But then he took a closer look. It was a plush animal that she had wrapped in her sweatshirt. She had left.The family had been quite tense. Three months ago, the 13-year-old girl said that a 67-year-old man she met at a family friend's house had sexually molested her. Michael Fosler, the person who is said to have abused the youngster, had been arrested but was free on bail while facing many counts, such as sexual assault and stalking a minor online.
And suddenly, soon after midnight on October 8, the adolescent was gone. Spencer got into his Ford pickup and started looking for routes near their house in Lonoke County, Arkansas. Heather Spencer, his wife, contacted 911 and asked family members whether their daughter was with them.
“Statistics and scary stories race through my mind. My child. My daughter. Heather Spencer subsequently said on Facebook, "All I could do was pray." "I hung up with the 911 operator and phoned my mom. She said Hail Marys while I screamed in terror. "Forever, my own screams will haunt my memory."
Spencer informed sheriff's officers in an affidavit that he saw what looked like Fosler's white Ford F-150 with his daughter in the passenger seat while driving approximately 10 miles east of town in the dark. Spencer turned around and chased the car, honking his horn and flashing his lights. He stated he hit Fosler's truck from behind at the next crossroads, driving it off the road.
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He pushes Fosler's truck off the road and shoots him here.
Spencer believes this is where he first sees his daughter with Fosler.
Fosler was dead on his back in a ditch a few minutes later, with many bullet wounds.
Prosecutors charged Spencer with second-degree murder with a gun enhancement punishment. This means that the maximum possible prison term is longer when a gun is used to commit a crime. Spencer has said that he killed Fosler.
The issue has made national news and caused a lot of anger on social media, where some are calling Spencer a hero for defending his daughter. It has led to many petitions asking for the allegations against him to be dismissed, one of which has been signed by more than 350,000 individuals. A organization that fights for gun rights in the state has said that what he did was right and has put up a fund to help pay for his legal fees.
CNN asked the Lonoke County Prosecuting Attorney's Office for comment, but they did not answer.
An expert argues that when Spencer's trial in January 2026 gets closer, the outcome will depend on one important question: Will jurors think that he was right to use lethal force to defend his daughter?
Some people have spoken about jury nullification, which is when a jury decides not to convict someone even when there is substantial proof that they are guilty.
Heather and Aaron Spencer live in Lonoke County, Arkansas, with their two kids.
Heather and Aaron Spencer live in Lonoke County, Arkansas, with their two kids. Kindness Heather Spencer
John Wesley Hall, a criminal defense attorney and author of "Trial Handbook for Arkansas Lawyers," claimed that the defense does not need jury nullification. He noted that state law lets juries judge if someone used reasonable force to defend someone else.
"And that shouldn't be too hard for the defense to sell..." Hall, who has been a criminal lawyer in the state for more than 50 years but has nothing to do with the Spencer case, said, "the prosecuting attorney chose to file this case knowing this would be a problem."
"I'll never be able to see the discovery to find out what made the prosecutor file it, other than the fact that someone died..." It might be as simple as saying that a guy is dead and that a Lonoke County jury should resolve this issue, win or lose.
A shocking discovery changes the family's existence forever.
Aaron and Heather Spencer reside on a farm outside Cabot, which is a community with roughly 27,000 people and is about 25 miles from Little Rock, the state capital.
Aaron Spencer works as a general contractor and a farmer. Erin Cassinelli, Spencer's lawyer, stated that the couple is raising their daughter and young adult son after Spencer served in the Army. He was in the 82nd Airborne and went to Iraq as a paratrooper in the late 2000s. The top division can be ready to go anywhere in the world in only a few hours.
Before they were famous, the couple, their daughter, and their young adult son had a normal existence at home. The Spencers keep animals on their property and teach their daughter at home. Heather Spencer calls her husband the "animal whisperer" since he gets along with all kinds of animals.
"He has never met an animal that doesn't like him." "Whether they are ours, our friends', or strays," she told CNN. "We've produced everything from sheep to quail in the five years we've been farming... He took care of our ailing ram for six weeks, going out every two hours, even at night, to give him medicine and help him stand until he became better.
Spencer and his family live on a farm with turkeys and other animals.
Spencer and his family live on a farm with other animals and turkeys. Kindness Heather Spencer
She stated that Aaron Spencer, 37, is equally as loyal to his family. He has been taking his kids fishing since they were old enough to hold a tackle box.
His wife stated that when they get home, he finds various ways to share their hobbies. For example, he occasionally sets up a TV in the garden so that his family can watch Taylor Swift videos like they're at a performance. Or rolling up his sleeves and making rice bowls with his daughter.
She stated, "You really couldn't ask for a better husband or father." "His love and support for his family are strong and never-ending."
Last July, their calm lives was turned upside down when a family member told them that their daughter had told them that Fosler had sexually attacked her several times. Their daughter informed them that it had been going on since the spring when they talked to her.
Heather Spencer reported on Facebook that Fosler had allegedly began grooming her through text messages after they met at a family friend's residence.
"She is a quiet child who was homeschooled and spent more days than not taking care of her dying grandpa at the time..." She added, "and I let her take a break on days when we weren't busy to be with friends who were like family." "I knew they were family deep down in my heart, and I knew she was safe." She wasn't.
She added that once they found out about the assault, the Spencers put their daughter in treatment and began looking for justice for her.
Aaron Spencer stated in his affidavit that he knew something was wrong the instant he turned on the lights in his house last October to check on their daughter.
"We knew she might have been taken."
The family didn't know at first that Fosler had their daughter.
Heather Spencer stated that in the haste to find out if she was with family, her sister-in-law uncovered a Cash App payment that had been issued around two days earlier. Fosler sent it to the Spencers' daughter and her cousin, saying it was for a DoorDash order. The family's lawyer, Cassinelli, wouldn't say anything further about the deal.
Heather Spencer learned that Fosler was still in communication with their daughter, even though there was a no-contact order.
Heather Spencer stated on Facebook, "At that moment, we understood that she might have been taken, but it was the middle of the night and everything was happening in seconds and every second counted."
The Lonoke County Sheriff's Office said that she contacted 911 at 1:12 a.m. to say her kid was gone.
"I tell 911 that this man might be involved, and as I talk, I realize that if he does have her, I'll probably never see her again," she wrote.
The family was scared for their daughter's life because she was the only one who saw Fosler sexually attack her. Cassinelli stated, "At that point, she's the only thing between him and prison."
Court records show that Fosler's trial was supposed to start in December of last year.
According to Spencer's arrest affidavit, Lonoke County Dispatch told Cabot police to send officers to Fosler's house to look for her.
But Spencer told the police that when he saw Fosler's truck on the interstate, he chased it and hit it at the next crossroads. According to the affidavit, Spencer indicated that his daughter tried to get out of the passenger side, but Fosler grabbed her.
Aaron Spencer is accused of killing someone in October 2024 with a gun.
Aaron Spencer is accused of killing someone in October 2024 and is being charged with second-degree murder. Lonoke County Jail/KATV
According to the affidavit, Spencer told him to get out of the car, but Fosler "lunged toward him" with something in his hand and said, "F**k you." The affidavit alleged that Spencer shot at Fosler until his gun was empty, then leaped on him and hit him with the gun.
He added that after that, he pulled his daughter out of the truck, reloaded his Glock 19 Gen4, and contacted 911.
Spencer told the dispatcher that the "man who kidnapped" his daughter was "dead on the side of the road." The affidavit says that he informed them he "had no choice." Authorities haven't said if Fosler had a gun with him or not.
The person who is said to have hurt their daughter faced 43 criminal charges.
Some people online have said that Spencer should have phoned 911 and waited for the police to handle it instead of going after his daughter's attacker. The defense lawyer, Cassinelli, has an answer.
"Which parent is going to say, 'Hey, 911? We contacted you a minute ago, but I discovered her with the person who's been hurting her for months. And they turned left on the highway. She told CNN, "I hope you can find him."
The courthouse for Lonoke County is at Cabot, Arkansas. Spencer's trial will start in January 2026.
The courthouse for Lonoke County is at Cabot, Arkansas. The trial for Spencer is slated for January 2026. KATV Fosler was charged with 43 crimes, including stalking a kid online, sexually assaulting a child, being sexually indecent with a minor, and having child pornography. It is not clear if all of the allegations have to do with Spencer's daughter.
Authorities have not spoken anything about the abuse that Fosler is said to have done to the girl. Because a juvenile is involved, most of the records are sealed.
Fosler said he wasn't guilty in September and was let out on a $50,000 bail. His mother told him not to talk to Spencer's daughter. At the time, his lawyer did not reply to CNN's requests for comment.
The family claimed they thought the criminal charges and no-contact order would ban Fosler from seeing their daughter.
Heather Spencer stated on Facebook, "We let the law run its course and trusted that this man would get justice under the law." "We were glad that he was arrested so quickly, but we didn't know that he was let go on a low bond with no supervision."
These kinds of criminal cases don't happen very often.
Sheriff John Staley of Lonoke County announced last October that Spencer had been arrested on a preliminary accusation of first-degree murder. He also said that it would be up to the prosecutors to decide whether or not to prosecute Spencer, and that "I have not, nor will I, advocate for any specific charge."
In late November, the prosecutors in Lonoke County lowered the allegation to second-degree murder. In Arkansas, a second-degree murder charge means that the person acted in a way that showed "extreme indifference to the value of human life." However, unlike first-degree murder, it does not need any planning ahead of time.
Spencer will be back in court in December, before his trial date of January 26, 2026. He has said he is not guilty.
Hall thinks that Spencer will testify in his own defense if the matter gets to trial.
Hall, a former deputy prosecuting attorney, said, "It's almost certain that he will testify so he can show how scared he is for his daughter's safety with this man."
These kinds of criminal instances are not common, yet they do happen.
Gary Plauche was convicted guilty of manslaughter in Louisiana in 1985 after he shot a man he thought was molesting his kid. He didn't go to jail since he got a suspended sentence.
Ellie Nesler shot a guy in a Northern California courtroom over ten years later. The man was accused of assaulting her little son. She was found guilty of manslaughter and given a 10-year jail term, however she only served three years.
A Texas rancher wasn't punished in 2012 after he killed a guy he caught sexually abusing his 5-year-old daughter.
The family relies on assistance from the community as Spencer's trial gets closer.
when Fosler's death, the community came together to support the Spencers and set up an online fundraising for Aaron Spencer's legal fees when GoFundMe shut down their first one. A GoFundMe representative told CNN, "Any fundraisers for the legal defense of someone charged with a violent crime are taken down and the money is fully refunded."
Spencer was freed on October 9 after posting a $150,000 bond, but the family's legal fight was only getting started.
In December, a court in Lonoke County ordered Spencer's family, attorneys, and anyone involved in the case not to talk about it in public. The judge said that too much media attention may damage the jury pool.
Spencer's lawyers said the judgment was wrong because it infringed his rights. The Arkansas Supreme Court threw down the gag order in May, saying it was too wide and unclear.
The Spencers are trying to keep their lives as normal as possible as the trial approaches, and they hope for an acquittal.
Heather Spencer told CNN, "This case has changed almost every part of our daily lives."
"My main worry not long ago was whether my sourdough was rising. I spent all my time baking. Now they are full with therapy sessions, legal updates, and always thinking about how to keep my spouse home while helping my family deal with an unimaginable situation.
She also said that the support from people around the country has been helpful as the family deals with the media and gets ready for trial.
She told CNN, "The outpouring from our community and even from people we've never met has made us feel much less alone in this fight." "I can't believe how much harder this would be without that kind of help."