Father accused of killing man he found with 14-year-old daughter could use heat of passion defense
Defense lawyers for an Arkansas father accused of fatally shooting his 14-year-old daughter’s suspected stalker will likely get charges against him reduced, according to an expert.Aaron Spencer, 36, reported his daughter missing last Tuesday, and Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to his home.But on their way they learned that Spencer had found his daughter in 67-year-old Michael Fosler’s car and that the father had shot the other man dead in the ensuing confrontation. Spencer was arrested on a preliminary charge of first-degree murder, a Class Y felony, and booked into Lonoke County Detention Center.He was released the next day after posting bond.Spencer’s wife, Heather, wrote on Facebook that Fosler had a “no contact” order with her daughter for stalking and raping the 14-year-old over the summer and that she and her husband feared Fosler might kill her.Before the confrontation on Tuesday, she said, she and her husband were unaware that Fosler was again in contact with the minor.“We absolutely called 911 during the entire event,” she wrote.
“We had no idea this man was in contact with our child again.He was waiting 6-9 felonies for what he did, not 2.
He was looking at the rest of his pathetic life in jail, and our daughter was the only witness.”Spencer’s wife could not be reached for comment.Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley told USA Today that Fosler was arrested by another agency in July on charges of stalking a child and sexual assault and that Fosler was released after posting $50,000 bond.The sheriff said his department is investigating the shooting.“When we get on scene and there’s a homicide, it means one person took the life of another,” Staley told the outlet.“It’s either justified or not justified.
That’s what the fact finding, that’s what the investigation is going to find out.”The Lonoke County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office could not be reached for comment.Brian Claypool, a Cal...