A father accused of killing the man alleged to have raped his 13-year-old daughter has had the murder case thrown out by a judge.
Aaron Spencer, 37, learned in July 2024 that his teenage daughter had allegedly been sexually assaulted on multiple occasions by someone she encountered at a family friend’s home.
The suspect, 67-year-old Michael Fosler, was later taken into custody and charged with 43 offences, including internet stalking and possession of child pornography.
After being released on a $50,000 bond, Fosler was shot and killed in October 2024.
According to reports, the night Fosler died began with Spencer discovering his daughter was not at home, prompting him to search for her.
Spencer allegedly found Fosler driving with the girl seated in the passenger side. He is said to have forced the vehicle off the road and then opened fire.
Authorities say Spencer then moved his daughter into his own vehicle for safety, called 911, and told the operator he had shot Fosler.
Spencer had been due to stand trial in the coming weeks on a second-degree murder charge. He pleaded not guilty, maintaining in court documents cited by People that he acted to protect his child from a predator.
The case took a major turn after the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office reportedly lost potential video evidence connected to the shooting, leading a Special Circuit Court Judge to dismiss the charge.
People reports that the defense argued the situation aligns with the ‘bad faith’ argument, which states: “1) efforts to conceal the existence of exculpatory information, its contents, or its destruction; 2) failing to adhere to rules and professional obligations; 3) deliberately omitting mention of evidence or omitting information from reports; and 4) failure to submit an item of evidence, denying its existence, failing to timely alert others to destruction of evidence, or misleading as to the circumstances.”
With the missing material described as having ‘apparent exculpatory value’, Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. concluded dismissal was justified, calling it an ‘extraordinary and extreme remedy’.
The dismissal states: “However, based on the totality of the circumstances and the unique, specific, and particular facts and circumstances of this case, the Court finds that conduct by law enforcement was so egregious that dismissal of this case is warranted.”
If you’ve been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org