An Arkansas father was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of fatally shooting the stalker he allegedly found with his underage daughter after she went missing.
Aaron Spencer, 36, had reported his 14-year-old daughter missing earlier in the day, and Lonoke County Sheriff's Office deputies were dispatched to the home.
But before they arrived, Spencer found her daughter in the car with Michael Fosler, 67, and the crash turned fatal, the sheriff said.
He allegedly shot and killed Michael Vossler. Lonoke County Jail
Spencer's wife, Heather Spencer, said this was not the family's first encounter with Fosler, who was under a “no-contact order.”
The boy's mother claimed in a Facebook post that an older man had been stalking and raping her child over the summer and feared he would kill her if given the chance.
Folser was arrested by another law enforcement agency in July on charges of internet stalking and sexual assault of a child and was released on bond, Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley said. told USA Today.
Neither parent was aware that Vossler had resumed contact with her daughter.
When the girl's father spotted the alleged predator with his daughter, a violent confrontation ensued between the two men before Aaron Spencer allegedly shot and killed Fossler, the sheriff's office said. announced.
Deputies who responded to the initial call reversed course and arrested Aaron Spencer on a “preliminary suspicion” of first-degree murder. He was booked into the Lonoke County Jail and released on bond the next day.
Staley said the charges are not formal and local district attorneys can decide whether to prosecute the fathers involved.
But his wife called the sheriff's office for not handling the case carefully.
“There are things we will never know, but we do know that police gave this predator the privacy they didn't give our family, including posting their home address.” I feel very angry at the response. [sheriff’s] Office,” Heather Spencer wrote on Facebook.
“At the end of the day, our daughter was the victim and we all have a long road to recovery. We are so grateful for all the calls, messages and prayers.”
Sheriff John Staley said in a Facebook video that Aaron has not yet been formally charged.
“I absolutely do not support predators,” Staley told USA Today.
“I'm a dad. I have three daughters. I know she's hurting right now, but who would put my children before our children, their children, and my children?” Absolutely not.”
Investigators are continuing to investigate what happened leading up to the shooting. The purpose of the “fact-finding” is to determine the specific legality of the murder, he said.
Meanwhile, Heather Spencer set up Venmo and CashApp to accept donations for her husband's legal fees.
She initially started a GoFundMe, but it has since been deleted because the website's terms of service prohibit fundraisers from raising money for the legal defense of people accused of violent crimes. Ta.
“My husband is a hero and I'm so grateful he's home right now. We're doing everything we can to make sure he stays here to protect us. I want to,” Heather Spencer wrote in a Facebook post.
