The Golden Age of Hollywood is now synonymous with sexism and abuse of women. Thanks to reports, we now know how dark that era was. But there’s one case we still know nothing about, Jean Spangler, an aspiring actress who only got a taste of stardom posthumously.
Jean Spangler appeared in uncredited roles in Hollywood films and worked as a dancer. She wasn’t exactly a star, but she was walking the path for her big break. But that day never came. On an October evening in 1949, she left home, waved goodbye to her young daughter, and never returned. To this day, we don’t know what happened to Spangler. She is still considered a missing person, not a homicide victim, and remains the center of a case that is still “suspicious” 74 years later.
For decades, Spangler’s disappearance was a case of media and public interest. There were rumors about a connection to the mob, a mysterious doctor, Hollywood’s Kirk Douglas, and the most chilling one: The Black Dahlia Killer.
The police eventually gave up, except for retired LAPD homicide detective Rick Jackson, who kept working the case in connection to The Black Dahlia Killer. This wasn’t an official investigation since there is no official case file, only a notebook Jackson made of documents related to Spangler’s case. According to Jackson’s former partner, his investigation didn’t result in a murder report. “Forensically, I don’t think anything was ever uncovered. It was always a suspicious missing person [case],” said Det. Elizabeth Camacho.
So, what happened the evening Spangler disappeared?
Spangler told her sister-in-law she had a night shoot planned, then gave a peculiar wink — an odd detail that later would be the origin of many theories. Spangler phoned home a few hours later to check on her daughter and said she wouldn’t be back until the next morning as she was supposedly pulling a longer shift at work. After that call, no one ever heard from her again. Two days later, park workers discovered her purse in Griffith Park. Its handle was torn, and inside was a note addressed to “Kirk” saying she was going to see “Dr. Scott.”
Why the Black Dahlia serial killer connection?
Of all the scenarios, the most disturbing is the possibility that Spangler was targeted by the same murderer responsible for Elizabeth Short’s gruesome death in 1947.
Former LAPD detective Steve Hodel claims his father, Dr. George Hodel, was the Black Dahlia killer—and he believes Jean Spangler was one of his father’s victims. The doctor’s history is wild, to say the least. He was facing charges over incest, was suspected in the death of his secretary, and was rumored to have performed illegal abortions for people in power.
According to Steve Hodel, Spangler may have known too much or seen something she shouldn’t have. He believes her final hours might connect to a late-night argument witnessed at a Sunset Strip eatery. One account even describes a woman matching Spangler’s description begging a gas station attendant to alert police before speeding away with a man who fit Dr. Hodel’s appearance. None of these claims have ever been proven, but they’ve kept interest in Spangler’s disappearance alive, fueling the theory that she may have been another victim of the Black Dahlia killer.
Who else did the police investigate?
Investigators briefly focused on actor Kirk Douglas — since he had shared a film set with Spangler. Douglas said he’d chatted with her on set but insisted he hadn’t seen her outside of work. The police had no firm evidence that he was with Spangler the night she went missing, so they abandoned this lead.
The note left behind mentioned “Dr. Scott,” but friends and family had no record of that name. Some thought it was a doctor linked to illegal procedures; abortions were secretive and risky at the time. Was Spangler seeking help for a problem she couldn’t discuss openly?
Los Angeles in the late 1940s was home to high-profile gangsters like Mickey Cohen. Rumors popped up that Spangler was somehow tied to Cohen’s associates — men who themselves disappeared under suspicious circumstances around the same time. The evidence pointing to organized crime was thin, and official files never firmly connected her to any mob schemes.
Also, Spangler’s personal life was rocky. She married and divorced Dexter Benner, and their battle over custody of their daughter was getting nasty. After she vanished, Benner gained custody of the child. Some investigators felt he had the biggest motive — Spangler’s disappearance ended the dispute forever. But that lead also produced no results as police had no concrete evidence against Benner.
Jean Spangler’s murder remains unsolvable because of her
Jean Spangler’s disappearance remains as unsolvable as it is disturbing, partly because of how Spangler behaved right before her disappearance. The lie about going to work and the strange wink that followed the lie made pinpointing her location impossible. What was she really doing, and why the secrecy? That shroud of secrecy extends to other details of her life, notably the “Kirk” and “Dr. Scott” in her note that no one close to her had ever heard of.
Saying with certainty that she just decided to leave her life behind is also impossible since she fought hard to gain custody of her five-year-old daughter after a legal battle with her ex-husband. Why would she leave her daughter with her sister-in-law and disappear after all that?
These contradictions make it nearly impossible for detectives to map out what truly happened that night. Was there foul play involved? Did she disappear voluntarily or met a much dire fate? Was she hiding something to protect herself or someone else? Is someone she knew involved? Even a nationwide search failed to find the missing actress, who just became another missing person never found.
Published: Jan 5, 2025 11:05 am