An Arkansas father has been arrested for allegedly fatally shooting his 14-year-old daughter’s reported stalker.
On Oct. 8, deputies were dispatched to the home of Aaron Spencer, 36, who had reported his underage daughter missing, USA Today reported.
But before authorities arrived, Spencer found his daughter in a vehicle with Michael Fosler, 67, and a confrontation escalated that led to the father allegedly shooting and killing Fosler, according to the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office.
The deputies responding to the original call instead arrested Spencer on a “preliminary charge” of first-degree murder,” the publication reported.
He was booked into the Lonoke County Detention Center, but was released after posting bail the following day.
Spencer’s wife, Heather Spencer, wrote on Facebook that the family had a “no contact order” against Fosler, claiming the alleged predator had stalked and raped their child over the summer and they were afraid he was going to kill her.
Folser was arrested in July for internet stalking of a child and sexual assault by a different law enforcement agency and was released on bond, Sheriff John Staley said.
The girl’s parents were unaware that Fosler and their daughter were back in contact.
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
Staley said Spencer, a combat veteran, has not been formally charged and it is up to the local district attorney to decide whether to prosecute the dad, but Heather called out the sheriff’s office.
Heather set up a fundraising page on GiveSendGo after GoFundMe took down her original campaign due to it violating the platform’s terms of service prohibiting fundraising for the legal defence of anyone charged with a violent crime.
“In spring/summer 2024 our then-13-year-old child was targeted, groomed and ultimately raped by the boyfriend of a family friend,” she alleged on the fundraising page.
The page detailed that while the alleged pedophile is due back in court at the end of the year “for several felonies in relation to what he did to our child,” he found his way back to their daughter in the meantime.
After realizing their daughter was missing, Aaron left the home to “go blindly searching for our child” — and soon came across Staley and their daughter.
“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.”
The fundraiser, to help with Spencer’s legal fees, has surpassed its US$50,000 goal and is currently sitting at more than US$92,000.
“I have no doubt our child would have not come home if my husband hadn’t found her. Please help us keep him home with us where he belongs.”
The incident remains under investigation.