Deadly Women on ID is in Texas County in the Oklahoma panhandle to investigate the death of Roger Spaulding, who was killed by his wife, Jackie Spaulding, in a murder for hire plot.
On June 15, 2004, 79-year-old Roger Spaulding was found lying in a pool of his own blood on the floor of his barn in the Oklahoma panhandle near Tyrone. He had been shot twice in the back of the head.
Roger and Jackie’s marriage was an unhappy and loveless affair, and they lived apart for many years.
They seem to have remained officially married for solely financial reasons. The couple co-owned several assets, and Roger had bought his estranged wife a motel across the state line in Kansas. It appears that Jackie was well-financed by Roger.
And Roger didn’t want to have to give up half his assets and take on a share of his wife’s debt in any divorce settlement. So they stayed married despite their indifference to each other.
However, everything changed when Roger decided he wanted to sell off all his assets and move away from the area.
Jackie’s motel was losing money rapidly, and she needed Roger to keep her in business. Or rather, she needed his money. She decided that the best thing to do would be to have him murdered so she could inherit the properties.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelJackie Spaulding attempted to kill Roger on other occasions
The cops believe she’d attempted to kill him before, as the trailer he had been living in had recently burned down, and he had resorted to living in a motel at the time he was murdered.
Witness Jerry White told the police that Jackie had offered him $5,000 to kill Roger on June 7, he had refused.
The killer wife admitted that she’d had a hand in Roger’s death in a letter to the District Attorney. She wrote: “I am truly sorry about my part in all this, even though I didn’t pull the trigger.”
Jackie also implicated her son, Calvin Hudson, in the murder; she wrote: “I didn’t think my son was going to do anything like he did, but maybe something to make it look like a suicide.”
In October 2005, Jackie was convicted of murder and conspiracy to murder. She was sentenced to life in prison with an additional five years for the conspiracy.
More from Investigation Discovery
Follow the links to read about more murders profiled on ID.
In November 2012, Cynthia Mueller (nee Smith) struck up a relationship with Charles Todd, and the pair plotted to murder Cynthia’s severely ill husband, David Mueller. Using a pillow and a plastic bag, they suffocated David to death.
Barbara Burns had attended to the needs of her disabled sister Debbie Burns all her life, but one day she snapped and shot her dead. Barbara left her sister lying on her bed in their home and fled the state.
Deadly Women airs at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery.