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Doris Angleton

Doris Angleton (April 11 1951 – April 16 1997) was a Texas socialite and murder victim.

Early years

Doris McGown was born to Randy McGown, a Dow Chemical engineer, and his wife, Ann. She grew up in Lake Jackson, Texas, and had one sibling, a younger brother, Steven McGown.

McGown graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in speech pathology. After graduation, she began a career as a schoolteacher, and later became a sales representative for a pharmaceutical firm.

Marriages

In 1976, Doris McGown met William "Bill" Beck, a representative for an office products company. They married and moved to Clear Lake, Texas.

Doris Beck met Robert Angleton, a successful bookmaker, at a bar in the Houston West Loop when she was 28 years old. According to Robert Angleton, he and Doris met because William Beck, Doris' husband, was a client of his bookmaking business. Both Robert Angleton and Doris Beck, although already married, were attracted to each other, eventually divorcing their spouses. They married in 1982. On August 1, 1984, Doris Angleton gave birth to twins, Nicole and Alessandra.

Robert Angleton became rich while running a sports-betting scheme. He managed to do this by becoming a police informant and reporting his smaller rivals to the Houston Police Department. He moved his family to the wealthy River Oaks area of Houston, Texas.

Although her friends believed that she was happy Doris Angleton said she wanted out of her marriage when she grew tired of bookmaking. In February 1997, she went ahead with the divorce process, wanting 50% of their joint assets.

Murder

Doris Angleton was shot dead on April 16 1997 at her home, two months after filing for divorce. She sustained multiple gunshot wounds in the head, chest, and abdomen.

Doris Angleton's failure to return to a softball game sparked the suspicion of her daughters, who were twelve years old at the time. Robert Angleton came home, found Doris Angleton dead, and called 9-1-1.

Arrests

Around the time of her murder, Doris' brother in-law, Roger Angleton, was arrested on unrelated charges. Police found a suitcase that revealed him to be her killer. Roger committed suicide in a Houston prison cell by cutting himself more than 50 times with a disposable razor. Roger Angleton also left behind a suicide note that cleared his brother. Robert Angleton was found not guilty in his wife's death.

Due to the investigation, Robert Angleton's income was investigated. As they were earned in relation to an illegal sports betting scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted and jailed Robert Angleton. While awaiting trial, Robert fled to the Netherlands, where he was apprehended by the Dutch government. A Dutch court ruled that he could not be extradited on a charge related to the murder of his wife because he had already been found not guilty. However, they ruled, he could be extradited on the tax evasion charges. He was subsequently convicted of tax evasion and passport fraud, and was sentenced to twelve years in prison.

Vanessa Leggett contempt case

Writer Vanessa Leggett was found in contempt by a federal district court judge on July 20 2001 for refusing to give up some of her interviews for a book that she wrote about the Doris Angleton case. She was sent to prison. The case grew controversial over whether she should have been found in contempt. She was released in January 2002.