. Spangler said at various times that Sundling had tried to push him over the edge of the Grand Canyon during a fight, but had slipped and fallen to her death instead. His listeners contacted law enforcement officials with their suspicions about the deaths, but no investigation was opened.
Spangler had been practicing for community theater when he noticed he was losing his eyesight and concentration. The diagnosis was terminal cancer. By then, the law had finally caught up with Spangler. Arapahoe County detective Paul Goodman had heard about Donna's death in 1994 and also of Sharon's alleged drug overdose, and he remembered the story of the first family being slaughtered, and decided to re-open the case. He called Spangler by phone while he lived in Durango, but it was only when he heard of Spangler's cancer that he confronted the murderer.
Spangler's response was "Oh, hello" with no remorse, Goodman recounted to the Denver Post. The FBI's doctor verified the terminal cancer and Spangler confessed on September 15, 2000. He claimed that he was a good human being except for a couple of off days. His fourth wife, Judy, said she was never afraid of Spangler.
Spangler pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Donna Sundling and was sentenced to life in prison. Her children successfully sued Spangler for his home, which was their mother's. Spangler was not tried for the other murders because of his poor health.
Spangler requested to have his ashes scattered over the Grand Canyon. After protests from conservation and hiking associations, a judge denied that request.
[edit] Missed chances
Spangler would've been convicted of murder long ago had it not been for the bumbling of a technician, Jack Swanburg, who was tasked with swabbing Spangler's hands for gunpowder residue but was friends with Spangler. Spangler even stayed the night after the murders at Swanburg's home. In fact, the whole department apparently consisted of idiots.
A sergeant noticed that the alleged suicide weapon was found 5.5 feet from Nancy's body, but only thought it was "very strange." She apparently typed up a suicide note — but no fingerprints were found, only "distinct wipe notes." No gunpowder residue was found on her hands either, though gunpowder was found on Spangler's hands. He explained that away by saying he had picked the gun up in a moment of panic. He also claimed that after seeing the grisly scene, he went to go see "Lord of the Rings" at a movie theater and planned to call the authorities later. There was doubt within the department, but no action was taken.
The Spangler Geotechnical Lab at ISU is named after Spangler's father, a civil engineer.
[edit] References
- Denver Post, "For suspected killer, death part of his life," by Electa Draper, Nancy Lofholm and Marilyn Robinson, 8 October 2000
- Denver Post, "Slain wife's kids settle civil suit Killer husband must pay compensation" by Nancy Lofholm Denver Post Western Slope Bureau, 18 April 2001
- Williams Grand-Canyon News "Murderer admits guilt", by Brad Fuqua
