Aaron Spencer ////// 899 | Forensic Files

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[music] >> When someone wounds a person you care about, it hits you in a place deeper
than anger. It's a kind of quiet shaking fury mixed with helplessness because the pain isn't just yours. And
you wish that you could have protected them. You wish that you could rewind time and stand between them and whatever
caused the harm. When trouble shows up on your doorstep, it rarely knocks politely. It comes in
sideways in a sudden silence in the way that the air shifts before you even understand what's happening.
There's a moment where the world feels smaller, like the walls are caving in, and you're left deciding whether to
embrace yourself or push back. But even in that first jolt, there's a steadiness that rises from somewhere
deep. The part of you that knows you've weathered storms before. Trouble may arrive uninvited, but so
does resolve. And it has a way of standing right beside you when you need it most.
This is True Crime Garage, and this is the case of Aaron Spencer. [music] >> [music]
[music] >> This week we are heading down to Lone Oak, spelled like Lenoke, but I believe
it is pronounced like Lone Oak. This is Lone Oak County located in central Arkansas. A little over 75,000
people are living and working there. The county seat is Lone Oak and the largest
city is Kabat. We will also be talking about Carile, Arkansas. Kat, Lone Oak, and Carile are all extensions of the
greater Little Rock area for those of you outside of the state of Arkansas. Cabbat is up route 57. Lone Oak and
Carile are out Route 40. Lone Oak is an alcohol prohibited or dry county. So, the fine folks of Lone Oak County might
not be joining us for a beer or two of the week here today, Captain. But whether or not any of those fine folks
want to join us to raise a glass and bend an elbow in the privacy of their garage, that's up to them. But one thing
that I know that we will be doing that they will be doing I should say in 2026 is voting for the sheriff election which
will take place in November of this year with the primary sheriff's election taking place in March. So that would be
March 3rd, 2026 to be exact. Now, of course, we do not live in Arkansas, and thus we do not have a dog in the fight,
nor would we ever be here to try to sway you one way or the other, but we couldn't help but notice that this is a
rather unusual sheriff's election. The Democrat running is already determined, but we have three candidates to
represent the Republican party in November. So, in March, we have the incumbent, the current and standing
sheriff. His name is John Staley, who is running for reelection. Staley was elected sheriff in 2012 and started his
first term back in January 1st of 2013. He says it is an honor serving the citizens of Lone Oak County as their
sheriff. Staley is married with three daughters. Also running as the potential Republican representative is David
Buffford who has 30 years of law enforcement experience. And then we have Aaron Spencer who is a proud Airborne
veteran and he and his wife of several years are raising their two children in Lone Oak County. However, there is a
major twist here. An might Shyamalan sized twist. One of these candidates may be forced to drop out of the election as
he faces murder charges, >> seconddegree murder charges. >> This week's true crime case research
starts at the beginning of our timeline, but runs up until and then through today. actually as next week on Monday,
January 26th, Aaron Spencer, Sheriff candidate, will step foot in the Lone Oak County
Courthouse for a jury trial where he is accused of and charged with murder. County prosecutors say that Aaron
Spencer is guilty of seconddegree murder, just like the captain said, with an additional gun charge. Spencer's
defense attorneys say that the charges are absurd and that Aaron Spencer was simply protecting his family. I'm sure
that many of the residents of Lone Oak are happy that they will not have to sit on this jury as some believe Aaron
Spencer to be guilty of all charges and at the same time many wondering why Spencer was even charged at all in the
first place. County Sheriff candidate Aaron Spencer is currently facing a charge of secondderee murder from an
October 2024 shooting death of a local man. His trial is scheduled to begin in January of
2026. And under Arkansas law, in fact, I would hope this would be the law everywhere here, Captain. A conviction
would disqualify him from holding public office. It would also send him to prison. Now, this case has gained
national attention as Aaron Spencer argues his actions were a justified defense of his daughter. Yeah, but if it
was me running, if I was Aaron, I'd say, "Hey, look, vote me in." And even if I get convicted, that just means I'll have
more time on my hands to devote to the citizens of this county. >> He may end up with a lot of time on his
hands. And we talked about people having an opinion on this case, especially the
good folks down there in Lono County. But as of December of last year of 2025, this case has prompted more than
195,000 people to sign a petition calling for Aaron Spencer to be absolved of all charges. Quickly here, let's
introduce some of the folks at the center of this story. Aaron Spencer of Carile, Arkansas is 37 years old. He is
a proud combat veteran. Aaron served in the 82nd Airborne Division. Thank you to
all of our amazing men and women serving this country, past and present. He is also a contractor and farmer and a
devoted husband and father who has spent his life serving others. He says that he
grew up with the values that still guide him today like faith, hard work, respect
for the law, and a love of country. He joined the military to defend those values and carries the same courage and
commitment into every part of his life after service. Aaron and his wife Heather. So she's an Arkansas native
from Kabat. They've been married for 20 years. They're raising their two children in Lono County. Their family is
grounded in traditional values. They say honesty, integrity, and responsibility to the community. Now that we've
introduced you to the Spencer family, we are going to go back and kick off our timeline for this week's true crime
story, let's start it off July of 2024 here, Captain. And I will summarize what went down in July as there was a lot of
activity pertaining to this case. So Aaron and Heather Spencer are raising their kids. At that time, one of their
children is a 13-year-old daughter. She's being homeschooled. Part of this was due to the fact that
she was helping out. So the the entire family was taking care of a dying grandfather.
she was able to take a break and spend some time with friends that the Spencers say were air quotes like family. And so
she's going to be spending time with friends and the friends parents. These are people that the Spencers trusted.
This is where their daughter met a man named Michael Fostler, 67 years old. He is the boyfriend of a family friend and
through meeting him at some point he starts grooming her via text messages. And it's believed that this started in
April of 2024. >> Like you said, he's 67, she's 13. In July of 2024, her parents, the Spencers, were informed
by a family member that their then 13-year-old daughter, who's now 14, had confided that she had been raped.
And immediately they sit down and they talk with their child asking what happened.
And the little girl explained that this man who was a stranger to the Spencer family had assaulted her multiple times.
This is going to set off a crazy [snorts] domino effect. Okay. So, they sit down with their daughter. They learn
this horrific [clears throat] accusations that their daughter, she says, was violated, was raped, assaulted multiple
times by the 67 year old man. So, dad puts on his cape. July 8th, 2024, he goes to an acquaintance. So, he goes and
he finds somebody who knows this Michael Fostler and he's asking for Fosler's contact information and he informs the
person, hey, informs them of the alleged rape and assaults that took place on his
minor daughter. So Aaron asks this person, "Hey, I want his contact information. Don't
call the cops." In a bit of a roundabout way here, Captain the the acquaintance does inform the police. So law
enforcement went to Aaron Spencer's home to speak with him. This is when his daughter reports the assaults to the
Lone Oak County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's office begins a rape investigation. During this encounter,
right, when the the law enforcement are there at the Spencer home, they recorded
on body camera footage their interaction with the Spencer family. And in this interaction, on camera footage, a deputy
warned Aaron Spencer, quote, not to take the law into your own hands. End quote.
Okay. So, let's expand on this portion right here, Cappy, for context purposes. So, on this day, we have two Lono County
Sheriff's officers that are visiting the Spencer's home to figure out what's going on. A transcript of that
conversation, which was recorded by one of the officers body worn cameras, is in
the state filings for this case. And according to that transcript, Spencer, Aaron Spencer asked the officers,
"What's going to happen to that man when you arrest him and prosecute him?" And he says, "3 to five, question mark.
What? He's just rolling around cruising and grooming." Spencer then asked one of the officers
how he would feel if the same thing were to happen to his child, >> right? to which that officer responded
that something similar had happened. >> It's a very difficult situation because you obviously want to protect your
daughter, you want to protect your family, but you need to let law enforcement do their job. And these
situations are very difficult. I actually reach out to a detective friend of mine and he was saying that they'll
actually do multiple interviews sometimes with different officers with the victim because one of the things
that law enforcement has to figure out is how truthful is this kid being because kids could be making up a story
or the parents are feeding the kid a story to give to law enforcement. So, one of the things that law enforcement
has to do is to figure out, okay, if we interview them multiple times, is the overall story lining up every time?
>> Yes. And we usually don't get in the habit of throwing out warnings or trigger warnings or any of that. It's a
true crime show. You know what you signed up for, but there's >> the victim's a kid, you know.
>> Yeah. There's there's this is a sensitive complex situation and there's also some language that will be used in
this episode off of going off of statements that have been made and we're not going to shy away from that
language. So Aaron Spencer when he's talking to the officers now he wants to know right what happened to the the the
person the offender that did something similar to one of your kids >> right >> and he's told hey look that person was
arrested charged convicted he's now sitting in prison that man responsible for that crime we don't know the
particulars of it that man is in prison according to this officer to this Aaron Spencer's response is look that he
believes that that pedophile, that offender that they were just talking about sitting in prison and other child
abusers still pose a danger to society even when incarcerated. Adding quote, "He's going to get back
out, isn't he? He's going to go around and [ __ ] more kids." Okay. When an officer told Spencer, "We still don't
live in a country where you can take law into your own hands," >> right? >> Spencer simply replied,
"Bullshit." >> One of my problems with these pedophiles praying on children is I think you can
make an argument whether they're tricking or coercing or physically moving the child to a location. I I
believe you could tack on a kidnapping charge and and I think if >> I think so >> I think if we did that more often in
these cases, you're not looking at three to five. And I'm not saying that law enforcement should reassure Aaron
Spencer of this, the father of the victim, but depending on where they get put in prison and depending on if
they're found out by other inmates, that 3 to 5 years can be a torturous hell. By
the end of this conversation, or at least where this transcript ends, it appears here that Aaron Spencer has
calmed down, right? We can hear that he's he's agitated, a bit aggressive, but at some point he seems to calm down.
The officers reminding him that taking matters into his own hands will only ruin his daughter's life, potentially
even more. He says, "So, what can we do then? Can you guys go get him? Can you put him in prison?" What
they do is Spencer's daughter, Aaron Spencer's daughter, was interviewed at the Wade Knox Children's Advocacy Center
that same day. And the Lone Oak Sheriff's Department started their investigation
on July 11th, 2024. That man, Michael Fostler, age 67, was arrested and charged, listen to this, 43
counts. >> Yeah. >> Arrested and charged with 43 counts, including sexual assault of a minor and
internet stalking. So, the official offense date was listed as June 1st, 2024. And all of the counts are as
follows. Internet stalking of a child, which is in Arkansas a class B felony, two counts. Sexual assault, fourthderee,
class D, two counts. Sexual indecency with a child, two counts. Electronic facilitation of child sexual abuse, two
counts. Also several counts of pandering or possessing medium depicting sexual conduct with a child. Michael Fosler
arrested charged 43 counts. He's out on bond 6 days later on July 17th. So Fostler was released on a $50,000 bond,
which means $5,000 paid. According to the USA Today, the family had a no the the family being the Spencer family had
a no contact order in place with Fosler, accusing him of stalking and raping their daughter over the summer. I've
also seen some reports that state that he was issued a no contact order with a minor. So it could mean any minor, any
child at all. >> Yeah. So not only was he ordered not to contact the victim, not to contact any
children, but he was also ordered to stay away from the Spencer family, the entirety of the family. And this is
where I think most of us would think that outside of Michael Fostler waiting for a trial, standing trial, potentially
getting convicted, and then going away to prison, this is where most of us, I think, would believe that this story
would end. But it's far from over. It's far from [music] >> [music] >> This show is sponsored by Better Help. I
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All right, we are back. Cheers, [music] mates. Tall can hands in the air. >> Talk hands in the air. In fact, indeed,
my friend. Indeed. A little less than 3 months after Michael Fostler was arrested and then
let out on bond, we get this next major portion, the biggest portion in our timeline here of this week's true crime
story. And this takes place, Captain, on October 8th, 2024. So, at approximately 1:00 a.m. in the
morning, Aaron Spencer says that he is awakened by his dog barking. So, he's up. He goes, decides to go to his
daughter's room to check on her. Now, mind you, we had mentioned that the Spencers have two children. It's my
understanding that their 13-year-old daughter is the youngest of the two and the the older child is an adult or out
of the house by by the time of this marker on our timeline here. So, Aaron Spencer, father, dad, dog barking, wants
to get up, checks the house. He decides to go into his daughter's room to check on her. And this is when he realizes
that 1:00 a.m. in the morning, my god, my daughter is gone. He says that he found a hoodie placed over top of a
stuffed animal which was placed in the bed. Ferris Beller type decoy, right? As a result, Aaron left.
>> Wait, hold on. In Ferris Beller, it was a mannequin. They always say >> it's never a mannequin.
>> They say it's never a man mannequin, but hey, Ferris Bueller's day off. Guess
what? It's a mannequin. >> Yeah. So Aaron decides he he looks through the house, no daughter, and he
is going to jump into dad mode and he is going to get in his truck and go looking for his daughter. Now, we
should so also mention that his wife is up at this time. She's looking through the home. He goes off in his truck to
begin a frantic search for his missing daughter. At 1:12 a.m., Heather Spencer, the mom, called 911 to report the teen
girl missing. Meanwhile, Aaron Spencer spots Michael Fostler's truck on Highway 236.
His daughter's inside that truck as well. Aaron Spencer sees Michael Fostler's white Ford F-150
turn onto Highway 236 east. So he turned around and chased after Fosler's truck.
>> And before we go too much further, whether he came into the house or convinced her to come out, it's
kidnapping. Period. There is a crime taking place. So now dad is chasing after the offender and the daughter who are in
his in that Ford F-150 and he chases Fosler's vehicle, follows him for around six miles. All the while
we have Aaron Spencer who he's flashing his lights, he's honking his horn, he's doing everything to try to tell Fosler
with his vehicle to pull over. So then the two vehicles arrived at the intersection of highways 236 east and 13
north. And this is when Spencer just rammed his truck into the rear of Fosler's truck, sending the Ford F-150
into a ditch and striking a wooden entry gate post. So he hits the back of this truck and slams it into this wooden gate
post. So you can picture this. Fosler's truck is now up against this gate post and it's it's not going anywhere.
So Spencer then says that he exited his vehicle with a firearm in hand and ordered Michael Fostler out of his
vehicle and telling him to lay down in the ditch. Aaron later stated that he observed his daughter trying to exit the
passenger side of the vehicle, but he said it appeared to him that Michael Fostler had grabbed her, preventing her
from getting out of the vehicle. >> Yeah, cuz I've heard this reported multiple ways. And and one of the ways
I've heard it or the the story told was when Spencer gets out of his truck, he's
ordering his daughter, hey, get out of the truck. Get out of the truck. and she can't or won't. We don't. That's, you
know, again, we we only have really two people's side of the story. But either way, then it turns into him ordering out
the the pedophile. Aaron Spencer then says that Michael Fosler exited his vehicle and had something in his hand,
but Spencer did not know what it was. Aaron Spencer stated that Michael Fosler then lunged towards him, saying, "Fuck
you." Spencer stated that he then opened fire on Fostler, emptying his weapon before jumping on top of Fostler and
pistol whipping him. >> Yeah, he shot him a lot. >> Yes. Aaron Spencer then stated that he
got his daughter out of the vehicle and returned to his truck where he reloaded his weapon. Now, we also know that at
1:34 a.m. 911 dispatch got another call. This call is from Aaron Spencer, who said he had located the quote man who
kidnapped his daughter end quote and his daughter, but that Michael Fostler was quote dead on the side of the road and
that he had no choice. According to the police report, Spencer shot Fosler in the chest, arms, and abdomen with a
Glock 19 generation 4 pistol. And like the captain said, Spencer fired 16 shots, hitting Fosler
15 times. >> Yeah, that dude is dead. The report does not say how many times each body part
was hit. Though a standard magazine for a Glock 19 holds 15 rounds, but if you chamber one, you've got 16 rounds.
>> Right. >> Regarding the pistol whipping of Michael Fosler. The report notes that there was
blood on the outside of the weapon when the police recovered it. Michael Fostler
died at the scene. USA Today reported that the child's mother had thought this time Fostler might be trying to kill her
daughter because he was facing six to nine felonies and her daughter was the only witness to those crimes.
Yeah, think about this. If he is successful in kidnapping her and then he ends up killing her and they can't pin
that charge on him while all those other charges then go away. >> Yes. And regardless of, you know, three
to five or how they would structure the sentencing for those charges, 43 counts,
they'd probably reduce the number of counts at some point. But being 67 years old, it's not entirely out of the realm
of possibility that he would spend the rest of his life in prison. That's one thing that I think we should be keeping
in mind. Now, of course, Aaron Spencer is going to be arrested on a preliminary charge of firstdegree murder. He too was
released on bail. This was the following day, November 27th, 2024. Aaron Spencer was
formally charged with seconddegree murder with a firearm enhancement charge. >> Yeah. And just to stop here for a
second, if I'm law enforcement, even with this 911 call, even if I agree with what Aaron Spencer did, even if I think
that it's within his rights, because you can look at it two ways. One, you could
argue self-defense, but you can also argue basically protecting another individual. And so I could see law
enforcement eventually not charging him with anything. But the initial step is, hey, let's let's just arrest him. Let's
get him in here. Let's go over some of the evidence. Let's go over let's interview him and and let's see what and
let's try to get all the details that we can of what happened. >> Yeah, this is such a difficult one here,
right, Captain? Because you on one hand you can say you I mean he shot him 15 times. He
fired the gun 16 hit him 15. >> Pistolh whipped him after he shot him 15 times. So you can easily say all right
uh firstdegree murder or minimum seconddegree murder and this guy's caught red-handed.
Then on the other side of that argument, you could say, "No, this is self-defense."
What's in the middle of both of those arguments to me is the fact that my 13-year-old daughter is in that guy's
truck at the middle of the night. And oh, by the way, that guy is also the same guy that she told me had sexually
assaulted her. and she told the Lone Oak Sheriff's Department that he sexually assaulted her as well.
>> Yeah. And he's 67 years old. This is not his first pedophile rodeo. And also, we
have to look at statistics, right? And I tried to look this up to get more accurate numbers, but roughly
studies show 70 to 80% when a a child is abducted, 70 to 80% will die within the
first 3 hours. The moment she's in his truck, statistically, it's a ticking time bomb.
>> The prosecutors charged Spencer with seconddegree murder. And as we mentioned, the felony addition with the
firearm that same day. So when he's charged that same day in November, his attorneys, this is Aaron Cassinelli and
Michael Kaiser, they issued a statement calling Spencer a decorated war hero who
protected his country and a loving father whose heroic actions protected his family. They said Fostler repeatedly
violated his child and kidnapped her in the dark of night to continue his assaults on her. The statement
criticized prosecutors for bringing charges against Spencer at all. Accused prosecutors of perpetuating these [ __ ]
instead of protecting legitimate victims and punishing true criminal offenders. Then in December on the 4th in 2024, the
state filed a motion for a gag order alleging that Spencer's arrest had garnered media coverage throughout the
state and nation and that it was necessary for a gag order to be in place and the order was eventually granted.
Spencer did file a detailed response in opposition for the gag order. He argued that granting the motion for a gag order
would violate his due process rights to a fair and public trial pursuant to the sixth and 14th amendments as well as his
first amendment right to speak pursuant to both the Arkansas and the United States Constitutions.
Spencer requested that a hearing on the state's motion be held in open court. Okay. So eventually this is going to
lead to May 29th of the following year. Last year, 2025, the high court struck down that gag order. They vacated the
gag order in the case, allowing for more public discussion of the facts of the case. On June 14th, 2025, Heather
Spencer, Aaron's wife, shared a lengthy post on Facebook detailing the months leading up to the shooting, the death of
Michael Fostler. In this post, she says their daughter, then 13, was groomed and
assaulted by Fosler, who was released on a low bond despite pending felony charges and a no contact order. It has
been a hard eight months, she says, silently fighting battles where we were unprepared for. In those early days, we
had a 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 quote 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 daughter via text. In July of 2024, we were informed by a family member that our now
14-year-old child had confided that she had been raped. Immediately we asked her
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 charge and a no contact order would be enough to keep him away
from our child. We were wrong. >> Well, and wasn't he making contact with her before he kidnapped her?
>> Yes. and she explains that in the latter part of this post. So she says, "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. And this goes to a lot of what you were saying, and I'm I'm glad that you cited
the statistics here because that's something we've referenced in other cases when we have a missing child. She
goes on to say, "Immediately all the lights in the house were on. We were calling for her inside the house, 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. This is what you were referencing here, and I I don't know the
particulars of this, but it's certainly a connection. So, she says, "My sister-in-law then sent us a picture of
a cash app payment for Door Dash from the Predator to our daughter and niece." and that that payment, that receipt
would have been from a day or two prior to her going missing. So she says, "In that moment, we realize 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." So she mentions Michael Fosler in the 911
call. Says, "As I'm speaking, I'm realizing that if he does have her, I'll probably never see her again." She
posts, "Statistics and horror stories raced 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 Marys.
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 $150,000
bond. going through yet another assault exam. This is this part is this part is rough right here.
>> It's all pretty rough so far, man. >> It's it it's all it's all very rough. But this one like like this one like I
don't know. It burned a hole in my mind when I the first time I read it. >> Mhm.
>> Going through yet another assault exam with my child at the hospital. I could
one I couldn't imagine being in that scenario ever at all. Right. >> She's going through a rape exam at the
hospital with her child and she says, "While trying to find a lawyer for my husband at the same time was a
nightmare. Navigating criminal charges while also being fully traumatized by the events of that night was 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." She goes on to say, "We were no longer able to share our story." So, she's she
was referencing the gag order. Uh she says, "At arraignment, they decided to charge my husband with murder, too, 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 allowed to share our story and we were forced to suffer the injustice 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. >> Yeah. It's almost like the system knows
that charging him with anything is going to be questionable. So, let's put a gag
order on so nobody can question us and maybe it'll just go away. There won't be public pressure and we can charge this
guy and put him in in prison. >> And then the last paragraph of her post, Captain says, "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. A
>> lot of weird [ __ ] happens in Arkansas. But think about this, too. Let's say he
did go into the house to kidnap her and he was spotted by the father and then the father shot him. Would we still
charge the father with seconddegree murder? >> That's an interesting thing to ponder.
That that's an interesting part of it. The the other part of it, too, is I I think what's not being said here wasn't
said in her lengthy post, but anyway, but it and the post I thought was was well put together. I very well said.
>> Brilliant. >> I think I think I think mom did the right thing. I think that that that
tells her side of the story and also tells the public some of the things that she went through internally and some of
the things that her family went through internally that wasn't so obvious to the
rest of us. But the part of this that makes this criminal, right? Not just criminal, but extremely dangerous.
There's there's every reason to believe that this man would have went to extreme
lengths to do something. Kidnap the girl, assault her again, kill her. We don't know. I say we should have every
reason to believe that he would have done something extreme because just by way of the no contact order, he
shouldn't have gone anywhere near their home. He shouldn't have gone anywhere near that girl. Whether he stepped foot
in their home or not, he shouldn't have been anywhere near that girl. >> And we have proof he was making contact
before this. And to break that no contact order while still facing 43 charges tells me that's an indicator to me that
he might be willing to do something extreme because that act in itself is extreme.
>> I absolutely agree with you and I absolutely agree with the the parents in the sense of like that's the first thing
that would be going through your head. This guy was ordered to stay away. He has 43 charges pending against him. And
then he stole our daughter. He kidnapped our daughter. There is a crime in progress. And I just don't get it. It's
like if there was an elderly lady walking down the street and some thug jumped out and started attacking her and
a good [clears throat] Samaritan ran out and grabbed the guy and pulled pulled the attacker off the elderly woman and
threw him to the ground. and in the process that guy hit his head and died. Well, we wouldn't charge that individual
cuz one, he was protecting somebody else and it's cause and effect. This guy would ne he would have never stepped in
if this thug didn't attack the elderly woman. >> This one's a very difficult one for me
to have have a very very strong opinion one way or another. I don't see anything
wrong personally with what Aaron Spencer did. those statistics that you cited and
that I then echoed. The other part of this too is we and we've reviewed cases like this in the garage before as as
outside of the box as this one might feel like on the surface. No, we've told you stories before, true
crime stories of child or young adult accuses someone of of an offense or of a sexual assault
or rape. Child or young adult disappears in the middle of the night, never found,
never seen again. The police find the stuffed animal with the hoodie on top of it and go, "Oh, she ran away. Something
must have been going on at home that she wanted to get away from or or the kid was just a problem and she ran away and
there now there's nothing we can do and oh we have to drop the charges against this man because he can no longer face
his accuser in the court of law. So 2 to 3 hours potentially from being dead and buried
and maybe never found again if dad doesn't step out into the night and get in his truck and go looking. Now
Heather, the wife did set up a GoFundMe to pay for her husband's legal fees, but
this was removed. The money was returned to the donors. It was receiving donations, but it was returned to the
donors as GoFundMe does not allow fundraisers to raise money for the legal defense of anyone formally charged with
an alleged violent crime. >> Right. >> In October of 2025, Aaron Spencer announced his candidacy for Lone Oak
County Sheriff, campaigning on the message that the the current system had failed to protect his family. So
according to reports when he launched his com campaign on October 10th he announced that he is running for Lone
Oak County Sheriff as the head of the agency that that arrested him the previous October. Spencer described
himself as the father who acted to protect his daughter when the system failed him and a husband, a combat
veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division, a contractor and a farmer. He said he has
seen firsthand the failures in law enforcement and in our circuit court. And he said he could no longer sit by
silently. He says, quote, "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 they will not be left
alone in a moment of need. But I think you >> following that announcement, >> but I even think you can go a step
further in that. You need a community that feels safe if a threat if they feel like they're in immediate threat that
they feel safe and confident that they're able to protect themselves. And if there is a crime happening to
somebody else that they they feel safe and stopping that crime or helping that individual, you have to have a community
that is okay with that that that they have some kind of understanding. And law enforcement again, you don't want the
public taking the law into their own hands. You but you have to have the right to self-protect. You have to have
the right to protect somebody else if they're in immediate danger. >> Following that announcement, Sheriff
John Staley with the Lone Oak County Sheriff's Office shared the following statement. I will be seeking reelection
to continue being our Lone Oak County Sheriff. Since 2013, I have served as sheriff of Lone Oak County with a clear
mission to protect our citizens and hold those who break the law accountable. From day one, our focus has been on
three major threats to our communities. Drug traffickers, sexual predators, and thieves. We've made significant
progress, and we will continue to work tirelessly to keep Lone Oak County safe and ensure justice is served fairly and
consistently for everyone. My motto has been and will continue to be, do what's right, not what's easy. Doing what's
right isn't always popular. There were some pre-trial hearings that took place in middle of December 2025.
The pre-trial hearings were held where the judge ruled that the body camera footage and Spencer's statements from
July 2024 would be admissible as evidence. So remember that's when he's talking to the officers when they first
are notifying Lone Oak County Sheriff's Department about the assaults, >> right?
>> His comments about, hey, like this isn't good enough or, you know, so that body
cam footage will be part of the January trial. And also during the pre-trial hearing on
this murder case, Aaron Spencer's defense team withdrew a motion that sought to exclude
a glass smoking device found in a police cruiser after his arrest. The specific reasons for initially filing the motion
to exclude the evidence or the reasons for its subsequent withdrawal were not detailed in the available reports. Some
other pre-trial hearings addressed several other pieces of evidence, including cell phone data.
The judge ruled that the FBI agent could testify about cell site location data from Spencer's phone. This
one's interesting. No one's dis No one's disputing where Aaron Spencer was when he pulled the trigger and killed Michael
Fostler. >> Right. >> Right. That's not part of the trial. Nobody's denying that Spencer killed
Fosler. It's just was it in self-defense and protecting his family or was it an unlawful killing of another person.
That's the the argument. Nobody's arguing that that he killed him and nobody's arguing where he was when that
murder took or nobody's arguing where he was when >> he was right in front of the pedophile
pulling the freaking trigger. And and I'm not trying to correct you cuz I think you said it correctly, but I want
to want everybody to be clear on this. Especially in Arkansas, you have the right to protect yourself and you have
the right to protect somebody else. So there's two ways that they could go as far as trying to defend this. But
again, it's cause and effect. This pedophile would not be dead if he didn't go and break orders and kidnap a
child. And it's pretty pathetic that all we're going to charge these pedophiles with is a couple years. And I
understand that we have, you know, there's some sense that these sickos get what's coming to them in prison, but
that doesn't always happen. Part of that though too, we we got to be clear about
something is there is a sentencing process and just because a couple of law enforcement officers and a army veteran,
a airborne veteran are discussing what the penalty will be doesn't mean that is what the penalty will be. Right? When
we're sitting when they're sitting around spitballing and saying 3 to five, it doesn't necessarily mean that it
would be 3 to five. It it could be more. >> It could be zero. It could be zero. It
could be it could be 20 years. We we you know that that is not for us to say. There is a there are court proceedings a
trial that would take place. They would determine if he's guilty or not. And if he is determined to be guilty, found to
be guilty, then it will be up to the judge or the jury or whatever the scenario is to determine what the
appropriate sentence is based off of those charges. But that's also why they stack so many charges because there's
normally some kind of deal because they don't want to put the child victim through more trauma. It
>> it's it's too difficult to say. I mean, it goes we've seen it go the pendulum
swings wide in both directions, my friend. Unfortunately. Unfortunately. >> Yeah. But whether it happens to a child
or whether it happens to adult, I just think the there needs to be stricter penalties and stricter
sentences of we have to do something to deter these sick individuals. >> 100 I 100% agree. Um but again,
unfortunately, we've seen both sides of that. We've seen people serve six months. We've seen people get life
sentences for for rape, for sexual assaults. Um, >> the other portion of the pre-trial
hearings that included some evidence or not included evidence is dash camera memory card. A dash camera memory card
was in question. So, arguments were heard over the loss or destruction because they don't know what happened to
it. a memory card from a dash camera and how that could affect the case. So, it would be the dash camera of the
responding officers to the shooting site. Nobody can seem to find it. They don't know if Look, it would be protocol
for it the camera to have a memory card to be up and running and then that would
have been filmed would have been recorded. you pro you would have been able to hear conversations on there,
statements, verbal statements on there, but that doesn't exist today to go to court when Aaron Spencer faces his
trial. >> Well, in fairness to law enforcement, those little cards are tiny. >> Yeah, but this is where things get so
damn dicey with this case. You could, the reason why this is part of the pre-trial hearing is because you can't
have a jury here that, oh, this card may have gone missing on purpose to benefit Aaron Spencer. Maybe he said
and did some things at the scene that are going to make it look like he's guilty of more than just protecting his
family. The part of that that gets so dicey is if someone in law enforcement went out of their way to risk their own
neck to protect him by destroying or losing this memory card if it did exist and if it was up and running at the
time. But then this is the same outfit that is charging him arresting him for murder.
>> Well, they arrested him, but isn't it up to the prosecution if they follow through with the
>> Correct. But Correct. But it's it's hand and glove. It's I mean it's >> it's the same thing. So th this case we
wanted to spotlight this case for obvious reasons. I don't think we need to sit here and justify us covering this
case. This is a case that is going to get you riled up if there are people out there that believe that that Aaron
Spencer should be facing a trial. And I can look I can side with some of that argument. There are other people that
say he shouldn't have ever been charged at all. I think I think personally what I do not mind happening I I don't
love that he was charged. I I I but I'm not going to die on that hill. I I'm I'm fine with this getting sorted
out by in the courts. Well, that's my speculation on the prosecution that my big issue with it is what whatever state
you live in and whatever country you live in, I don't want to live in one that I don't that I don't have the right
to protect myself and I don't have the right to stop a crime that's happening right in front of me, especially one
that is happening to my child, especially when that child is already a victim of this individual.
We need to have that, right? And and you can there you can make so many analogies. Somebody bust into your house
and maybe they're just going in there to rob you, but you don't know that at the
time. You should have the right and you should feel confident and safe that if you protect yourself and something
happens to this individual, well, guess what? That's their fault. that it's this pedophile's fault that he
kidnapped this girl. >> Absolutely. >> And and the father stopped the crime from happening and he wasn't being a
vigilante. A vigilante would have said you you charged him with 43 counts and then you let him out on bond and on his
way out of prison I kill him or I track him down at his house and I kill him. Aaron Spencer did not put himself into
this situation. That pedophile did. And And I just don't I don't want to live in
a state. I don't want to live in a country that that's not okay. That you can't protect yourself or your family
member or even somebody you don't even know when a crime is taking place. Again, we we say it all the time on the
show. last week were saying if you know something, it's your duty as a human to say something. If you recognize this
individual in the Lane Bryant murders that killed five innocent people and almost killed a six, if you recognize
this piece of [ __ ] it is your obligation as a good human to come forward, tell law enforcement, and if
you don't, guess what? You're a piece of [ __ ] And before we dove into this case,
I I heard, you know, some rumblings about it, but I just thought it was a situation where his daughter was a
victim. They they charged the individual. They're awaiting trial and then this guy
went out and hunted this guy down. That's just what I assumed before we looked into it. So going in, I was I had
some confliction where I'm like, well, I understand what he did and why he did it. And then you question that in
yourself. Would I do something like that? Would I would I hunt down the pedophile that raped my daughter? But
that's not what happened. And and and the more I looked into it, the more I was like, I'm not on the
fence about any of this. And I don't understand why the prosecution is charging him. Like I said, I
understand you arrest him, you bring him in for questioning, and you look at the
evidence, but however you stack it, he's either in his rights as self-defense or in the
defense of somebody else. And it's not just somebody else. It's his 14-year-old daughter that was raped by this piece of
[ __ ] And again, go back to the statistics. If he doesn't find that truck, are we
telling a different true crime story today? I think so. >> Where I want to be clear here. I'm not
sitting on any fence. >> No. No. And I'm not saying that you are. where I think people get where I think
people get motivated for a prosecution here is the it boils down to the facts of the case, right? So, one portion of
the facts of the case is that in July, Aaron Spencer goes to a person to obtain this man's contact information, his his
address, and in some reports state his phone number as well. And every report says the same that he told this person
that he was seeking that information from, "Do not call the cops." That is implying that that this man probably was
going to take take justice into his own hands. Now, the part of that that is every dad and and every mom out there is
going to not have a huge problem with that. Okay? So, let's let's just clear that. Most
people I mean we don't even have to put it in the category of parent or non-parent.
>> Most people would be okay with that. >> The issue there then becomes >> this man technically is innocent by our
system by our society is innocent until proven guilty and therefore going after him does not allow that to play out. You
could be harming, killing a man who may in fact not be guilty of what someone has
accused him of. >> Absolutely. >> I think that some people have a problem with Aaron Spencer's later actions based
off of Yes, that that conversation took place. Yes, police told him you can't take matters into your own hands. But
where you should pump the brakes and stop having a problem with it is exactly to what the captain is saying. Several
months went by and he didn't do that. He He could have gone >> Yeah. >> and done something. He didn't. It was
only when his daughter was found and located in the middle of the night in the passenger seat of that offender's
vehicle that he had to defend his family. >> Well, and think about this. Let's say
there was no 43 charges. Let's say this 67year-old never existed in the Spencer's family's
life until that night. kidnapped a child, 70 to 80% of them will be dead within three hours.
So you can go there's a crime taking place, a kidnapping, possibly attempted murder,
possibly a rape. You should have the right to protect that individual from not becoming another statistic.
One of the biggest defense is what you just said. There was three months. You were ordered
to not make contact with this child. You were ordered to not make contact with this family.
And you did. And you broke the law. And that and that's why you ended up dead. The trial,
which will start January 26th, it's been said that it's expected to be a 5-day trial. I anticipate that it might go
lengthier than that. I think that, look, there's a lot at play here. There's a lot of things to analyze. There's a lot
of things for the jury to take into consideration. I hope that both sides are able to be fully transparent. And I
hope that the court does not handcuff either side in what they can present at court. And I think that the jury, this
is one that truly needs to be decided by members, citizens of our society, by by
peers. And I do not I I do not uh envy the position of any of the jury members here. I think that, like I said when we
started the show, I think there's probably a lot of the citizens of the county that are very happy that they
were not chosen for this jury because even though there's a lot at play here, there's a lot at
stake, there's there's a lot to analyze, there's a lot of decisions to be made, this is one that that look, what's right
and what is wrong does not always perfectly align with what is lawful. and what is criminal? And that's the
major question that hangs in the balance. [music] [music] Well, Colonel, that was uh that was a
tough episode, a doozy. >> But we want to thank everybody for joining us here in the garage. Thanks
for telling your mother. Thanks for telling your brother. Colonel, do we have any recommended reading for the
beautiful listeners? >> I'm going to give you a little bit of recommended listening that will also
play out to some recommended viewing. If you have not, we understand life gets busy. Life gets in the way. You don't
always get to enjoy the True Crime Garage every single episode. But if you have not checked it out yet, a lot of
praise, a lot of great feedback that we are receiving. Couple weeks ago, early January, first week of January, we
released two episodes. One titled Best of True Crime and the other Best of True Crime Garage 2025. In Best of True
Crime, the captain and I, we sat down and we discussed three of our favorite true crime docue series or documentaries
that came out in the 2025 calendar year. So, that will give you plenty of recommendations for recommended viewing.
And then for recommended listening, our episode, the best of true crime garage of 2025 was us sharing some of our
favorite episodes, whether it be episodes that we really enjoyed researching, piecing together, working
on together, recording for you. These were our favorite or episodes that we were most proud of of 2025, ones that
you may have missed. So, go back and check that out. It's it's it's listening on the lighter side. It's not such heavy
stuff like we were talking about here today. So, check out those two episodes of True Crime Garage and then enjoy all
those great recommendations that came along with both of those glorious episodes.
>> I had a good time. Was it good for you? Cuz it was good for me. >> I I very much enjoyed those [laughter]
episodes. >> Until next week, >> be good, be kind, and don't let it [music] Heat. Heat.
[music] [music] Real talent is defined by [music] what people can do, not where they learn to
do it. So, by stopping at the education section of a resume, [music] you might throw away the perfect hire. Skills
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Aaron Spencer ////// 899

Part 1 of 1

www.TrueCrimeGarage.com

Husband and father, Aaron Spencer is currently facing trial in Lonoke County, Arkansas, for the 2024 shooting death of 67-year-old Michael Fosler.On October 8, 2024, Spencer reported his 14-year-old daughter missing. He scoured local roads and found her in Michael Fosler’s truck. Aaron Spencer forced Fosler’s vehicle off the road and fired 16 shots, 15 of which struck Fosler, killing him.

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Brief Summary

Aaron Spencer faces murder charges after shooting a man accused of assaulting his daughter, raising complex legal and emotional issues.

Key points

Gangs of London Season 3. A new war ignites among London's crime families, bigger and darker than ever.
Aaron Spencer's Case. A sheriff candidate faces murder charges while defending his daughter.
A Father's Desperate Search. At 1:00 a.m., Aaron Spencer discovers his daughter is missing and begins a frantic search.
Confrontation with the Kidnapper. Aaron Spencer finds his daughter in Michael Fostler's truck and confronts him, leading to a violent encounter.
Tragic Aftermath. Aaron Spencer is charged with second-degree murder after shooting Michael Fostler, who kidnapped his daughter.
Aaron Spencer's Campaign for Sheriff. Aaron Spencer announces his candidacy for Lone Oak County Sheriff, advocating for community safety.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

When trouble shows up on your doorstep, it rarely knocks politely.

Describing the suddenness of trouble in life.

3:56WatchJan 21, 2026

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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