Murder charge dropped for Arkansas sheriff nominee who killed daughter’s alleged abuser
A judge dismisses murder charges against an Arkansas man who won GOP nomination on behalf of the sheriff while awaiting trial for the shooting death of the man who allegedly molested his teenage daughter.
Special Circuit Court Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. dismissed the case against him Aaron Spencer He died Thursday afternoon — just weeks before his trial on a second-degree murder charge was set to begin — because the dashcam memory card that may have recorded the shooting was lost to law enforcement.
In March, Spencer won the GOP nomination over the three-term incumbent sheriff, whose office arrested him on murder charges in predominantly Republican Lonoke County, which has about 76,000 residents.
“The court finds that law enforcement conduct was so egregious that this case warrants dismissal,” Wilson wrote.
Spencer’s attorneys did not deny that he shot and killed 67-year-old Michael Fosler in 2024. At the time, Fosler was out on bail after being accused of dozens of sex crimes against Spencer’s then-13-year-old daughter.
Court documents show that on the night of the shooting, Spencer woke up to find her daughter missing and later found her in the passenger seat of the vehicle Fosler was driving. Spencer forced Fosler’s truck off the road and, after an argument, called 911 to report that he had shot the man.
Prosecutors said Spencer planned the murder and may have called police while following Fosler. However, Spencer pleaded not guilty and claimed that he acted to protect his child from a predator.
Spencer’s attorney, Erin Cassinelli, said she was grateful for the court’s decision.
“No member of this family should ever be forced to walk into a courtroom again and relive this horror,” he said in a statement. “This father should never have been blamed for protecting his child.”
Lonoke County Prosecutor Chuck Graham did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on the decision Thursday.
The Associated Press does not generally identify victims of sexual abuse, but Spencer has made his daughter’s experience in the criminal justice system a central part of his campaign for sheriff, pledging to create a special team to combat child sex crimes.
Spencer’s attorneys filed the motion to dismiss the case, arguing that video and audio from the dashcam in Fosler’s truck may contain evidence that would exonerate Spencer of any wrongdoing. A detective with the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office pulled out the truck’s dashcam while responding to the scene, according to court records.
However, the camera’s internal settings were not preserved and the camera’s battery was allowed to drain, resulting in the camera reverting to its default settings. When the camera was sent to the prosecutor’s office for forensic examination, it was seen that the memory card that was inside it when taken from the truck was missing. The detective who collected the camera later admitted that it was not immediately entered into evidence but was instead stored in his personal office rather than in the evidence room, according to court records.
Wilson replaced the original judge presiding over the murder case in January after the Arkansas Supreme Court removed Judge Barbara Elmore from the case for issuing an overly broad gag order that violated Spencer’s First Amendment rights.
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Boone reported from Boise, Idaho. Associated Press reporter Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.
