Robert Spangler

Serial Killer

Robert Spangler: The Family-Killing Serial Murderer

Overview

Robert Merlin Spangler was an American serial killer who murdered members of his own family while repeatedly attempting to make their deaths appear accidental or self-inflicted. Born on January 10, 1933, Spangler cultivated the image of an educated, successful and respectable family man. He worked in public relations and became known as an experienced outdoorsman who frequently hiked through the Grand Canyon. Behind that public image, however, he used deception and carefully staged crime scenes to escape responsibility for multiple deaths over a period of approximately fifteen years. Spangler eventually confessed to killing his first wife, Nancy, their two teenage children, Susan and David, and his third wife, Donna Sundling Spangler. Investigators also examined the suspicious overdose death of his second wife, Sharon Cooper Spangler, although he denied causing her death and was never charged in connection with it. His known murders occurred in Colorado and Arizona between December 30, 1978, and April 11, 1993.

The Murders of Nancy, Susan and David Spangler

On the morning of December 30, 1978, Spangler killed his first wife and their two children inside the family home near Littleton in Arapahoe County, Colorado. He later admitted that he had decided to eliminate his family because he wanted to pursue a relationship with another woman and considered murder easier than dealing with divorce and its consequences. Spangler persuaded his 45-year-old wife, Nancy Spangler, to enter the basement by telling her that he had a surprise for her. Once she was downstairs, he shot her in the head with a .38-caliber handgun. He then went upstairs, where the couple's children were in their bedrooms. Fifteen-year-old Susan Spangler was shot in the back while in her bed. Seventeen-year-old David Spangler was shot in the chest. When David did not die immediately from the gunshot wound, Spangler smothered him with a pillow. After killing all three family members, Spangler arranged the house to support a fabricated murder-suicide story. Nancy's body was positioned near a typewriter in the basement, and a typewritten suicide note bearing her initial was left at the scene. Spangler intended investigators to believe that Nancy had killed Susan and David before taking her own life. The handgun belonged to Spangler, and gunshot residue was reportedly detected on his right hand. Investigators also learned that he had been experiencing marital problems and was involved with another woman. Nevertheless, the original coroner's determination classified the deaths as a double homicide followed by suicide. On January 3, 1979, the case was officially closed under the belief that Nancy had killed the children and herself. That ruling prevented detectives from pursuing Spangler as a murder suspect, and much of the physical evidence was later returned or destroyed. ...

Confirmed Victims: (4)

Nancy Spangler Age: (45), Date of Death: 1978-12-30

Suspected Victims:

Sharon Cooper Spangler , Date of Death: 1994-10-02

Robert Spangler - Wikipedia