An Arkansas father was arrested after allegedly shooting and killing a 67-year-old man accused of stalking and assaulting his teenage daughter. Authorities say the incident unfolded shortly after the girl was reported missing on Tuesday.
According to the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office, 36-year-old Aaron Spencer called police after realizing his 14-year-old daughter was missing. Before deputies arrived at his home, Spencer reportedly found her in a vehicle with the man she had previously accused of stalking and raping her, identified as Michael Fosler.
A confrontation quickly turned deadly. Sheriff John Staley said that during the altercation, Spencer allegedly shot and killed Fosler before deputies reached the scene. This was not the family’s first encounter with the older man. Heather Spencer, the teen’s mother, said in a Facebook post that the family already had a “no contact order” against Fosler, who had been arrested in July for internet stalking of a child and sexual assault. He was released on bond shortly after.
Heather claimed her family feared Fosler might harm their daughter if he ever found her again. “Some things we will never know, but we know that the police department afforded this predator privacy they did not give our family,” she wrote. “At the end of the day, our daughter is a victim, and we have a long road of recovery for everyone.”
Authorities said neither parent knew that Fosler had resumed contact with the teenager. When Aaron Spencer confronted him, tempers flared, and the situation escalated to violence.
Deputies responding to the initial missing child report arrived to find Fosler dead. Spencer was arrested on a preliminary charge of first-degree murder and booked into the Lonoke County Detention Center. He was released the following day after posting bail.
Sheriff Staley said the charge remains preliminary and that the local district attorney will decide whether to pursue prosecution. “I absolutely do not support predators,” Staley told USA Today. “I’m a daddy. I have three daughters. I know she’s hurt right now, but there’s absolutely nobody I would put ahead of our children.”
Investigators are still determining whether Spencer’s actions were legally justified under self-defense or defense-of-others statutes. “This is a fact-finding mission,” Staley said in a Facebook video, explaining that his office must evaluate all evidence before drawing conclusions.
Heather Spencer has since organized online fundraisers to support her husband’s legal defense, calling him a protector and hero. “We are so thankful to have him home with us for now,” she wrote. “We want to do everything possible to ensure he can continue to be here to protect us.”