Part 1
Part 2
Introduction
A beautiful, young woman goes
missing- typical missing person’s case, right? Wrong, there’s more to this
case. Jean Spangler, a 26 year old model and aspiring actress left her home in
Los Angeles on October 7th, 1949, at 5:00pm, only to never return home again.
There are many conspiracies as to how and why Jean went missing because she was
known to “get around” with many men. (Lyons) Some of the most likely
conspiracies are:
1.) She got pregnant and wanted an illegal abortion
which ended up being fatal. (Healy)
2.) LA mob boss, Mickey Cohen, killed Jean, Frank
Niccoli, and Davey Ogul, who all went missing around the same time. (Page 1)
3.) Her ex-husband, Dexter Benner, murdered her because of constant tension between them
due to custody of their daughter. (Page 1)
The
most realistic conspiracy is that she got pregnant by a man named Kirk, planned
to get an abortion by mysterious “Dr. Scott”, and the abortion went wrong. Not
long before her disappearance, Jean confided in one of her best friends that
she was pregnant. Then, shortly after her disappearance, Jean’s purse was found
in a park with an unfinished note that stated, “Kirk: Can’t wait any longer,
going to see Dr. Scott. It will work best this way while mother is away”
However, in 1949 abortion was still illegal, so it is believed that this
alleged “Dr. Scott” was just an alias so that the real doctor wouldn’t get
caught if anything went wrong. (Page 1) Although this is the conspiracy that
seems most likely, some things about this case still don’t add up. Why was her
purse left in the park? Why was the note not finished? Why would she want to
abort a baby when she already had a child whom she fought for the custody of?
Almost 66 years later and these questions remain unanswered.
Character Analysis
Jean Spangler was a young woman, who
had her whole life ahead of her. Jean was a model, and aspiring actress. She
had landed a few minor roles… But, she was unaware that what would make her
famous would be her own demise. Standing at 5 feet and 6 inches, with hair the
color of luscious dark chocolate, Jean Spangler was a Hollywood beauty. Her
inherent good looks made her irresistible to many men, and although she was
married, she had many affairs (Healy). Although Jean Spangler held many
beautiful external qualities, her internal qualities weren’t up to par. She
wasn’t necessarily a bad person; she just possessed a few minor, selfish
attributes. Jean was a compulsive liar, she was constantly telling her family she
was going places such as work, when she would really go out and party. Jean
behaved this way all the way up to her death. The night she disappeared, “Jean
told her sister-in-law that she was going to meet with her ex-husband, Dexter
Benner, to talk about an increase in child support payments. After that, she
was going to work on a night shoot for a new film” (Lyons). However, all of
this was false. Dexter Benner and his wife “said they had been together all
evening, and they never saw Spangler. Detectives believed them” and on top of
that, police later found out she wasn’t working on any movies either (Healy).
These qualities led her to be the perfect candidate for this Hollywood
murder.
Description
(Conspiracy Theories)
In the missing person’s case of Jean
Spangler, there were numerous conspiracy theories as to what actually happened
the night of her death. It’s difficult to pinpoint which conspiracy is true
because there is so much in her case to highlight many of these conspiracies.
The first conspiracy states that she
got pregnant, and didn’t want the baby. Since abortion was illegal at the time
she had to go through an illegal abortionist, who may have not had “proper
equipment”, which ultimately resulted in her death (Healy). Police found Jean
Spangler’s purse abandoned in a park, with a note in it that stated, “Kirk:
Can’t wait any longer, going to see Dr. Scott. It will work best this way while
mother is away”. Investigators believe the alleged “Dr. Scott” was the
abortionist, however they searched the city and there was no Dr. Scott to be
found. However, it was verified that Jean’s mother was in fact away to Kentucky
at the time of Jean’s murder (Lyons).
This conspiracy has a lot of information to back it up, and it seems
likely she would want to abort her child considering she was known to be a
“wild-child” herself. Also, her ex-husband, Dexter Benner, had been fighting
for custody of their daughter for so long because he felt she was an unfit
mother (Page 1).
The second conspiracy is that she
was abducted and murdered by LA mob boss, Mickey Cohen. Mickey Cohen has a
history of murder, tax evasion, illegal gambling operations, and many other
illegal activities, so he is known to be a very dangerous man to be around or
even be associated with. Two other men, Frank Niccoli and Davey Ogul, who were
also known to cohort with Mickey Cohen, also went missing around a similar time
as Jean. According to an informant, “Jean had been seen with Ogul in the desert
only days before her disappearance.” (Lyons). Mickey Cohen was very well known
to be hanging around in Palm Springs, but although Jean Spangler was seen with
a few of his henchman, nothing out of the ordinary surfaced (Page 1). This
conspiracy has some information that could lead people to believe she was
murdered at the hands of Mickey Cohen or one of his henchmen, however there is
too much evidence to highlight other conspiracies, such as the note found in
her purse discussing her secret need to see a doctor (Healy).
The third and final conspiracy is
that she was murdered by her ex-husband, Dexter Benner, after a long dispute
over the custody of their child. After their divorce was finalized, Dexter
gained custody of their daughter, Christine, due to Jean’s crazy lifestyle and
infidelity (Historic Horrors). After a long battle, Jean took Dexter to court
to regain custody of Christine, and she won. This was one year before her death
(Page 1). The conspiracy uses this as a motive for Dexter to have it out for
Jean, because she took their daughter back after he fought for her, and he
believed Jean was an unfit mother. Also, the night of Jean’s disappearance she
stated that she was going to Dexter’s house to discuss a late child support
payment, and then she was going to work on a movie set. However, police
investigated and found out that Jean was lying about going to work on a movie,
as she wasn’t involved in any movie at the time. Dexter and his wife both state
that they did not see Jean on the night of her disappearance, in fact they
hadn’t seen her in over a week (Lyons). For these reasons, this conspiracy has
been ruled out.
Conclusion
Jean
Spangler disappeared on the evening of October 7th, 1949. Although the case is
still unsolved, quite a few conspiracy theories surfaced as to what actually
happened to Jean on this unfortunate night. Three of the most likely
conspiracies are:
1)
Jean Spangler was three months pregnant and needed an abortion fast, and
because abortion was illegal the secret doctor she went to did not have proper
equipment, thus resulting in her death (Lyons).
2)
Mickey Cohen, a notorious LA mob boss, killed her and two of his other
henchman. Jean was seen with Davy Ogul just days before her disappearance.
Shortly after her disappearance, Davy Ogul and Frank Niccoli were also reported
missing (Healy).
3) Dexter Benner murdered Jean after a long
dispute over the custody of their daughter, Christine. Dexter received custody
because of Jean’s lifestyle of partying and sleeping around, but after Jean
took him to court in 1948, she received custody. Some believe this sent Dexter
over the edge and his only option was to kill her (Page 1).
Although
nothing has been proved, I believe it is most likely that Jean had an illegal
abortion and was killed during the process because of the lack of proper
equipment. Evidence from the case points to this, such as the note in Jeans
purse stating she needed to see a doctor immediately while her mother was gone.
Why was she keeping the doctor a secret? I believe it was to protect his
identity because abortion was illegal during this time. However, Jean is long
gone, and any people involved in the case, such as her husband, have also
passed away, so it is likely that this case will remain a mystery.
Works
Cited
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<http://www.genealogy.the-spanglers.net/JeanESp.jpg>.
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2015.
<https://historichorrors.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/jean_spangler_purse.jpg>.
Web. 10 Dec.
2015.
<http://classicmoviechat.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Mickey-Cohen-1949-2.jpg>.
"Disappearance."
Disappearance. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
"The
Disappearance of Jean Elizabeth Spangler." Historic Horrors. 9 Mar.
2014. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
"The
Mysterious Disappearance of Jean Spangler." Palm Springs Mystery
& Murder. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
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