An Arkansas father has been arrested after allegedly shooting a man who was found in a vehicle containing the father's missing 14-year-old daughter.
On Tuesday, Aaron Spencer, 36, reported his daughter missing and Lonoke County Sheriff's Office deputies were dispatched to his home.
However, while officers were en route to the residence, they learned that Spencer had found his daughter in the vehicle with 67-year-old Michael Fosler. There was a confrontation between the two men before Spencer allegedly shot Fosler.
Deputies arrested Spencer on a preliminary charge of first-degree murder, a Class Y felony. He was booked into the Lonoke County Detention Center and released the following day after posting bond.
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Aaron Spencer, 36, was arrested on a preliminary charge of first-degree murder. (Lonoke County Detention Center)
Sheriff John Staley said in a Facebook video that Spencer has not yet been formally charged and that the district attorney's office would decide what charges to bring.
“This is a tragic situation and my thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved,” Staley said.
Spencer's wife, Heather, wrote on Facebook that Fosler had been banned from contacting her daughter for stalking and raping the 14-year-old over the summer and that she and her husband feared he might kill her. She said she and her husband were unaware that Fosler had re-established contact with her child.
“We absolutely called 911 throughout the entire event,” she wrote. “We had no idea that this man had contact with our child again. For what he did, he was facing 6-9 felonies, not 2. He was thinking about the rest of his miserable life in prison, and our daughter was the only witness.”
“Some things we will never know, but we do know that the police gave the predator the privacy they did not give our family,” she continued. “Including including our home address. “I am deeply offended by the way this has been handled by the county (sheriff's) office.”
The woman added: “Ultimately, our daughter is a victim and we have a long road to recovery ahead of us. We are very grateful for all the calls, messages and prayers.”
Sheriff John Staley said Aaron Spencer has not yet been formally charged and that the District Attorney's Office will decide what charges to bring. (iStock)
Staley said that in July, Fosler was arrested by another law enforcement agency and booked on charges of cyberstalking a child and sexual assault. USA TODAY.
“I absolutely do not support predators,” he said. I'm a dad. “I have three daughters. “I know she's hurt right now, but there is absolutely no one I would put above our children, their children, my children.”
The sheriff said deputies are investigating what happened before the shooting.
“When we arrive on the scene and a homicide occurs, it means that one person has taken the life of another,” Staley said. “It is justified or unjustified. This is the finding of the facts and this is what we will find out in the investigation.”
The child's mother started a GoFundMe to cover her husband's legal fees, but GoFundMe deleted the fundraiser and refunded the money to donors. GoFundMe's terms of service prohibit fundraisers from raising money for the legal defense of people formally charged with an alleged violent crime.
Because of this, the woman now accepts money on Venmo and Cash.
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Aaron Spencer's wife, Heather, said Michael Fosler was banned from contacting her daughter. (Getty Images)
“My husband is a hero and we are so grateful he is home with us for now,” the woman wrote in a Facebook post Thursday. “We want to do everything we can to make sure he can still be here to protect us.”
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She also thanked other victims who contacted her with allegations that Fosler attacked them.
“We gained a clear picture of a predator who constantly worked with children and preyed on young girls,” she wrote. “This man was an Indiana police chief and resource specialist, which gave us a better idea of why the Lonoke County courts were protecting him and prosecuting my husband.”
The incident remains under investigation.
