On December 30, 1978, in the quiet suburban community of Littleton, Colorado, a shocking scene unfolded that would take over two decades to be fully understood. Inside their home on South Franklin Way, 45-year-old Nancy Jane Stahlman Spangler was found dead from a single gunshot wound. Also discovered were the bodies of her two children, 17-year-old David and 15-year-old Susan, who had also been shot. The initial investigation painted a grim picture: a murder-suicide orchestrated by Nancy. A.
38-caliber revolver and a typewritten suicide note found near her body seemed to support this conclusion, leading authorities to close the case. Her husband, Robert Spangler, told police he had been at work at the time of the killings.
For years, this narrative was accepted by many, though it was met with disbelief by Nancy's family who could not imagine her harming her beloved children. The case lay dormant, a tragic story of a mother's despair. However, the truth began to surface years later, prompted by another tragedy connected to Robert Spangler. In 1993, his third wife, Donna Sundling, fell to her death in the Grand Canyon. The suspicious nature of this incident, coupled with the violent end to his first family, led investigators to reopen the 1978 case. Despite their suspicions, there was not enough evidence to charge him.
The break in the case finally came in October 2000. Robert Spangler, then 67 and terminally ill with cancer, confessed to the murders of his first wife and two children. He admitted to federal agents that he had grown dissatisfied with his family life and that murder was easier than divorce. On that December morning in 1978, he lured Nancy to the basement with the promise of a 'surprise,' where he shot her in the head. He then went upstairs and shot his children. He confessed that his son David was slow to die, so he smothered him with a pillow. Spangler had meticulously staged the scene to frame his wife for the horrific act. Following his confession, Robert Spangler was arrested and pleaded guilty to the murder of his third wife and confessed to the murders of Nancy and their children as part of a plea agreement. He was sentenced to life in prison.
