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Robin Spielbauer was found dead by a group of women on Helium Road on April 8, 2014. While no concrete information about the case could be found at the time, Robin's ex-husband Jeremy Spielbauer and his then-wife Katie Phipps were instantly brought under the police radar.
Dateline: Unforgettable will now revisit the murder case in its upcoming episode on Tuesday, October 11, at 8 pm ET.
Robin Spielbauer was a 33-year-old divorcee with two daughters who lived in Amarillo, Texas. She was married to Jeremy Spielbauer until they separated and the latter then tied the knot with Katie Phipps, Robin's friend from church, after having an affair with her.
Robin Spielbauer's murder suspects, her relationship with Katie Phipps, and more
1) Robin's body was recovered in a ditch in Texas
Robin Spielbauer's body was found by a group of women driving by on Helium Road, near County Road 34. Her lifeless body was seen beside her parked Chevy Tahoe SUV. The women dialed 911, and authorities identified Robin after their arrival at the scene.
According to an autopsy, Spielbauer's death was caused by severe blunt-force trauma and a gunshot wound to the back of her head. Police records claimed that she was attacked on an isolated road on purpose.
2) Robin and Katie's fight over Jeremy Spielbauer could have resulted in the former's death
After Robin's death, the investigating officers spoke to her relatives and found out that the deceased had a hostile relationship with Katie Phipps. Robin Spielbauer and Jeremy met Katie Phipps through church, and the two women became friends.
Soon, Katie and Jeremy began having an affair while the latter was still married to Robin. After the couple's divorce, Robin Spielbauer was depressed owing to mental and financial constraints, according to The Cinemaholic.
Katie and Robin had physical catfights in the past over the former's suspicion that Jeremy had gotten back together with Robin. According to News Channel 10, a text from Katie to Jeremy on the day of Robin's murder read:
"My dreams of having a happy family are gone. I'm not going to make you carry this burden anymore. You started it and I'll finish it."
However, Katie maintained that the text referred to her divorce plans and not to murdering Robin.
3) Katie Phipps was falsely arrested and served jail time for over a year
A few days after Robin's death, Katie Phipps was arrested for allegedly murdering her. The murder weapon was declared to be a pink gun, which belonged to Katie. She thus spent over a year behind bars before cellphone records proved that Katie was nowhere near the scene of the crime on the night of the incident. She was then cleared of all charges.
4) Social security cards of Robin Spielbauer and her daughters were recovered from different locations
Robin Spielbauer's mother testified in the case that her daughter always carried her own and her daughters' social security cards with her. However, none of them were recovered from the site of the murder. Randall County District Attorney James Farren later informed that the daughters' cards were recovered from Jeremy's truck, while Robin's was brought to a shop by a homeless man.
5) Jeremy's conviction was overturned only to be reinstated in 2021
Jeremy Spielbauer was finally convicted of allegedly murdering Robin Spielbauer in 2020. Cellphone track records and surveillance cameras, which captured Jeremy's car on the same route as the crime site on April 8, 2014, turned the tables. After denying his involvement in the case on multiple occasions in 2014, he finally admitted to having met Robin on April 8.
After a thorough investigation, he received a life sentence with a fine of $10,000. However, Jeremy's defense argued that two of the jurors were not objective in their decision.
News Channel 10 reported that the trial judge did not allow Jeremy's then Defense Attorney Joe Marr Wilson to challenge a few members of the jury.
Wilson said:
"There were several jurors in our case that answered that question affirmatively, and the state wanted to keep asking them questions, and we objected, and the court let them ask those questions. Two of those jurors we had to use a peremptory strike on, meaning they shouldn’t have been on the jury in the first place, we shouldn’t have had to use a strike on them."
In 2021, the Seventh Court of Appeals overturned its previous judgment and reinstated Jeremy's conviction with the same terms. Jeremy is currently serving his life sentence.
