Robert Spangler
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Robert Spangler (January 10, 1933 – August 5, 2001) was a
serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
who confessed to murdering his first and third wives and his two children. He was also suspected of murdering his second wife. On the morning of December 30, 1978, in
Arapahoe County, Colorado Arapahoe County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 655,070, making it the third-most populous county in Colorado. The county seat is Littleton, Colorado, L ...
, Robert Spangler lured his wife, Nancy, into the basement with the promise of a "surprise" and shot her in the head with a revolver. Going upstairs, he shot his teenage children, Susan and David; David was slow in dying, so Spangler smothered him with a pillow. Spangler then altered the scene to make it appear that his wife had shot their children and then herself. On April 11, 1993, after Spangler's third marriage to 58-year-old aerobics instructor Donna Sundling went sour, he took her hiking in the Grand Canyon and pushed her off a 140-foot (40 m) drop to her death. On October 2, 1994, after reconnecting with ex-wife Sharon Cooper, she died of a drug overdose, from which Spangler inherited a life insurance policy; Sharon's was the only unnatural death in Spangler's married families he wasn't charged with.


Life and career

Spangler was raised in
Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines in central Iowa. It is the home of Iowa State University (ISU). According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Ames ha ...
, where a laboratory at
Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...
is named after his father, a civil engineer. Spangler played football in high school where he met his first wife Nancy. They married in 1955 and moved to Littleton Colorado. They had a son, David in 1961 and daughter, Susan in 1963. By 1978, he was working for the American Water Works company. Over the years, Spangler worked for
Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building automation, industrial automa ...
's
camera A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...
and instruments division, served as public relations director for a
non profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
, and as a part-time
disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...
at a
radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...
. He also took part in Theatre Arts as an actor.


Death of wives and children

On the morning of December 30, 1978, the bodies of Spangler's 45-year-old wife, and their 17-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter, were found in the Spangler home in
Littleton, Colorado Littleton is a home rule municipality city located in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Stati ...
. All three had been shot with a .38-caliber handgun. The daughter, found partially clothed in her bed, had been shot in the back; the son, also in bed, had been shot in his chest; their mother was slumped over a typewriter in the basement with a bullet wound high on her forehead. A typewritten suicide note on the typewriter was signed with her initial. Spangler, age 45, admitted that he and his wife had marital problems, that he planned to leave her, and that he was having an affair with a co-worker, Sharon Cooper. He said he left the house early in the morning and returned only after the bodies had been discovered; but his story changed significantly in a subsequent interview. Two separate, private polygraph examiners found his answers inconclusive to questions about any possible role in the deaths. The gun used in the shootings was Spangler's, and evidence of gunshot residue was found on his right palm. On January 3, 1979, the Arapahoe County coroner closed the case as a murder-suicide. The sheriff's office was unable to overcome the coroner's findings, and they had exhausted all investigative leads; therefore, they were forced to close the case. Most of the evidence was either returned to Spangler or destroyed. Seven months later, Spangler married Sharon Cooper and moved into the house where his family was killed. He and Sharon shared a common interest in hiking. She eventually wrote a book of her experiences hiking the
Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...
. Subsequently, the couple began to have marital problems. Sharon had told people that after Robert's father died that she began to believe that Robert was out to get her. They divorced in 1988. In August 1990, Spangler married his third wife, Donna Sundling, and moved to
Durango, Colorado Durango is the home rule city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 19,071 at the 2020 United States census. Durango is the home of Fort Lewis College ...
. Donna was an active aerobics instructor with five grown children and numerous grandchildren from a previous marriage. Donna did not share Robert's love of hiking due to her fear of heights which soon led to marital problems. In April 1993, they backpacked in Grand Canyon hoping to save their marriage although Donna had been reluctant to make the trip. On April 11, 1993, Spangler appeared at a ranger station in the Grand Canyon and calmly told the ranger that his wife had fallen to her death. He explained that they had stopped to take a picture on the trail and, when he looked back, his wife was gone. Rangers located Sundling's body approximately below the trail. The autopsy report concluded that she sustained massive injuries, including abrasions, contusions, lacerations, and multiple fractures of the neck, chest, and lower extremities. Spangler was never directly implicated in this wife's death because it was ruled an accident. He drew national attention with interviews on several television shows. As a grieving husband, Spangler discussed his wife's accidental death and the dangers of hiking in the Grand Canyon. Spangler continued to backpack the Canyon with a variety of partners several times a year. After the death of his third wife, Spangler reestablished contact with his second wife, Sharon, who moved back into his Colorado home. On October 2, 1994, Robert found her in the house unresponsive next to a bottle of Tylenol. She died of a drug overdose later the same day. This death was not investigated by law enforcement. Spangler received a $20,000 payout from Sharon's insurance policy after she died.


Investigation

In January 1999, investigators from the
U.S. Department of Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relating ...
,
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
, and counties of Coconino, Arizona, and Arapahoe, Colorado, linked the cold case homicides in their respective jurisdictions. They met with agents from the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
's
Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ), known locally as Flag, is the county seat of Coconino County, Arizona, in the southwestern United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 76,831. Flagstaff is the principal city of the Coconino Cou ...
, resident agency and requested assistance. An assistant
U.S. attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...
(AUSA) from the
District of Arizona District of Arizona was a subordinate district of the Department of New Mexico territory created on August 30, 1862 and transferred to the Department of the Pacific in March 1865. District of Arizona (Dept. of New Mexico) commanders Headquarter ...
with experience in capital murder cases, who had a personal knowledge of the
Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...
, joined the team. The AUSA united the cases under the umbrella of federal jurisdiction as an
insurance fraud Insurance fraud is any intentional act committed to deceive or mislead an insurance company during the application or claims process, or the wrongful denial of a legitimate claim by an insurance company. It occurs when a claimant knowingly attem ...
/
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
, and an FBI
agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuran ...
in Flagstaff contacted the bureau's
National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime The National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) is a specialist FBI department. The NCAVC's role is to coordinate investigative and operational support functions, criminological research, and training in order to provide assistanc ...
(NCAVC). First, NCAVC officials suggested that investigators complete a subject history on Spangler, stressing that investigators should familiarize themselves with all available information. Further, they recommended using an NCAVC Behavioral Assessment Questionnaire when interviewing some of Spangler's associates. Early investigation revealed that Spangler was an educated, intelligent, and successful man. A charismatic individual, he worked in careers of human relations and public speaking. In addition, Spangler spent a significant amount of time living in different parts of Colorado and hiking the Grand Canyon. One lead set by the FBI agent resulted in an interview of a woman living in a small Colorado community who, subsequently, contacted authorities a few weeks after her interview. At that time, she gave them a copy of a letter she received from Spangler in which he advised her that he had terminal
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
. The investigative team, with concurrence from the NCAVC, immediately approached Spangler. A complete confession was critical for prosecution because of the lack of existing evidence. The investigative team traveled to Colorado to
interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...
Spangler, and the AUSA met them there to provide on-site legal consultation.


Confession

In
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, local law enforcement and the local
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
office supported investigators. Because any prosecution depends on the admissibility of a confession, the investigative team agreed to videotape the entire interview. Spangler's terminal cancer created special issues for the AUSA regarding mental competence and the voluntarism of giving a statement. For this purpose, the NCAVC provided a telephonic interview strategy: a medical doctor retained by their unit analyzed Spangler's medical records, confirmed his terminal condition, and gave advice regarding competency issues. Investigators approached Spangler at home and he agreed to an interview at the local sheriff's office. The FBI agent and the Arapahoe County
detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...
initiated the actual interview with the AUSA monitoring it from another room. The agent from the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
observed the initial interview and participated on the second day. The first day of interviewing lasted about 4 hours. Spangler believed investigators when they told him that FBI profilers wanted to study him because he was a unique killer. Investigators confronted Spangler with the 1978 murders of his wife and children, the drug overdose of his second wife, and the murder of his third wife in the
Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...
. At the end of the interview, Spangler told investigators, "Well, you're naming one too many, remember." He left, agreeing to contact investigators in the morning if he wanted to continue the interview. Contrary to expectations of the investigation team, Spangler telephoned the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
agent the next morning and made an appointment to continue the interview. Rapport was the key communication link between Spangler and the investigators, allowing the interview to continue despite an overnight break. During the second interview, Spangler told investigators how, while married to his first wife, he fell in love with another woman, then shot his wife and two teenage children to be with her. Further, Spangler said he smothered his son with a pillow after shooting him because the bullet wound was not lethal. He strongly denied involvement in the overdose death of his second wife and refused to discuss the death in the Grand Canyon because he feared a civil lawsuit from his third wife's grown children. Investigators encouraged Spangler to talk about the Grand Canyon murder by telling him that killing several people at one time did not make him a serial killer. This approach worked on Spangler; after a period of silence, he said, "You've got your serial." Spangler then described how he masterminded the Grand Canyon murder and pushed his third wife over the edge while she was facing him. The NCAVC officials provided a behavioral analysis and interview strategy directly applied by investigators in the Spangler case. Further, they accurately predicted several of Spangler's behaviors. Spangler was concerned about his public reputation. He had been a radio talk show celebrity and was well respected in the community. After confessing, Spangler sent the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
agent a letter, pleading with them to minimize the publicity about the case. In this letter, Spangler argued that he was not like other
serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
s who target people for race or
sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...
, correctly assessing that some serial killers target groups they perceive as undesirable. Spangler's motivation to kill centered around the anticipated gain of eliminating his wives and children. During the interview, he told investigators that killing them was easier than divorce. The results of this investigation included Spangler's confession to four
homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...
s— three were 22-year-old cases. Spangler was tried in federal court for Donna Sundling's murder since it occurred on federal land. Spangler, by then terminally ill with lung and brain cancer, pleaded guilty in federal district court in
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
to first degree murder for killing his third wife, and he also admitted to the killing of his first wife and his two children. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, and he died of
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
while he was incarcerated in
federal prison A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for people who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), people considered dangerous (Brazil), or those sen ...
, MCFP Springfield.


In popular culture

* ''Crime Stories'', Season 8, Episode 6, A Way with Murder (December 9, 2010) * ''My Favorite Murder,'' Episode 235, Mr. Zip (August 13, 2020) * ''Devil Among Us,'' Season 1 Episode 3, Trail of Blood (July 30, 2020) * ''Monstruo,'' Season 2 Episode 8, The Husband (December 11, 2019) * ''In Plain Sight,'' Season 2, Episode 7, Terrified to Death (May 31, 2019) * ''The Widower'', Season 2, Episode Episode 13, Park Predators Podcast (August 17, 2021) * '' Spangler'', Episode 1, FBI Profilers: Criminal Archives Podcast (July 7, 2024)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spangler Robert 1933 births 2001 deaths American murderers of children American people convicted of murder American people who died in prison custody American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Criminals from Iowa Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Deaths from lung cancer in Missouri Familicides in the United States Poisoners People convicted of murder by the United States federal government Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the United States federal government Prisoners who died in United States federal government detention Serial killers from Arizona Serial killers from Colorado Serial killers who died in prison custody Uxoricides