Robert Vernon Spears (June 26, 1894 – May 2, 1969) was a naturopath who is alleged to have placed a bomb aboard

National Airlines Flight 967 National Airlines Flight 967, registration was a Douglas DC-7B aircraft that disappeared over the Gulf of Mexico en route from Tampa, Florida, to New Orleans, Louisiana, on November 16, 1959. All 42 on board were presumed killed in the incident ...

, an aircraft that went missing over the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

on November 16, 1959, killing 42 people.

History

Spears had a long history of crime, having been arrested 17 times under 14 different aliases. He had become financially successful in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

as a naturopath, even becoming president of the Texas Naturopath Association in 1954. But in 1957 he was expelled from the organization in a bribery scandal. He moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and took up

hypnotism Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologica ...

, his business was with a doctor performing

abortions Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregnan ...

(which were then illegal in the U.S.). He was charged with three felony accounts and was set to stand trial in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

on December 3, 1959. Investigators learned that William Taylor, a fellow felon and longtime criminal accomplice of Spears, had boarded Flight 967 using a ticket made out to "Dr. Spears." The theory arose that Spears, desperate to avoid trial and wanting a fresh start, had tricked Taylor (perhaps through hypnosis) into boarding the aircraft with a piece of luggage containing a bomb; when the aircraft crashed, it would be assumed that Spears was on board. His wife would then cash in an insurance policy for $100,000 on Spears' life. However, Taylor himself purchased $37,500.00 worth of

life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...

at the airport; when his ex-wife attempted to collect on that policy, authorities were notified. It was determined that Taylor had boarded the flight using a ticket issued for Spears. Spears was eventually arrested in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

after being turned in by the ex-wife a fellow naturopath in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. In February 1960, Spears was convicted of interstate transportation of a stolen car (Taylor's Plymouth). He was sentenced to the maximum term of 5 years. Due to lack of evidence, however, Spears was never charged with any offense in relation to the Flight 967 crash. Spears died in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

on May 2, 1969, of

coronary thrombosis Coronary thrombosis is defined as the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel of the heart. This blood clot may then restrict blood flow within the heart, leading to heart tissue damage, or a myocardial infarction, also known as a heart at ...

References

External links and references

Aviation Safety Network report on Flight 967Civil Aeronautics Board Aircraft Accident Report on Flight 967
from the Department of Transport's Special Collections
List of passenger airline bombings
from Aerospace.org (scroll down for information on Flight 967)

from planecrashinfo.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Spears, Robert Vernon 1894 births 1969 deaths American prisoners and detainees Deaths from coronary thrombosis Naturopaths Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government