Murder charge dismissed against Arkansas man who said he shot daughter’s alleged sexual abuser

An Arkansas judge has dismissed a murder charge against a sheriff’s candidate who was accused of killing his teenaged daughter’s alleged sexual abuser.

The case against Aaron Spencer was dismissed on Thursday after authorities lost a dash-cam memory card that may have contained footage of the October 2024 shooting that killed 67-year-old Michael Fosler.

In his dismissal, the special state circuit court judge Ralph Wilson cited “the unique, specific and particular facts and circumstances of this case”. Wilson also said he found the “conduct by law enforcement was so egregious that dismissal of this case is warranted”.

Spencer, a US army combat veteran, had been scheduled to stand trial within weeks over Fosler’s slaying on a charge of second-degree murder. Prosecutors alleged that Fosler was driving away with Spencer’s 13-year-old daughter when her father caught him and shot him to death on 8 October 2024.

Court documents show that on the night of the shooting, Spencer woke up at about 1am to find his daughter missing from her bedroom and went searching for her in his truck. He found the girl in the passenger seat of a vehicle Fosler was driving. Spencer eventually forced Fosler’s truck off the highway and, after an altercation, called 911 to report he had shot the man, records show.

Prosecutors argued that Spencer intentionally carried out the killing and argued that he could have contacted law enforcement officials during the pursuit rather than taking matters into his own hands.

Spencer entered a not guilty plea to the murder charge subsequently filed against him, maintaining that his actions were taken to protect his daughter from a predator.

His attorneys have not denied that he shot and killed Fosler.

At the time of the shooting, Fosler had been released on a $50,000 bond while facing 43 criminal charges. Those charges included sexual assault, sexual indecency with a child, possession of child abuse imagery and internet stalking of a child. Spencer’s daughter was the sole witness connected to the alleged offenses.

Spencer later said the event motivated him to seek the office of sheriff in Lonoke county, Arkansas.

He challenged the incumbent sheriff, John Staley, the official who oversaw his arrest, and defeated him in the Republican primary held in March.

Spencer is now set to face Democratic candidate Brian Mitchell Sr for the office of sheriff in the heavily Republican county in November. He said in a statement that his message of accountability resonated with voters in the primary.

“The people of Lonoke county stood up and chose transparency and accountability,” Spencer said at the time. “This wasn’t a campaign about me. It was about every family who called for help and got nothing. That betrayal ends tonight.”