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Florence Spangler at court
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Florence Spangler at court
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Description
Order Number
00105486
Title
Florence
Spangler
at
court
Collection ID
Herald Examiner Collection
Location/Accession
HE
box
9980
Date
1951
Physical Description
1
photographic
print
:b&w
;26
x
21
cm
.
Notes
Title
supplied
by
cataloger.
;
Photograph
was
edited
for
publication
purposes
.
Historical Data
Born
in
Seattle
,
Jean
Spangler
married
Dexter
Benner
(March
20
,
1920-May
7
,
2007)
in
1942
,
when
she was
19
years
old
. She
first
filed
for
divorce
after
six
months
, but their
marriage
officially
lasted
until
1946
and
two
years
after
that, she
won
custody
of their
daughter
Christine
. A
dancer
and
actress
known
for
small
film
roles
in the
1940s
,
Jean
Spangler
lived
in the
Wilshire
district
with her
daughter
,
mother
, her
brother
and
sister-in-law
. On the
evening
of
October
7
,
1949
,
Spangler
told
her
sister-in-law
that she was
meeting
her
former
husband
,
Dexter
, to
ask
for an
increase
in
child
support
.
After
Spangler
did
not
return
the
following
day
, her
sister-in-law
filed
a
missing
person's
report
with the
Los
Angeles
Police
Department
. On
October
9
,
1949
, a
Griffith
Park
employee
found
Spangler's
black
purse
with its
handles
torn
off
, but its
contents
intact
.
Among
the
items
in the
purse
was a
note
with the
following
message
, "
Kirk--Can't
wait
any
longer
.
Going
to
see
Dr
.
Scott
.
It
will
work
out
best
this
way
while
Mother
is
away,...
"
Spangler's
mother
,
Florence
, was
visiting
family
in
Kentucky
when
Jean
disappeared
.
Dexter
was
questioned
and he
claimed
that he
did
not
meet
his
former
wife
that
evening
, as she had
told
her
sister-in
law
, and
actually
had not
seen
her for
weeks
prior
to her
disappearance
. A
local
store
clerk
stated
that
Spangler
had been
seen
in the
store
on
October
7
,
appearing
to be
waiting
for
someone
. The "
Kirk
"
mentioned
in the
note
lead
to
speculation
about
the
man's
identity
.
Actor
Kirk
Douglas
mentioned
that he had
barely
known
her
when
she was an
extra
in a
film
that he had
recently
starred
in, and
Spangler's
family
members
did
not
know
a
man
in her
life
with that
name
. A
friend
of
Spangler's
shared
that
Spangler
had
confided
that she was
pregnant
before
she
disappeared
.
Allegedly
,
Spangler
had been
involved
with
various
men
,
including
David
Ogul
(Little
Davy)
, an
associate
of
Mickey
Cohen
.
Witnesses
told
investigators
that
Spangler
and
Ogul
were
seen
in
Palm
Springs
a
week
before
she
disappeared
.
Ogul
then
disappeared
on
October
5
,
1949
,
after
having
been
indicted
on
conspiracy
charges
. In
February
,
1950
,
Los
Angeles
detectives
received
word
that
Spangler
,
Ogul
and
Frank
Niccoli
,
another
Cohen
associate
,
may
have been
seen
in
El
Paso
;
Niccoli
had
disappeared
in
September
,
1949
after
also
having
been
indicted
on
conspiracy
charges
.
Throughout
the
1950s
,
Spangler
sightings
in
California
,
Arizona
and
Mexico
were
reported
, but
nothing
developed
from the
leads
. Her
case
remains
unsolved
.
Description
Florence
Spangler
,
mother
of
missing
woman
,
Jean
Spangler
, and
grandmother
of
6-year-old
Christine
Louise
during
adoption
trial
. The
child's
step-mother
,
Lynn
Benner
,
is
seeeking
to
adopt
the
girl
on the
grounds
that her
mother
(Jean)
abandoned
her.
Jean's
mother
testified
that her
daughter
had not
abandoned
her
much
loved
daughter
. The
judge
determined
that there
is
no
proof
that
Jean
Spangler
abandoned
her
daughter
,
thus
blocking
Lynn
Benner's
request
to
adopt
Christine
.
Photograph
dated
March
8
,
1951
.
Subject
Spangler, Jean.
Spangler, Jean--Family.
Women--California--Los Angeles.
Adoption--California--Los Angeles.
Portrait photographs--1951-1960.
Herald-Examiner Collection photographs.
Format
Photographic prints
Reproduction Information
Images available for reproduction and use. Please see the Ordering & Use page at
http://tessa.lapl.org/OrderingUse.html
for additional information.
Sub-Collection Name
Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection
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