Hidden True Crime - He Killed His Daughter’s Predator — Now He’s the One on Trial | Aaron Spencer FULL Story

Episode Date: November 3, 2025

A father. A missing teen. A 67-year-old accused predator. In seconds, everything changed. Aaron Spencer says he acted to save his daughter; prosecutors call it murder. Today we unpack the timeline, the 911 call, the charges, Arkansas self-defense law—and the national debate: protection or vigilante justice? Sponsors: Aura Frames: You can save on the perfect gift that keeps on giving by visiting AuraFrames.com. For a limited time, listeners can get 20 dollars off their best-selling Carver Mat frame with code HIDDEN. That’s A-U-R-A Frames.com promo code HIDDEN. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout! Terms and conditions apply. Tovala: For a limited time, save up to $300 on the Tovala smart oven when you order meals 6+ times, by visiting http://tovala.com/HIDDEN and using code HIDDEN. Nurture Life: For 55% off your order + FREE shipping, head to http://NurtureLife.com/HIDDEN and use code HIDDEN. AG1: Head to https://drinkag1.com/HIDDEN to get a FREE Welcome Kit, including a bottle of Vitamin D and free AG1 Travel Packs, when you first subscribe! About Hidden True Crime What started as a simple conversation at their dinner table became a captivating podcast. Join the dynamic duo of Dr. John Matthias, a criminal psychologist, and Lauren Matthias, an investigative journalist, as they delve into the psychological facets of unthinkable crimes every week. Their unique perspectives and in-depth analysis offer a fresh take on true crime storytelling. Thank you for your support through sponsorships, subscribing, listening, and becoming a Patreon member at⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/HiddenTrueCrime⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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You're a parent. It's after midnight. You're jolted awake by your daughter's dog barking. You check her room. She's gone. Her bed's empty. Months earlier, she told you she'd been groomed by an older man. She confided in you that he had abused her in the worst possible ways. That man is out on bond, living free and facing more than 40 charges against children. He has a no contact order against your daughter. you jump in your car to start searching in the darkness of the night. Ten minutes later, you see that man's truck. He has your daughter. What would you do?

In the true crime space, we hear about so many horrific stories involving children's stories that stick with you long after the headlines fade. And for most of us, especially parents, it's impossible not to imagine what we would do if it was our own child. If we were ever face to face with someone who had hurt them or could hurt them, what would we do? It's a dark thought, but it is one that crosses every parent's mind at least once. Would you fight back to protect your child? Would you kill to protect them? For one, Arkansas father, that question wasn't hypothetical.

In the fall of 2024, Aaron Spencer took matters into his own hands, killing the man who had allegedly abused his 13-year-old teenage daughter. Some people say he did what any parent would have done, that he acted out of instinct, love, and pure rage. Others say he went too far, that what happened that night wasn't justice. It was murder. And according to the state of Arkansas,

Aaron Spencer wasn't defending his daughter. He was committing a crime. In this episode, we're going to walk through everything we know, the timeline, the evidence, the choices that led up to that fatal confrontation. And we will ask the question, is Aaron Spencer a hero? Or is he a murderer? And answering that question will be up to a jury. A trial is currently scheduled for January of 2026. I'm Laura Matthias, and this is hidden true crime. Let's get to it. Who is? Who is? is Aaron Spencer. Aaron lives with his wife and his children on a small farm outside of Cabot, Arkansas.

Now, this town is quiet. It's a rural community in Loneoke County. He's a military veteran, a man who served in the 82nd Airborne, who came home, built a life, and raised his two children in the kind of environment where safety wasn't supposed to be a concern. chickens in the yard dogs running around a tight-knit family but all of that changed when Aaron and his wife Heather learned that their young teenage daughter had allegedly been sexually abused by a 67-year-old man named Michael Fossler the Spencer's say Fossler had been grooming their daughter for months after meetings through a family friend sending messages buying gifts and then much worse the truth came out

when a relative told Aaron and Heather that their daughter had been raped, confronted with this horrendous, unimaginable information. The daughter eventually opened up to her parents and the authorities were contacted. Fossler was arrested and he was charged with multiple counts, including sexual assault, indecency with a child and possession of child pornography. For a time the Spencer's, they felt that justice was finally moving forward. But that sense of relief, it wouldn't last long. Despite the charges, Fossler was released on bond. Heather Spencer later wrote in a Facebook post, quote, we let the justice system do its job. The monster who hurt our child was quickly charged, but released even faster on a 50K bond. He was awaiting court in December for several felonies,

in relation to what he did to our child, end quote. As we're all aware, Fossler was only required to pay a fraction of that amount. However, the judge did issue a no-contact order, thank goodness. And that meant that Fossler, he was supposed to stay away from the victim completely. But soon after, Heather found a cash app transaction, money, money that Fossler had allegedly sent their daughter the victim, even after his arrest. It was clear that he had not let this go. And the Spencer said their daughter was terrified.

And then on the night of October 8th, 2024, Aaron and Heather woke up to their daughter's Chihuahua barking. They went into her room only to find that their then 14-year-old daughter was missing. Her bed was made to look like she was still there. He stuffed animal under the blanket. Her hoodie bunched up. but she was gone. It was every parent's worst nightmare. Heather called 911, but Aaron didn't wait. He grabbed his keys and took off in his truck driving the dark backroads of Low Note County looking, searching.

And not long after, he says that he saw a white Ford F-150 that matched Fossler's truck. He knew the truck well. And in the passenger seat, he saw his daughter. What happened next depends on who you. you ask. But according to Aaron, he began honking his horn and flashing his lights trying to get the truck to stop. When it didn't, he rammed it off the road. Once the vehicles came to a halt, Aaron confronted Fossler with his gun drawn. And that's when he saw Fossler holding onto his daughter not letting her exit the truck and noticed he had something in his hand. Fossler yelled, fuck you before lunging toward Aaron. And that's when he fired, he says, shooting Fosler multiple times. After that, he beat him with the end of his gun to neutralize the threat. He then, only after then,

did he call 911. He called 911 himself, telling dispatch that he had shot the man who had kidnapped his daughter. When police arrived, they found Fossler dead at the scene. Aaron was taken into custody and then later charged with second-degree murder and a firearm enhancement. Prosecutors argue this was not self-defense, claiming Aaron had taken the law into his own hands. His defense maintains the opposite that he acted to protect his daughter from an ongoing threat, a man who had no contact order, he had a no contact order against his daughter, and that he did exactly what any parent would have done in that moment. Since then, the case has divided not just the local community, but the entire country.

Thousands of people have rallied behind Aaron online, calling him a hero, a father who did what the system failed to do. But others, others have pointed out that we cannot have vigilante justice, no matter how emotional the circumstances are, that taking someone's life, even someone accused of a terrible crime, has to be weighed under the law, not by impulse. In May 2025, the Arkansas Supreme Court actually struck down a gag order that had been placed on the case, calling it unconstitutional. And that allowed the Spencer's to finally speak publicly again. And they did. Oh, they spoke, saying their family has been through hell. That their daughter is still in therapy.

And that they believe Aaron did what he had to do to protect his daughter. Now, again, Aaron's trial. It's set for early 2026. The jury will have to decide whether what he did that night was murder or a father's instinct to save his child. And this case raises so many questions. What would you do if the system failed to protect your child? If the person who hurt them was free and you had one chance to stop it, would you take it? Because that's really what this story comes down to. A father, a daughter, and a moment that changed everything. So as we go, through the evidence, the testimonies, and the aftermath, many of us will be asking, is Aaron Spencer

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When the news of the shooting first broke, it spread fast, not just through Low Note County, but across the country. The headlines all said some version of the same thing. Arkansas father kills man accused of raping his daughter. And from that moment, there was an immediate palpable divide. People started taking sides right away. On social media, Aaron Spencer became a symbol, the dad who did what needed to be done. hosts poured in from parents saying they'd have done the same thing, that if the justice system wouldn't protect their kids, they would. There were fundraisers, Facebook groups, petitions demanding that prosecutors drop the charges. But prosecutors in Arkansas, they were not backing down, not at all. They say that what happened was not self-defense. It was revenge. They say that Aaron went looking for Fossler that night and that once,

Once he found him, he made a choice to take a life instead of calling police and waiting for them to act. They've pointed out that Aaron brought the firearm, that he ram the truck off the road, and that Fossler never fired a weapon. In their view, for prosecutors, it wasn't about protection. It was about a personal vendetta and taking justice into his own hands. The defense, they see it differently. They argue that this wasn't some premeditated plan. it was a terrified father reacting in real time after waking up in the middle of the night to find his 14-year-old daughter gone. And let me point out that this is the exact age Elizabeth Smart was when she was taken in the middle of the night.

And Aaron says that he didn't even know exactly what he'd find when he left his driveway that night. He just knew his daughter was missing and that there was one person in the world who might have taken her, a man charged with abusing her, a man who had a strict no contact order against contacting his minor child. The defense has also said that in those moments, Aaron had every reason to believe his daughter's life was in danger, and that legally under Arkansas's self-defense laws, he had the right to act to protect her. And honestly, that's the tension at the heart of this whole case.

The law says you can use deadly force to protect yourself or someone else from imminent harm. But what counts as imminent? Where does that line blur? When does it blur? Was Aaron acting to stop an ongoing assault or to punish someone for what already happened? The details from that night don't make it any simpler. Please say that when they arrived on the scene, Aaron told them he had shot the man who kidnapped his daughter. The 911 recording reportedly captures him saying that exact phrase, the man who kidnapped his daughter.

But some argue there's no evidence that Fossler had physically forced his daughter into the truck that night. Investigators believe she may have gone willingly. Though, of course, she was a minor and under the law consent really isn't an issue here. And it's not really possible in a relationship like this with a man in a 60s. Still, it's a key point for prosecutors. They say there was no kidnapping in progress, no violent attack happening in that moment. To them, that means Aaron didn't have the legal right to use deadly force. But to Aaron and to a lot of people listening to this story, it doesn't matter.

They see a 67-year-old predator who had already hurt a child and a father who wasn't willing to risk it happening again. And while all of this was unfolding, the public response has been overwhelming. Local residents started holding prayer circles, candlelight vigils, and fundraisers for the Spencer family. His wife Heather went on social media thanking people for their support, but also reminding everyone that their daughter, was still a child, still healing, and that the attention had not been easy for her. I can only imagine. And then came another twist. The gag order. In late 2024, the judge on the case issued a sweeping order that prevented the Spencer's, their attorneys, and even local law enforcement from speaking publicly about the case. The idea was to protect the integrity of the trial, but critics say it

went too far. It has silenced the family completely. Months later, the Arkansas Supreme Court stepped in and struck the gag order down, calling it unconstitutional. That decision allowed Aaron and Heather to start speaking again. And they did. They spoke, posting online, banking supporters, and insisting that Aaron had done what any father would have done to save his child. Tonight, we're learning previously unknown details of a murder case so sensational, the judge and prosecutors worried about conducting a fair trial.

But today, a majority of the Arkansas Supreme Court basically released those details themselves, saying Aaron Spencer and his lawyers have the right to speak publicly about how the man accused of sexually assaulting his teenage daughter ended up dead last year. Let's recap how we all got here. Loneup County deputies arrested Spencer last October with the sheriff's office saying then only that he killed 67-year-old Michael Fossler after a fight and after he had found him with his teenage daughter. Prosecutors charged Spencer with second-degree murder. Court documents reveal Fossler was facing numerous sexual charges involving Spencer's daughter and had posted bond. Spencer's family took to social media. They started calling him a hero. His lawyers saying he did the same thing that any father would have done.

We feel very confident that this community is going to come to Aaron's side because every one of them would have done the same thing for their child or their neighbor's child or a member of their family. But that lawyer, Aaron Cassinelli, made that statement in defiance of the judge in the case. Lono County Circuit Judge Barbara Elmore had put a gag order on the case and sealed almost every document. Spencer and his lawyers appealed that, and today a strong ruling from the state's high court. The gag order violated Spencer's First Amendment rights with three justices saying they thought the case should have been removed from Judge Elmore's court. That's not going to happen, but the ruling listed new details that we didn't know before. Spencer had discovered his daughter had snuck out. He jumped into his truck and found Fossler with his daughter inside that truck. The opinion from Justice Courtney Ray Hudson said Spencer forced Fossler off the highway that night. That's when they fought. And moments later, Spencer called 911 to say he shot Fossler. Cassinelli released a statement praising the ruling and applauding the clear guidelines that it lays out for future gag orders. Justice Hudson writing that gag orders should be a last resort. and not a first impulse. Spencer pleaded not guilty. Last year, he has a pretrial hearing scheduled

for August 8th. Since then, the story's taken another unexpected turn. Despite still facing second-degree murder charges, Aaron Spencer announced he's running for Sheriff of Lono County. When he first said it, people thought it was a joke. A man facing murder charges now running for a top law enforcement position. But no, it's real. He's officially filed to run in the 2026 election. He says it's about restoring trust in a system that, in his words, failed to protect my daughter. Hello, Lone Oak. My name is Aaron Spencer. Many of you know my story. I'm the father who acted to protect his daughter when the system failed. I'm also a husband, a combat veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division, a contractor and a farmer. And through my own fight for justice,

I have seen firsthand the failures in law enforcement and in our circuit court. And I refuse to stand by while others face these same failures. That's why I'm announcing my candidacy to run for Lowenoke County Sheriff. This campaign isn't about me. It's about every parent, every neighbor, every family who deserves to feel safe in their homes and safe in their community. It's about restoring trust where neighbors know law enforcement is on their side and families know that they will not be left alone in a moment of need. Together we can build a safer, stronger, low-note county for every family.

I'm Aaron Spencer, and I'm running for sheriff of Low-Note County. To his supporters, it's bold, a statement that he's not hiding, not ashamed of what he did. To others, though, it's reckless. That someone facing a murder trial should be campaigning for the top law enforcement job in the same county where he's being prosecuted. It's more than bold, his critics say, it's rebellious and a dangerous precedent to set about vigilante justice and taking matters into your own hands. But either way, Aaron Spencer's running for sheriff, and this run has made this case impossible

to ignore. So now, with the trial scheduled in January, both sides are gearing up for what's likely to be an emotional courtroom battle. The defense will focus on the fear, the panic, and the instinct of a father protecting his child. The prosecution will focus on the facts. That Fossler was not armed. That the shooting happened after a pursuit. That police were never called by Aaron before he used deadly force.

And that Arkansas law doesn't allow deadly force in the name of revenge. And somewhere in between all of that will sit the jury. And this jury won't judge. just be delivering a verdict. They'll be having to process what justice even is, what justice even means. Because justice, it's not just a legal term. It's a philosophical idea. For centuries, thinkers have debated on its meaning. Is justice about fairness? Is it about morality? Is justice about revenge? Or about following the law, even when the law itself feels unjust? In the case of Aaron Spencer, the father charged with second-degree murder for killing a man accused of abusing his

daughter, those questions are at the very heart of the trial. The jurors won't just be deciding whether Aaron Spencer broke the law. They'll be deciding what justice really means in a situation like this. Can an act that perhaps breaks the law still be just? Or must justice always align with the law, even when our hearts say otherwise? And when it comes to the legal side of things, it all boils down to this, was Aaron Spencer justified in using deadly force that night? Under Arkansas law, a person can use deadly force to defend themselves or someone else if they reasonably believe that person is in imminent danger of death or serious physical injury. And that word, reasonably, that is key, reasonably. It's not about whether Aaron himself was terrified in that moment.

It's about whether an average person in his shoes would have felt the same way. So, Let's think about that for a second. You're a parent. Again, let's go back to this. You're a parent. It's midnight. You're jolted awake by your daughter's dog barking. You check her room.

She's gone. Her bed's empty. The stuffed animal tucked under the blankets to make it look like she's asleep. Just three months earlier, she told you she'd been raped and groomed by a 67-year-old man who is out on bond, living free and facing more than 40 charges for child sex abuse and internet stocking. He has a no. contact order against your daughter. You call 911, or your wife does. Your wife called 911,

but you just go out and you start searching. And 10 minutes later, you see that man's truck with your daughter in the passenger seat. The man clearly breaking the law, he has a no contact order against your daughter. Now, is it really unreasonable to believe your child might be in danger? After all, she was the key witness in the sexual assault case against her. the only person who knew every detail, every piece of information that could send this man to prison for life, that's the question Aaron's defense team will hammer home in front of the jury. They'll argue that this was not premeditated. This was not revenge.

This was a desperate, terrified father reacting in the only way he thought might save his daughter's life. His attorney, Aaron Casinelli, has already said exactly that. She said, quote, what parent is going to call 911 and just say, hey, I found my daughter with the man who's been assaulting her? I hope you can find them before something happens, end quote. An Arkansas father pleads not guilty today to second degree murder charges. Aaron Spencer is charged in the deadly shooting of 67-year-old man he found in the car with his 14-year-old daughter. Rebecca Brown was in the courtroom today and has the latest developments on a case that God, lot of national attention.

Aaron Spencer is not a criminal. Monday morning, Aaron Spencer uttered the words, not guilty in front of a judge at the Lono County Sheriff's Office, where he is facing charges for second-degree murder. All this because of an incident on October 8th, where police reports say Spencer's teenage daughter was missing and was discovered by Spencer in a car with 67-year-old Michael Fossler. According to the sheriff's office,

this eventually led to an argument ending with Spencer's shooting and killing Fosler. He was absolutely fearful for her life. Not to mention that she had been repeatedly the subject of multiple assaults, violent assaults on a child. What are we doing here? According to court documents, Fossler was charged in early September with two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual indecency with a child, along with several other charges. According to Spencer's defense attorney Aaron Kassanilli, in her words, he did what any parent would have done. We feel very confident that this community is going to come to errandside because every one of them would have done the same thing for their child or their neighbor's

child or a member of their family. But according to prosecuting attorney Chuck Graham, who charged Spencer was second-degree murder. Spencer's fear is only part of the story. They had a lot to say about the situation and me. But what's being put out there is not the whole story. And ethically, I can't go much further than that. Outside of the sheriff's office stood family and friends of Aaron Spencer. This case catching the eyes of people beyond Lono County. As many Facebook comments feel as strongly as both sides defending in the states versus Aaron Spencer. And we look forward to the public being involved in this process, certainly more so than they were today.

The defense's narrative is built on instinct, that primal protective reaction that any parent would have in that moment. But again, prosecutors, they see it very differently. They're focusing on the actions, not the emotions. The fact that Aaron chased down Fossler's truck, that he rammed it off the road, that he got out of his vehicle armed, that Fossler, according to the investigation, did not have a gun. To them, those facts point to something well beyond self-defense, something more deliberate. Again, vigilante justice, not following the law, taking matters into his own hands. and revenge over justice. And that's why they say they've charged him with second-degree murder.

In Arkansas, second-degree murder means someone acted with extreme indifference to the value of human life. It does not require proof that Aaron planned to kill Fossler ahead of time. That would be first-degree murder. First-degree murder is when you plot and plan and prepare. They're not saying that that's what happened here. What prosecutors are saying, though, is that, that Aaron Spencer's actions were reckless enough to show disregard for a human life,

a disregard as to whether Fossler lived or died. But if Aaron's found guilty of second-degree murder, he faces up to 20 years in prison plus additional time for the firearm enhancement. Possibly 20 years for killing the man charged with grooming and abusing his child, killing the man who, while on bond with a restraining order, showed no regards for the law, and took Aaron Spencer's 14-year-old daughter from the safety of her bedroom in the middle of the night. And let me remind you whether the daughter willingly went or not, it doesn't matter. She's 14.

But on the other hand, if Aaron Spencer is acquitted of this, it would send a very loud message, a message that could echo not just in low note county, but across the entire United States, that we the people and courtroom jurors are willing to side with parents who take justice into their own hands when they believe the system failed them. And I wonder, would an acquittal of Aaron Spencer set a precedent for vigilante justice? That if someone feels the law isn't enough, can they take matters into their own hands? And there's another layer here, the sense of failure. Heather Spencer, Aaron's wife, has said again and again that they trusted the justice system.

They support law enforcement. They say they are law-abiding citizens. They went through all the right channels when they learned what happened to their daughter. They called the police. They pressed charges. They put their young daughter in therapy. They believed the courts would protect her. But then, three months later,

the same man accused of sexually assaulting their 13-year-old daughter was out on bond, living freely, and still communicating with her despite a no-contact order. To their family, this wasn't just a technical failure. This was the system that was supposed to protect victims, endangering their daughter all over again. And that's part of why Aaron's story resonates so deeply, especially with parents, because most people hear this and think, gosh, if the justice system can't protect her child, What would I do if it were my child?

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Car buying you'll want to tell stories about. Buy your car today on... Carvana. Delivery fees may apply. Now, when this case goes to trial, jurors will be asked to set all of their emotion aside. Can you imagine that, setting your emotion aside for this? They'll have to look strictly at the evidence. That's their job. They'll need to look at the 911 calls, the dash cam data, the ballistics, and what the daughter herself, a witness says, happened in those moments before and after the shooting.

They'll hear about how Aaron says he ordered Fossler to get out of the truck, how he claims Fossler lunged towards him, shouting, fuck you, with something in his hand. They'll hear that Aaron fired his gun, not once, but until his gun was empty. And then once Fossler was down and the gun empty, striking Fossler in the head, they'll hear that Aaron Spencer then reloaded his gun, took his daughter out of the vehicle, and only then did he call 911. But then he did call 911 immediately to report that the man who kidnapped, that's in quotes, the man who kidnapped his daughter was dead.

Those details matter because they'll help jurors decide if this was truly self-defense, or if Aaron had crossed the line into vengeance. And while these facts will be dissected piece by piece in court, the emotional weight behind the facts simply can't be ignored. Because this isn't just another murder trial. This is about the limits of what a parent can be expected to endure before breaking. And what justice really means when the system seems to fail in delivering it. In the months that followed the shooting,

the Spencer family's lives, had been completely upended. Remember that simple life they lived? That simple life with chickens and dogs running around, it's gone. It's now been just over a year. Aaron was arrested that night, October 8th, 2024, and booked into the low-note county detention center and charged with second-degree murder. He spent weeks behind bars before finally being released on bond. The moment he walked out, the cameras were waiting. Microphones in his face, reporter shouting questions, the public divided right down the middle. Some people saw him as a father doing what any parent would have done. Others saw him as a man who took the law into his own hands. And in their eyes, that made him dangerous.

Heather Spencer has since become the family's voice. She spoke to reporters outside the courthouse. Her voice shaking but steady. She said, we trusted the system to protect our daughter and it didn't. My husband did what the system failed to do. End quote. Heather has also been vocal about how the legal system let their family down, pointing out that Fosler had been out on bond despite facing more than 40 charges for sexual abuse and child exploitation. He'd been ordered to stay away from the Spencer's daughter, but that clearly did not stop him. And that's what makes this story so hard to untangle because, yes, there's the legal side, the evidence, the laws, the technicalities, but there's also the human side, the emotion. reality of what this family went through and is going through. Friends say Aaron's never been the

same since that night. He's quieter, more withdrawn. But he also doesn't express regret in the way you might expect. He's said before that he wishes things hadn't happened the way they did, but that if it meant saving his daughter's life, he'd do it again. And while you'd think he'd want to just maybe disappear from the public eye, go back to that quieter life, Aaron did something no one expected. he ran for sheriff. Is running for sheriff? Yes, Sheriff. He says he wants to bring real accountability

to the local justice system, the same one that he says failed his daughter and family. In his campaign post, he talks about restoring trust in law enforcement and protecting families from predators. It's both shocking and symbolic.

The man accused of murder positioning himself as the next top cop in his county. Can you imagine how that's gone over? his supporters see it as poetic justice, a man who lived through the system's failures trying to fix it from the inside. His critics, though, say it's reckless that someone facing a homicide charge has no business running for office, let alone a top cop. The most watched election in Arkansas next year probably won't be for Congress or a petition drive. It'll be for sheriff in Lono County.

That's because Aaron Spencer facing a trial for second-degree murder there is hoping to be acquitted. elected sheriff. He's charged with killing a man, accused of assaulting his 14-year-old daughter after he found the teenager in that man's truck. Spencer isn't speaking with the media yet, but his lawyer is. CHV-11's Catherine Roli had that conversation today. Well, Roli in faith, his attorney, Aaron Casinelli, told me that he's running because of his personal experiences throughout the investigation that revealed what he says are failures in the system. Now, his would-be opponent who also helped arrest him is preparing for this remarkable campaign.

My name is Aaron Spencer. Many of you know my story. I'm the father who acted to protect his daughter when the system failed. Almost a year after his arrest for the act he refers to, Aaron Spencer used this social media message to announce a campaign to be sheriff in Lone Oak County. It puts his accomplished defense attorney Aaron Casinelli in the unique position of not only having to explain what he did, but why he did it and also explaining why he should win votes. I mean, he wants a better lone oak. That's better for the kids, better for his neighbors. He's not running for fame or fortune. It's to make his community better. The charges stem from a deadly encounter last October.

Spencer reported his 14-year-old daughter missing. Days earlier, 67-year-old Michael Forster had been charged with stalking and sexually assaulting the girl. And soon after rushing out when he found her room empty, caught up with Folster's truck with his daughter inside. Court records say Spencer forced Folcer to stop, confronted him and killed him. We believe that Arkansas law supports what Aaron did, that he was justified in protecting his daughter and protecting himself from danger. So we believe that that's going to be born out at trial. Sheriff John Staley is one of those public officials. He is up for re-election.

He can't talk about the investigation that his current deputies carried out, but he can't talk about the upcoming campaign. There's two distinct candidates in this race for sheriff. My opponent, who's pending second degree murder charges, the Lono County Prosecution Attorney found probable cause to file second degree murder charges. There'll be a trial in January where the actual facts will come to light. I've been your sheriff since 2013. I have 25 years law enforcement experience.

We've been tough and aggressive on crime, and we will continue to do so, from holding murderers, drug dealers, sexual predators and other criminals accountable. The trial is set for January and the obvious question many have is can Spencer be sheriff if he's convicted of murder? Now the answer is no. A person cannot be convicted of a felony and can't run or if he became sheriff before a conviction. He would be kicked out of office if they are eventually found guilty. But regardless of where you stand, one thing's clear.

Aaron Spencer has become a symbol. To some, a hero, the father who fought back when no one else would, to other, he's proved that vigilante justice is a frightening precedent with long-lasting consequences, a dangerous idea for whoever believes they can be above the law and put the idea of justice into their own hands. And somewhere in the middle of all of that noise, let's remember, is a young girl, the one person who never asked for any of this, the victim, a little girl, who is now trying to rebuild her life in the shadow of a tragedy she never caused. Heather says their daughter is still struggling to understand why the man who hurt her was ever allowed to come near her again. And that's, again, what makes this case so gut-wrenching.

It's not just about right or wrong, guilt or innocence. It's about the failure of a system meant to protect children and a child who has been victimized not once, but multiple times again and again and who will never be the same again. Once Aaron Spencer's story hit the headlines, people from across the country, way to sharing opinions, debating the ethics, and sometimes just venting the fear that this story evokes in every parent. There were thousands of comments from parents who said they would have done the exact same thing. One post read, if someone touched my child, I wouldn't hesitate. I'd take the law into my own hands if I had to. But others, they were less supportive,

of cautioning against glorifying violence or vigilante justice, one read quote, we can't just take the law into our own hands. That's how society collapses. And that is a frightening sentence that if we take the law into our own hands, that's how a society collapses. That's how society collapses. This, that's bold. and I want to ask, is this truly a case

that makes us worry about the collapse of society? Or is this simply a dad in Arkansas doing what he had to do to protect his daughter? A state gun rights group has called Aaron's actions justified and has set up a legal defense fund for him raising tens of thousands of dollars. Online petitions sprang up demanding

the charges against him be dropped, one gathering more than 360,000 signatures. But it's not just the legal or ethical questions that people are wrestling with. It's the parental instinct behind it, because even if you're not a parent, it's almost impossible not to imagine yourself in Aaron Spencer's shoes.

You wake up in the middle of the night to find your child gone, knowing there's a man who has hurt them before and could do so again. What would you do? Wait for the police, hoping they arrive in time or act, trusting your own judgment

and your own hands to protect the one person who matters most. This is why the debate has become so charged. The public is forced to confront, a very uncomfortable truth. Sometimes the system fails the people it's supposed to protect. It happens. Our justice system is far from perfect. And when that happens, and ordinary citizens are left with impossible choices, what then? The debate has also touched on bigger questions about justice in Arkansas and across the United States. How safe are children and predators can be released on bond?

How does the legal system balance protection with due process? And how much we're responsibility falls on parents when the authorities fall short. What's undeniable is that this story has struck a chord. It's not just about the shooting itself. It's about fear, love, anger, and instinct. It's about the terrifying, gut-wrenching thought every parent has, the thought that if someone harmed your child, you might be forced to cross a line you never imagined. And as this case heads toward trial in January 2026, that conversation isn't slowing down. Lawyers will debate the evidence. Jurors will weigh every detail.

But outside the courtroom, the debate continues online, in kitchens, in workplaces, on podcasts right here, in communities, everywhere people are trying to answer the same question when the system fails to protect the most vulnerable, how far is a parent allowed to go to make things right? right. So let's talk about what's coming next, the trial. Aaron Spencer is scheduled to go before a jury in January of 2026 and the courtroom is going to be tense, emotional, and probably, unlike anything, most of the jurors have ever experienced. At the center of it all is the question, was this self-defense or was it murder? That's what the jury will have to decide. And every piece of

evidence, every witness, every word in the 911 recordings could tip the scales. On the prosecution side, they say, by the way, that more's coming, more, that the public has no idea about. But what they say they will focus on are the facts of the shooting itself. They'll argue that Aaron chased down Fossler's truck intentionally rammed it off the road and then used deadly force. They'll highlight that Fosler was not armed, at least as far as police can tell, and that there was no immediate threat to his daughter at that moment. For them, that's the difference between protecting your child and taking justice into your own hands.

They'll also point to the multiple gunshot wounds and the pistol whipping, arguing that the level of force used was excessive, beyond reasonable self-defense. And again, the prosecution claims that there's more, so much more, that we don't even know. We'll see when that time comes. The defense, meanwhile, is going to focus on fear and instinct. They'll tell the story from Aaron's perspective, waking up in the middle of the night,

realizing his daughter was missing, taking off in his car while his wife was left to call 911, and learning it was the man he believed had already harmed his daughter, a man who had a no-contact order against his daughter, thus was breaking the law at that moment, and making split-second decisions under extreme stress. They'll argue that the law allows him to use deadly force to protect another person, and that that other person was his young daughter, that the reasonableness of his actions should be judged in the moment,

not in hindsight from the safety of a courtroom. Aaron himself is expected to take the stand. That's unusual in many cases, that the man on trial for murder takes the stand. But here in this case, in this trial, it makes sense. He wants the jury to hear directly from him about what was going through his mind on that night, about the terror, the panic, the sheer desperation of thinking he could lose his daughter forever. And there's also the question of jury nullification. Get this, this is something rarely discussed, jury nullification. But it's possible that's when

jurors decide that even if the law technically says someone is guilty, they won't convict because they believe the circumstances justify the actions. In this case, a jury could choose to side with the parent over the letter of the law. And wow, what a verdict that could be. So what are the possible outcomes? If Aaron is convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison plus extra time for the firearm enhancement. And under-Archurchase, and under-Arts, saw law a felony conviction would bar him from holding public office, meaning his run for sheriff would be over before even really began. His trial, again scheduled for January, and the primary elections aren't until March with the final election being in November. If he's acquitted,

the ramifications are huge too. Not just for Aaron and his family, but nationally, it would be a rare case where a parent was fully exonerated after taking a life to protect their child, and it could influence how self-defense laws are interpreted in the future. His sheriff campaign could gain serious momentum, turning him into a local and even national figure and someone that is the county's top law enforcement official. There's also the middle ground. The jury could convict him on a lesser charge like manslaughter. That would still carry jail time, but it might reflect a recognition that Aaron acted under extreme emotional distress, acknowledging both the crime. and the context. Throughout all of this, one thing is certain. The case will spark debate for years

to come. It's a case that forces us to ask uncomfortable questions about law, morality, and instinct, about what it really means to protect the people you love, what it means to protect your family, about when, if ever, it's okay to break the law to do what feels right. And at the center of it all, there's a father who saw the system fail his child and made a choice that night in October that nobody else could have imagined. So when it comes down to it, as we circle back to that question from the very beginning, is Aaron Spencer a hero or is he a murderer? That's a question again that the jury will have to decide. But it's also a question each of us has to wrestle with in our own way, thinking about fear, instinct, and the lengths we'd go to protect someone we love.

Before we wrap up, I want to share a post, social media post written by Heather Spencer, the victim's mother, where she talks about what happened from her perspective and how it's impacted their whole family. And it says, quote, it's been a hard eight months silently fighting battles we were unprepared for. In those early days, we had very limited understanding of the magnitude of what we were facing, what happened to our child, starting in the spring of 2024 when she was just 13, was horrifying and traumatic for all who loved her. She is a quiet, homeschooled child who at the time spent more days than not helping care for her dying grandpa. It was hard work and when presented with the

opportunity to spend some time in a safe place, I allowed her to take a much-needed break on days when we weren't busy to be with friends that were family. Deep in my soul, they were family and I trusted she was safe. She wasn't. It took very little exposure for an unknown man who was old enough to be my father to start pursuing my child. This monster was an opportunist and started grooming my then 13-year-old via text. In July of 2024, we were informed by our family member.

that our now 14-year-old child had confided that she had been raped. Immediately, we asked our child what happened, and she explained that this man, who was a stranger to us, had assaulted her multiple times. We let the law run its course, and we were promised along the way that this isn't 20 years ago. They take these things seriously now. We trusted that this man would be served justice under the law. while we were happy that he was quickly arrested, we were not privy to the fact that he was released on a low bond with zero supervision. Even though we anticipated his release, we thought the pending felony charges and a no-contact order would be enough to keep him away from our child.

We were wrong. We put our daughter into therapy and tried our best to manage her trauma while still caring for my dying father. When we were awakened by our daughter's dog in the middle of the night on October 8th, my first thought was that our child was sick. I woke my husband up and asked him to check on her. What happened next is burned into my very being. He called out from her room that she was missing. Immediately all the lights in the house were on. We were calling for her inside the house and then outside.

I called our son and our niece the only people who may have known where she may have gone. Neither did. So I called 911 immediately as my husband left to go looking for her with no direction in mind, only a prayer of finding her. My sister-in-law then sent us a picture of a cash app payment for DoorDash, from the predator to our daughter and niece a day or two prior. In that moment we realized that she may have been taken, but it's the middle of the night and everything is happening in seconds and every second counts. I tell 911 that this man may be involved and as I'm speaking, I'm realizing that if he does have her, I will probably never see her again. Statistics and horror stories race through my mind, my baby, my little girl, gone. All I could do was pray. I hung up with the 911 operator and called my mother. I screamed in horror while she prayed Hail Mary's.

God, please save my baby. My own screams will forever haunt my memory. By God's grace alone, my husband spotted the predator and our child and turned to follow them. Then the predator ran with our child. Thanks to my husband's quick and courageous actions, our child was saved that night. I have no doubt that if it weren't for God and my husband, I would have never seen my child again. The relief of my child being alive was quickly followed by terror. as the prosecutor set preliminary charges at murder one with 150K bond. Going through yet another assault exam with my child at the hospital while trying to find a lawyer for my husband was a nightmare.

Navigating criminal charges while also being fully traumatized by the events of the night were difficult. It quickly made its way through social media and with the support of our community, we attained the very best lawyers and Aaron was released on bond. At arraignment, they decided to charge my husband with murder two, with a gun enhancement charge. Then immediately, the same judge who released this monster out into the community to continue his reign of terror on our child placed us and seemingly the whole world under an unconstitutional gag order. We were no longer able to share our story and we were forced to suffer the injustice of it all in silence. By some other miracle, our case was heard by the Arkansas Supreme Court and the gag order was lifted. We are now free to share our story again.

My husband didn't ask to be put in a position to save our child. We didn't ask for any of this. An evil man with a long history of predatory behavior targeted our child and was not scared of the consequences. My husband was forced to save his child from someone who should have never been on the streets to begin with. please continue to pray for our family and share our story. If this can happen to us in rural Arkansas, it can happen anywhere. End quote. Ever since I first heard this story, I honestly, I just haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

From the quiet farm in Lone Oak County, where a family lived a simple life, a quiet life, to the dark of night when a father's worst fears become real. from the horrifying discovery that their daughter had been abused to the desperate chase down a highway that ended in a man's death. Aaron Spencer's story, it is, again, when a fear, instinct, love, and tragedy all rolled into one. It's about a father who acted in the only way he thought might save his child, but it's also a story about a system that didn't protect her

and about the consequences that follow when someone decides to take justice and to their own hands. In the coming months, the jury will hear the evidence, weigh the law, and make a decision that could send Aaron to prison or set him free. But no matter the outcome, this case has already sparked a national conversation. It has forced us to all ask, what would we do? How far would we go? Is Aaron Spencer a hero, or is he a murderer? Can he be both? Only the jury will get to decide. But the story and the question, It raises about family, justice, and morality will stay with us all for a very long time. Most people don't realize how much their personal information is being bought and sold every day.

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