Photos of the two men arrested and charged with the beating and robbery of Dr. Robert D. Spencer of Ashland in March 1952. Left: Robert Charles Tyler. Right: Robert Wissler.
Dr. Spencer was a well-known abortion specialist in the western part of Schuylkill County. There was no connection established between the robbery and Spencer’s willingness to perform abortions, which at the time were illegal. Spencer was apparently seen as good target because of his financial status.
Following the first robbery, a second robbery took place at Spencer’s home. In the first robbery, Dr. Spencer was beaten. In the second robbery, both Dr. Spencer and Mrs. Spencer were tied up while the burglars ransacked their home.
The articles from the available on-line newspapers appear below.
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From the Shamokin News-Dispatch, March 20, 1952:
ASHLAND PHYSICIAN BEATEN, ROBBED
Dr. Robert D. Spencer, 65, widely known Ashland physician, was badly beaten and robbed at gun point by two men shortly after 9:30 last night in his office.
Dr. Spencer usually closes his office at 6:00 p.m., but last night, at the request of Frank Medos, Kulpmont, kept his office open to treat Medos’ daughter, Nancy, 12, for an ear ailment.
Mr. and Mrs. Medos, daughter Nancy, and son Roth, drove to Ashland early last evening and were in Dr. Spencer’s office when the doctor’s telephone rang. Dr. Spencer was asked by a man how long he would have his office open. When the physician replied that he planned to close in several minutes, the man asked that the office be kept open until he arrived with an urgent case.
The Medos family was leaving the doctor’s office when two men, both attired in dirty working clothes, arrived. Dr. Spencer called the men into a consultation room and asked which one was the patient. At that moment one of the two men pulled out a revolver and pressed it into Dr. Spencer’s ribs. Dr. Spencer accidentally struck the gun with his hand, and immediately the other man struck the doctor on the head with a blackjack, They carried Dr. Spencer into another room and placed him on a cot. Dr. Spencer bit the hand of one of the men when they were forcing a gag into his mouth. The other assailant again attacked the doctor with a blackjack, rendering him semi-conscious.
Dr. Spencer reported that more than $100 was taken from his pockets. The thugs ransacked a desk drawer but failed to find any more money. Dr. Spencer telephoned Ashland police headquarters and reported the robbery as soon as the offenders left his office.
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From the Shamokin News-Dispatch, March 28, 1952:
MAN HELD IN ZERBE BURGLARY LINKED TO ASHLAND HOLDUP
PHYSICIAN IDENTIFIES TYLER AS ASSAILANT
One of two men who confessed to local state police the burglary of the Charles Reichert home in Trevorton was identified last evening as one of two robbers who March 19 [1952] assaulted and Ashland physician and rifled his pockets of $100.
Dr. Robert D. Spencer, Ashland physician who was badly beaten by two holdup men, appeared in the local state police barracks last evening and identified Robert Charles Tyler, 25, Harrisburg, as one of the robbers.
Corporal Frank Damian, of the local state police, said this morning Spencer was positive in his identification of Tyler. The doctor told police the sweater Tyler had on was the same one he wore in the Ashland holdup.
Tyler denied having any part in the holdup of the doctor. He will be transferred to Schuylkill County today to be questioned by state police and Ashland authorities in connection with the Spencer robbery.
Corporal Damian said state and city police from Hazleton were scheduled to appear in the local substation today to determine whether Tyler participated in a recent shooting at west Hazleton. If he is association with the shooting, additional detainers will be lodged against him.
Dr. Spencer was badly beaten about the head on the night of March 19, after he brushed aside a revolver thrust into his ribs by one of the two assailants who entered his office and posed as patients. The thugs rifled the physician’s pockets after beating him to the floor….
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From the Shamokin News-Dispatch, October 30, 1952:
REGION JURY INDICTS WISSLER AND TYLER
A Schuylkill County grand jury yesterday indicted Robert Wissler and Robert C. Tyler, Harrisburg, for armed robbery in the holdup early this year of Dr. R. D. Spencer, Ashland.
Wissler and Tyler, with John Tice, Philadelphia, were convicted last month in Northumberland County court of armed holdup of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Reichert, Trevorton.
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The second robbery of Dr. Spencer occurred in November 1952. In this case, Mrs. Spencer was present and was tied up along with husband while two men ransacked their home. From the Shamokin News-Dispatch, November 18, 1952:
ASHLAND PHYSICIAN AND WIFE ROBBED
Two unmasked gunmen held up and robbed Dr. and Mrs. Robert D. Spencer in their home at Ashland.
After holding up the couple, the two unmasked men were joined by two two masked men in ransacking the Spencer home from cellar to attic. Five hundred dollars in cash was taken from a bank book in the physician’s desk.
Dr. and Mrs. Spencer were tied up with a bed sheet by the four men before they left the home. The Spencers freed themselves two and a half hours later and summoned police by telephone.
Dr. Spencer was held up and robbed nine months agio by two gunmen in his office. Two men, Robert Wissler and Robert Tyler, Harrisburg, have been indicted by a Schuylkill County grand jury on a charge of holding up the physician. Wissler and Tyler, with John Tice, Philadelphia, were convicted in Northumberland Count court of robbing Mr. and Mrs. Charles Reichert, Trevorton, of $1,200 last March.
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In July 1953, Wissler and Tyler were sentenced to the Eastern State Penitentiary for the Reichert robbery. From the Shamokin News-Dispatch, July 20, 1953:
Robert Wissler and Robert Tyler, both of Harrisburg, who were convicted with Tice of holding up Mr. and Mrs. Reichert, locking the Reicherts in the cellar of their home after stealing more than $1,000 are presently serving terms of 10 to 20 years in the Eastern Penitentiary for the crime. Both Wissler and Tyler filed motions for new trials, also, after their convictions by a jury, but they withdrew the motions, and were sentenced to the Eastern Penitentiary several months ago.
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Articles from Newspaper.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.