An Arkansas father was arrested after a man was shot and killed during a “confrontation” over the dad’s 14-year-old daughter.
The Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call about a missing juvenile and found the 14-year-old girl with a 67-year-old man named Michael Fosler.
“A confrontation between two adult males resulted in a shooting,” the sheriff said. “Michael Fosler was pronounced dead at the scene, and Aaron Spencer was taken into custody.”
Although the initial statement indicated that Spencer was facing charges of Murder in the First Degree, Sheriff John Stanley subsequently released a follow-up video clarifying that the charges against Spencer were merely preliminary. He emphasized that the decision to file formal charges lies with the prosecutors.
“Currently, official charges have not been filed. I have not, nor will I advocate for any specific charge. This is a tragic situation and my thoughts and prayers are with all those involved,” he added.
While Stanley said he was only able to share “limited details” around the case at this time, a woman claiming to be Spencer’s wife Heather has been sharing more allegations on social media – calling her husband’s arrest “outrageous.”
Saying she hoped to have their story “shared far and wide,” the woman said her daughter was “targeted, groomed and ultimately raped by the boyfriend of a family friend.” She claimed they had a no contact order in place for Fosler and had “no idea” their child had been communicating with him again.
Sheriff Stanley confirmed to USA Today that Fosler was arrested back in July and booked for internet stalking of a child and sexual assault, and was released on bond.
“This guy that preyed upon their daughter was released on bond, and had we stopped him that night and got him with her, that bond would have been revoked,” Stanley also told the outlet. “He would have never got out of jail. None of the bond companies would have let him out. We wouldn’t let him out.”
“He was looking at the rest of his pathetic life in jail, and our daughter was the only witness. We 100% in the moment thought he had taken her to kill her,” Heather Spencer wrote on Facebook, before claiming in a fundraiser page that her husband began “blindly searching for our child.”
“By God’s never failing grace, my husband passed this man driving on our road with our minor child in the vehicle. As soon as the predator knew my husband was behind him, he ran,” claimed Heather. “The chase ended in an accident. Aaron was able to retrieve our child alive, but in the process he was attacked and did what he had to do to protect himself and our minor child. He is now facing an outrageous murder 1 charge.”
The suspect’s wife is adamant “our child would have not come home if my husband hadn’t found her.”
Stanley made it clear in a statement to USA TODAY “I absolutely do not support predators,” explaining the arrest by saying, “When we get on scene and there’s a homicide, it means one person took the life of another. It’s either justified or not justified. That’s what the fact finding, that’s what the investigation is going to find out.”
“All my deputies and investigators knew at that time is there’s a deceased man, a 14-year-old that was in the truck with him, and a dad saying ‘Hey, I stopped him for this,'” he added.
Speaking with TooFab on Monday, October 14, Stanley added investigators are still “working to finish up the file to send to the prosecutor.”
Spencer is out on bail.
