69 SOUTH
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69 SOUTH
Trigger Warning: Dad Mode Activated, Aaron Spencer's Story
A father's worst nightmare unfolded in the dead of night when Aaron Spencer discovered his 14-year-old daughter missing from her bed. What followed was a desperate search that would end in bloodshed and raise profound questions about justice, protection, and the failures of our legal system.
At the center of this Arkansas tragedy stands Michael Fosler, a 67-year-old Army veteran facing 43 felony charges including rape, sexual assault, and possession of child sexual abuse material—all related to Spencer's teenage daughter. Despite the severity of these accusations and a no-contact order, Fosler was released on a mere $50,000 bond.
When Spencer found his daughter missing and discovered Fosler had been contacting her through food deliveries, he took matters into his own hands. Drawing on his training as a decorated combat veteran, Spencer tracked down Fosler's truck, confronted him, and ultimately shot him after reportedly finding him restraining his daughter. Now Spencer faces second-degree murder charges while attempting to navigate a system that seemingly failed to protect his child in the first place.
The case has ignited fierce debate about parental rights, self-defense, and institutional accountability. The Arkansas Supreme Court recently intervened, striking down a controversial gag order as "a gross abuse of discretion" and criticizing Judge Barbara Elmore's handling of the case. Meanwhile, allegations of evidence tampering and questions about Fosler's potential connections to law enforcement have fueled community suspicions.
As this family waits for a September trial date, their story forces us to confront uncomfortable truths about what happens when systems meant to protect children fail. What would you do if faced with the same impossible choice? When seconds matter and a child's life hangs in the balance, where is the line between heroism and vigilantism? The Spencer case doesn't just challenge our notions of justice—it asks what we truly value as a society.
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Disclaimer: All defendants are INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY in a court of law. All facts are alleged until a conviction!
Welcome everyone to podcast 69 south, where we cuss and discuss true crime, cold cases, current events and hot topics, along with our state of society today. This is your trigger warning. Our podcast content is produced for adult listeners, 18 years of age and older. We discuss situations that may be offensive and triggering to some listeners.
Speaker 1:Sit back, relax and enjoy for some listeners, sit back, relax and enjoy. Tonight we're learning previously unknown details of a murder case so sensational. The judge and prosecutors worried about conducting a fair trial, but today a majority of the Arkansas Supreme Court basically released those details themselves, saying Aaron Spencer and his lawyers have the right to speak publicly about how the man accused of sexually assaulting his teenage daughter ended up dead last year.
Speaker 3:Welcome back everybody to another hard-hitting episode of 69 South. I'm your host, Chop, and with me today, always, is my beautiful co-host Julie.
Speaker 2:Hi everyone and welcome back to 69 South. Today we're diving into a story that has shaken an Arkansas community and we're going to expose this predator and help these victims fight for justice. Now this story has me furious.
Speaker 3:Me too, almost as upset as Ozzie passing away. To be honest with you, it's kind of equal. That's how disturbing this shit is.
Speaker 2:Not just Ozzie, but Hulk Hogan too.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and also Malcolm Jamal of Theo of the Cosby Show, man Missing a lot of good people this week. Rest in peace. He was a good actor. I loved the Cosby Show when I was growing up.
Speaker 2:I can't believe Ozzy died right after that concert that he just had too.
Speaker 3:That was some wild shit it was called Back to the Beginning, and he had it in Birmingham, England. Today we're headed to Loanoke County, Arkansas, for a case that has sparked outrage, heartbreak and tough questions about what it means to protect your family. This is the story of Michael Fosler, a Army veteran turned predator, and Aaron Spencer, a father and a decorated combat veteran, who stepped up when the system failed.
Speaker 2:his daughter, Now, before we start, a warning. This episode covers sensitive topics like sexual abuse, violence and systematic failures. If that's tough for you, we understand. Take care of yourself and let's get into it.
Speaker 3:And we're telling the story of a father's fight and a predator's fall and a justice system that's got some serious explaining to do. Let's start with Michael Fosler. Raised in Hamlet, indiana, in 1975, he graduates from Oregon Davis High School, marking the start of a life defined by military service and family. Marking the start of a life defined by military service and family. Around 1979, he marries Janie, beginning a 44-year partnership that would face profound challenges.
Speaker 2:One of those challenges came early and hit hard. In May of 1988, their son, michael George Fossler Jr, just one and a half years old, passed away from an illness. The South Bend Tribune reported that the boy died at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, with services at St Matthew Lutheran Church and a burial in the Fletcher Cemetery. Now, this kind of loss is unimaginable.
Speaker 3:Yeah, those type of wounds, I mean, they never heal. It's hard on the whole family but despite the tragedy, michael and Jane carried on raising two daughters. Michael also built a formidable career in the US Army. According to his LinkedIn profile list, skills like military, strategic planning, leadership and security clearance, with endorsements piling up five for military and strategic planning, four for leadership and security clearance and 47 total across his skills.
Speaker 2:Now, that's an impressive resume. That is His expertise included army operations, project planning, team building and government contracting. Suggesting he was likely a project manager handling high-stakes defense work. Suggesting he was likely a project manager handling high-stakes defense work. With his LinkedIn boasting top-level security clearances. He was likely trusted with sensitive mission and planning and execution jobs.
Speaker 3:So this wasn't some dude, that just was a private in the Army, a little four-year stint man. He was deep into this shit. Yes he was. I mean that's critical too. A man with those skills knows how to strategize, execute and cover his tracks. Keep that in mind because it matters later in the story. In 1995, his Army career moves the family to Cabot, arkansas. It's a new chapter, but it sets the stage for a dark, dark turn.
Speaker 2:So let's fast forward to 2023. Jane Michael's wife passes away on June 14th after an eight-year battle with cancer, ending their 44-year marriage. Michael, now a widower, starts dating again, connecting with a family friend of Heather and Aaron Spencer. That's how he crosses paths with their 13-year-old daughter.
Speaker 3:Now here's where the story gets ugly. From April to July of 2024, fosler allegedly begins grooming and assaulting this young girl. She's a quiet homeschool kid spending her days caring for her dying grandfather, heather. As the young girl's mother trusted this family friend's home as a safe place for her daughter to take a break, it was anything but safe.
Speaker 2:Heather's words are absolutely heartbreaking, and I quote she is a quiet homeschooled child who at the time spent more days than not helping care for her dying grandpa. 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 via text message.
Speaker 3:Sounds like that good old predatory behavior at its worst. The Spencers notice their daughter's behavior changing and a family member reveals the horrific truth she's been raped. They find evidence of inappropriate texts from Fosler. They report it to the authorities and secure a no-contact order. They report it to the authorities and secure a no contact order. On July 15th 2024, fosler faces 43 charges in Loanoke County Court Rape, two counts of Internet stalking, two counts of fourth degree sexual assault, two counts of sexual indecency with a child and 36 counts of possessing child sexual abuse material 43 charges.
Speaker 2:That's a rap sheet that screams lock him up. But Judge Barbara Elmore sets his bond at just $50,000. He pays it, walks free and the Spencers believe the no-contact order will protect their daughter. They were wrong.
Speaker 3:And that bond decision is a travesty. A man with Fosler's military background and strategic planning security clearances isn't someone you just let out on pocket change. I wouldn't think. There's also talk that he was a police chief and a school resource officer in Indiana, giving him access to kids for years and possibly connections that may have got him lenient treatment.
Speaker 2:It does raise suspicions of the good old boy system. Ex-posts are buzzing with claims that Fossler's alleged ties to the Lone Oak County Sheriff's Office help him skate. There's no hard evidence, but when a predator walks free, people start asking questions. Was the system protecting one of its own?
Speaker 3:We looked and researched but we really couldn't find a lot of stuff on his policing in Indiana, correct?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I couldn't confirm it 100%. That's why I'm saying it's reported that he was in law enforcement in Indiana.
Speaker 3:And a 67-year-old man and a 13-year-old child.
Speaker 2:That's insane to me. Stark County, which is up north, closer to South Bend, and up in the northern part of the state.
Speaker 3:It's a small community, yeah, it's really, really tiny. What do you say? It was around 2,000 people.
Speaker 2:I don't even know.
Speaker 3:But it's tiny. I mean, if it wasn't so super tiny we probably would have heard of it, but I literally had never heard of it before.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we had to look it up. I'm like I've never even heard of a Stark County in Indiana.
Speaker 3:Now let's focus on Aaron Spencer, the man who fought back when the system failed. Aaron's 36, also a decorated Army veteran, who has seen the worst of war. He was born in Arkansas. He enlisted young, serving in the combat zones where split decisions meant life or death. He earned medals for valor like bronze stars or similar, though details are classified proving his courage and skill under fire.
Speaker 2:Now Aaron's the real deal. He returns home, marries Heather and they build a life in rural Lone Oak County, raising their daughter to be kind and grounded through homeschooling. He's a dad who's there for it all teaching her to fish, helping her with her schoolwork and studies, keeping her safe. Heather calls him a devoted husband and a protective father, a man who'd do anything for his family.
Speaker 3:That's Aaron's core, a warrior who traded battlefields for family life but never lost his instinct to protect. On October 8th 2024, at 1 12 am, that instinct takes over. Their dog starts barking frantically, waking Heather and Aaron. He checks on their now 14-year-old daughter and her bed's empty. That's when panic sets in.
Speaker 2:Now Heather's account is chilling. When we were first 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 go check on her. He called out from her room that she was missing. 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 would have gone. Neither did know, so. She immediately called 911.
Speaker 3:Man, I know how that sudden waking up by your dog barking in the middle of the night can about damn near give you a stroke.
Speaker 2:I know Our neighbor lets their dogs out at like 2 o'clock in the morning every night and they run over there into our yard.
Speaker 3:Oh, my gosh, oh oh, oh, oh and I jump out of bed man about tripping over my damn shoes and everything. It's a horrible reality, especially when you don't know what it is. But then comes the moment that changes everything. Heather's sister-in-law sends a picture of a cash app payment for a door dash from Fosler to their daughter and niece, sent just a day or two earlier. In that instant Heather realizes Fosler might have taken her daughter. She tells 911, this man may be involved and as she speaks the fear hits. If he does have her, I'll probably never see her again. My own screams will forever haunt my memory. She said I hung up with 911 operator and I called my mother. I screamed in horror while she prayed. Hail Mary's God, please save my baby. That's horrible.
Speaker 2:Now that cash app payment was the clue that turned fear into certainty, and the FBI is clear on this when you're in a situation where a child is missing, seconds matter. There's no reason Aaron needed to wait for the police. Every moment counts when a child's life is at stake.
Speaker 3:Exactly. Aaron, trained for high pressure situations, grabs his Glock 19 Gen 4, jumps in his truck and hits the road with no plan but a prayer. Heather says, quote by God's never failing grace, unquote. He spots Fosler's white Ford F-150 on Highway 236 East. He knows his daughter's inside, taken by a man facing decades in prison, with her as the key witness. Heather believes Fosler's plan to kill her, to silence her in testimony.
Speaker 2:Now Aaron pursues Fosler, flashing his lights and honking to stop him. At the intersection of Highway 236 East and 13 North he rams Fossler's truck into a ditch. He exits his vehicle gun drawn, ordering Fossler out. He sees his daughter trying to escape the passenger side, but Fossler's restraining her. Then Fossler steps out holding an unidentified object, lunges at Aaron and shouts fuck you.
Speaker 3:Fearing for his life and his daughter's, aaron unloads the 15-round magazine, hitting Fosler in the chest, arms and abdomen. He then pistol whips him to ensure he's down, grabs his daughter, reloads and calls 911, reporting that he had found the man who kidnapped his daughter and that he was dead on the side of the road. Deputies arrive and they pronounce Fossler dead and take Aaron into custody, charging him with first-degree murder. The community's 100% right. Thank God for a father's intuition.
Speaker 2:And acting immediately.
Speaker 3:I don't understand what the hell they expected him to do.
Speaker 2:Stand there and wait? Absolutely not.
Speaker 3:Or I mean the way the story goes. I mean, I think the mother's intuition about Fossler's intentions were probably pretty accurate, unless he just couldn't get enough of the dope. We talk about how these pedos do.
Speaker 2:I believe that her instincts and what she believes is 100% right. When we lay out what this man had to lose, you'll understand.
Speaker 3:Now Aaron's released on a $150,000 bond by October 9th, 2024 at 1 12 pm. But the fight's just beginning. On November 27th, prosecutor Chuck Graham charges him with second-degree murder and a firearm enhancement which could mean years in prison. At his December 2nd arraignment before Judge Barbara Elmore, aaron pleads not guilty. His attorneys, Aaron Cassinelli and Michael Kaiser, call him a decorated war hero who stopped a serial predator.
Speaker 2:Now this is where it gets infuriating. The Spencers trusted the system to protect their daughter. They got her into therapy and tried to manage her trauma, all while caring for Heather's dying father. But Fossler, out on $50,000 bond, violates the no contact order and nobody catches it. How does a man with 43 felonies slip through these cracks? It's a question shaking this Lowenoak County. Now social media posts point fingers at Judge Barbara Elmore, prosecutor Graham and Sheriff John Staley. Elmore set the low bond Graham's the prosecuting errand instead of digging into why Fossler was free and Staley's office didn't monitor him. Some say Fossler's past as a police chief or a school resource officer gave him a kind of a shield.
Speaker 3:Now let's talk about Fossler's motives. His military career gave him skills, strategic planning, operational execution, security clearances that could have helped him plan his kidnapping like a mission. He was facing 43 charges, with the Spencer's daughter as the only witness. A felony conviction, like child rape, could suspend his pension during incarceration and a court martial could strip his benefits permanently with a dishonorable discharge. He had everything to lose, man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he sure did. Now Heather's convinced Hell, I'm convinced that he meant to kill her daughter to silence her.
Speaker 3:Or at least kidnap her. I mean shit.
Speaker 2:Now, with Fossler's expertise, this wasn't no random act. It was very, very calculated.
Speaker 3:And the system let it happen that low bond, no supervision and, ignored, no contact order. It's a recipe for disaster. Heather's words sum it up we were not privy to the fact that he was released on a low bond with zero supervision. We thought that pending felony charges and a no contact order would be enough to keep him away from our child. We were wrong.
Speaker 2:Now then there's the gag order. On December 9, 2024, judge Barbara Elmore issues a gag order barring Aaron, his attorneys, public officials and even Aaron's family from discussing the case. Citing jury pool concerns, she grants it in 30 minutes, no hearing, and seals the case file with a handwritten note. Aaron's team argues it violates his First, sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Sixth and 14th.
Speaker 3:Amendment rights. Now, the First Amendment is the freedom of it's basically freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, stuff like that. The Sixth Amendment is the right to a speedy and public trial, the right to an impartial jury in the district where the crime occurred. Also the right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, basically the fair trial stuff. And the 14th Amendment guarantees like due process of law, basically more stuff on your criminal trial type thing. And the Arkansas Supreme Court agrees striking down the gag order on May 29th 2025, calling it a gross abuse of discretion. Justice Nicholas Brawny, joined by Justices Sean Womack and Cody Hilland, slams Judge Elmore for a troubling pattern of shielding cases from scrutiny, from a non-public arraignment to a handwritten note sealing the file. They suggest another judge take over, citing concerns about her impartiality.
Speaker 2:What a slap in the face for her, but you know what she deserves it.
Speaker 3:I mean, it was like she was trying to shut everybody down so the public wasn't seeing what the fuck was really going on here.
Speaker 2:Yes, the highest court in Arkansas to say that it's a gross abuse of power.
Speaker 3:And a troubling pattern of that gross abuse says a lot.
Speaker 2:So hopefully they get this judge removed off this case because she seems like she's real hip on protecting pedophiles. I mean, come on, like she's real hip on protecting pedophiles? I mean, come on, Fossler got a $50,000 bond for raping this poor child and he's trying to protect his child and yeah, it ended like it did. But it wasn't Aaron's fault.
Speaker 3:And, like we said, fossler had so much to lose. You also got to look at the whole picture here. It's not just about the 40-some charges Fossler faced. That's a potential life sentence for a dude that's 67 years old.
Speaker 2:It absolutely is.
Speaker 3:Plus stripping his rank, discharging all his retirement loot from the Army. I mean, that's a big freaking—.
Speaker 2:That's a lot to lose.
Speaker 3:That's a lot to lose. That's a lot to lose.
Speaker 2:Now the court also calls out Elmore's low bond for Fossler as the spark that had such a low blonde and was able to get out and continue harassing, stalking and doing the things that he was doing to this poor girl. That that's what fanned the flames of this.
Speaker 3:I have to agree with him.
Speaker 2:Now all over social media posts are demanding her recusal, some claiming she's protected a child rapist due to Fossler's alleged connections. But there's no hard evidence of that, it's just all speculation.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's just all speculation no-transcript to Fossler but it does fuel distrust in Staley's oversight. I would say so that's wild shit there.
Speaker 2:Staley insists his office acted properly, telling USA Today that Cabot police handled Fossler's arrest and that the court set the bond. He says I'm a daddy, I have three daughters. I know she's hurt right now but there's absolutely nobody I would put ahead of our children. But the public is skeptical, with people claiming his office let Fossler slip through the cracks.
Speaker 3:Now did they handle the arrest right? Because here we go, there's a drug pipe. Court motions say a glass pipe was found in a patrol car after Staley spoke with Aaron, suggesting it was planted to discredit him or justify Fossler's actions.
Speaker 2:So much so that I guess what had happened is that they had put Aaron in the car and then, when the sheriff got out there or whatever, they got him out of the car to speak with him, and then they went to go put him back in the car. Well, when they put him back in the car, there was a glass drug pipe laying right there and Aaron was like oh hell, no.
Speaker 3:Wait a minute, boys. That shit was not in here A minute ago, yeah.
Speaker 2:And you guys are taking me to the hospital right now we're doing a blood draw. And that's exactly. He threw a fit so that they would draw his blood. So they know, would know without a shadow of a doubt, that he was not a drug user. And he was up in bed asleep when this all started to take place.
Speaker 3:That's just dirty. That's dirty af. Let's zoom in on aaron spencer. You really got to think about his, his training and you know his life as he lives it. I mean when you got a guy, that's his life as he lives it. I mean when you got a guy that serves in the military and he's trained in tactical operations and firearms and he has to make split, you know split.
Speaker 2:Second decisions.
Speaker 3:Absolutely, and when you're in a situation like he was in, I don't understand what they expected him to do.
Speaker 2:You can't undo that training. You know. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:It becomes like muscle memory.
Speaker 3:Especially when there's something so fragile as your 14-year-old baby girl right there. I mean, I could just only imagine his rage and the anxiety, and you know what I mean. Like you said, it's like muscle memory. I mean, who wouldn't have done that shit?
Speaker 2:Exactly, and it's especially after you know they've waited for months for this trial to come up and they were only a few months away from the actual trial. So the previous six months of his life I'm sure he just wanted to go beat this dude's ass, but honestly, probably more than that. But it was well-deserved.
Speaker 3:But he kept it contained, you know, letting the law do their job.
Speaker 2:Now, when Fossler entered their lives, Aaron's worst fears came true and his military training kicked in that night, driving him to act when seconds mattered. If they waited for the police, I just have a feeling they would have never found that little girl.
Speaker 3:I mean, he's looking at this little girl. He helps her with her homework, he teaches her how to ride a bike. You know everything a daddy does. What the hell is he supposed to do when her life is in danger?
Speaker 2:Listeners ask yourself this If somebody's got your child, are you going to sit and wait? Are you going to go get them?
Speaker 3:Especially after the accusations that had piled up on Fossler. I mean, it's not just this random ass dude that you see with your daughter and you know you tackling this dude has already been accused of raping and stalking and grooming, you know, out of a trusted family circle type situation.
Speaker 2:And as a parent, you know you. And as a parent you know you can't just wait for the deputies. The stakes were extremely high. His pursuit of Fossler, ramming the truck and confronting him, was pure instinct protecting his daughter at all costs. His attorneys say it's textbook self-defense under Arkansas law. Given Fossler's history and the immediate threat.
Speaker 3:Let's talk about the key provisions of the Arkansas self-defense law. A person is justified in using deadly force if they reasonably believe another person is committing or about to commit a felony involving force or violence, in example robbery and assault, or if the person is using or about to use unlawful deadly physical force against them or another person, if the person is imminently endangering their life or about to victimize them through a pattern of domestic abuse as defined an example physical harm or fear of imminent harm between family members. I mean he had every right to think this dude was about to commit a felony involving assault or kidnapping. He'd already, you know.
Speaker 2:He'd already, well, one kidnapped, two. He broke a no contact order and had the victim with him, and there's a lot of questions surrounding. Well, how did he get the victim outside? How did? Did he go in their house and snatch her out? I I mean, did he coax her to the front door in some way? Something was happening, because two, three days before this incident, he was sending food to this little girl and her cousin. Um, you know, that's why heather initially thought, yeah, that he has her, because you know he's talking to her again, he's sending her food.
Speaker 3:I wonder how that went down, how they actually found that out, cause it did say two or three a few days before that.
Speaker 2:I mean she called her sister and then bam, her sister says you know she must've went through her daughter's phone or something like that, and found this receipt of a cash out payment to DoorDash.
Speaker 3:She was probably like holy shit, this is that fucking dude.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I bet the daughter feels terrible, but she's a young girl and she was being groomed.
Speaker 3:She was probably just happy to get the Big Mac or something. Not knowing anything was really. You know, these are babies. There's also another conditions for using deadly force. It says having a reasonable belief that the other person poses an imminent threat of death or serious physical injury to themselves or another In the other, being his daughter, his daughter man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's an extension of yourself.
Speaker 3:Absolutely An extension of yourself, and you know what you could be criminally charged if you don't protect your daughter. To a certain extent, it's a. It shouldn't be a fine line like it is. Yeah, it is no-transcript and it should not be that way you know the prosecutor in this situation.
Speaker 2:I hope he does not get reelected. I hope you people down there in Arkansas see this person for who they really are, Because it's the prosecutor's discretion whether to charge Aaron with this, and it's just disgusting.
Speaker 3:I don't think you'd have too many people bitching if they just dropped all these charges on this dude.
Speaker 2:I don't think not one person would gripe or complain, and maybe the victim's family.
Speaker 3:But and the freaking pipe man. I mean you would think that and I'm sure there is laws and and and things in place to where the back of a cop car should be like a motel room. I mean that shit should be cleaned every time you take a a criminal out of there. This pipe was allegedly just laying on the seat, in plain sight that something stinks about that to me in a bad way.
Speaker 2:It's like they were trying to set him up. Yeah, let me run out of my house in the middle of my, in the middle of the night, while I'm sleeping. Don't let me, let's. Oh, I got to take my dope pipe with me. He didn't even do drugs. That's how ignorant they are. And I, you know what. I bet you that. So he went and had those blood tests done. Right, how much you want to bet the state loses them?
Speaker 3:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:How much you want to bet the state loses these drug results or the prosecution tries to hide them. And so I bet you mark my words it's going to come out when Aaron goes to trial because his attorneys have filed a motion about this glass pipe to say that it cannot be used in the trial against him. But they never charged him with that. But his lawyers filed a thing to say you can't use that evidence. And Aaron even went and got a test, a drug test, done. We just haven't got the results back because they go to the state first.
Speaker 3:What about the DNA test from the glass pipe?
Speaker 2:Oh, I don't believe it was his. No, I think they had it tested and it come back that the DNA did not match him. But who did it match, Right?
Speaker 3:and it was an unknown male. I mean you think that if the DNA is not in the system, either A the person wasn't a felon or B it was the person who tossed it in there right before they put Aaron Spencer in there.
Speaker 2:Everybody needs to be getting those body cams and seeing who was all there that night.
Speaker 3:They sure do.
Speaker 2:Now this Heather's word. She said navigating criminal charges while also being fully traumatized by the events of that night was difficult. We were no longer able to share our story and we were forced to suffer the injustice of it all in silence. And she was so happy that the Supreme Court's decision gave them their voice back. But they still have a long road ahead of them and this trial is scheduled to start in September.
Speaker 3:I've been watching a bunch of the Appalachian storyteller. I really like that dude. You know, if this shit would have happened back in the day a little bit in the Appalachian area, man, they'd have given this dude a medal.
Speaker 2:They would have.
Speaker 3:Absolutely they would. They'd have put him up on a pedestal Hell. They would hunt down and string up dudes like Fossler on their own.
Speaker 2:And they would have hung him in front of the whole community.
Speaker 3:Yep, they go back to doing shit like that. Maybe these dudes ain't going to be running rampant like they are in society today.
Speaker 2:Or death penalties for child molestation and all that other stuff.
Speaker 3:They need to get back to castrating these dudes.
Speaker 2:Did they do that?
Speaker 3:Yes, they sure did, and I bet it was a big deterrent for some of these dudes. In 1778, a Virginia law prescribed castration as a punishment for men convicted of rape, polygamy or sodomy. So if you was a rapist or you had two wives or you put something where it wasn't supposed to be, you know what I mean they were they were cutting your shit off.
Speaker 3:Also, there was a period where, um, if you were a sex offender like rape or child stuff they would give you a choice. They would give you a prison sentence. They would say you either go do your sentence in prison or we cut your shit off. You could choose. It'd be a fucked up decision to make, wouldn't it?
Speaker 2:Hey, but their other decisions got them there, so I do not feel sorry for none of them.
Speaker 3:Me neither. In the early 20th century, castration was occasionally used in the US as a part of the eugenics movement, targeting individuals deemed undesirable, including sex offenders. It wasn't specifically aimed at molesters, but sterilizations, including castrations, were performed in institutions for the feeble-minded or people with criminal tendencies. That's kind of messed up. I mean, you get a crazy person, and who's making that decision? Their doctor Like this dude. We could let him out. He seems like he may do some weird shit, so send him to the cut table.
Speaker 2:So just by assumptions and not even doing anything wrong, you could have got castrated.
Speaker 3:Yeah, in the mid-20th century, some states allowed sex offenders, including child molesters, to undergo surgical castration to reduce recidivism or secure release. That's kind of what I was talking about a second ago.
Speaker 2:Wow, I wonder too, you know what? I wonder also, you know how like back in, I mean even back in the 20s and 30s, 100 years ago to now my grandma was born in the 40s and, um, I know she had a lot of family like down in kentucky in the appalachia area and stuff like that, and down there it's like their children were back in those times, were to get married or leave the homestead the moment they were 12, 13 years old and being married off, so when did that stop?
Speaker 3:I don't know and, like you said, I was watching a lot of that Appalachian Storyteller. Yeah, they were getting married 13, 14. It was like puberty hit bam and they were adults. It was time for you to go.
Speaker 2:That's what it was back then. I mean, do we consider all them men pedophiles back in that day? But that's just how the time was Back in that day, but that's just how the time was.
Speaker 3:It's weird to think about the way society has shifted that way over the years.
Speaker 3:And I'm all for it to you know, let children grow up, Because even after children hit 18, their minds aren't fully developed until they're 25, 26 years old, and I think that's basically what the point is develop till they're 25, 26 years old, and I think that's basically what the point is. It's hard for you to be able to make decisions, life-changing decisions, bringing other life forms into this world, by having children, when you are basically a child in your mind still.
Speaker 2:Another thing that I thought was odd was that back then the life expectancy in those regions were only you would only get to, I mean, 40 to 50 years old, and 50 was stretching it.
Speaker 3:I think a lot of that to do was the hard work and then lack of medical treatment around. They didn't have much. You know, doctors and medicines like they do now.
Speaker 2:That's why they call them mountain men and use folk remedies, right you get diabetes.
Speaker 3:You ain't got no insulin. I mean you're screwed. You get high blood pressure. I mean it just wasn't as.
Speaker 2:You would have been considered death by natural causes of some sort back then.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:But anyway, this back to our case about Aaron Spencer. Anyway, this back to our case about Aaron Spencer. Now this case raises huge questions, starting with what precedent does this set for parents protecting their kids Aaron's facing second degree murder charges for saving his daughter from a predator that the prosecutors, the sheriff nor the judge helped? I mean, they had no help in it. It was like everything they did made it worse. What is this telling other families in that area, or even in the United States?
Speaker 3:It's probably telling them damn, if I protect my child am I going to wind up in prison. But I think in this thing, mr Spencer, it was like a rage.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I know how you feel.
Speaker 3:And I feel bad, even saying rage. I'm not saying that it was a rage incident, not at all. I'm sure he was in rage, probably scared, absolutely fearful for his daughter, fearful from himself.
Speaker 2:Now Arkansas law allows for deadly force if you reasonably believe you or someone else. It doesn't even have to be. Your child is in imminent danger. Aaron saw Fossler, a known predator, holding his daughter hostage after kidnapping her and then lunging at him with something in his hand. That's self-defense in my book.
Speaker 3:The prosecutor says Aaron went too far. Emptying a 15 round magazine Homicide's serious for sure, but charging a dad who stopped a guy with 43 felonies, including rape, that suggests the system values procedure over protecting kids. What do you listeners think? Hit us up on Facebook or X or on Instagram with hashtag 69 South. Tell us what you think about it.
Speaker 2:It's also about trust. Dispensers believe the system would keep Fossler away. Heather said that they were promised. This isn't 20 years ago and the cases are taken seriously. But a $50,000 bond for a predator, that's betrayal. No wonder Aaron acted. The FBI say seconds matter and he wasn't waiting.
Speaker 3:They were right, it is a 20 years ago. It was 20 years ago. I think it'd be a whole different ballgame.
Speaker 3:to be honest with you, and the area as well I mean the demographics of this case is a big deal too. Another question is was this part of the good old boy system? Question is was this part of the good old boy system? Fossler's alleged law enforcement ties police chief school resource officer. They raise suspicions. Social media posts claim he had connections in Loanoke County, maybe with Sheriff Staley's office. Now there's no hard proof of that, but a $50,000 bond for 43 charges. That makes you wonder.
Speaker 2:It does. The Supreme Court criticized Elmore's bond decision as a spark for tragedy. The 2024 lawsuit against Daley's office for ignoring inmate abuse doesn't help. Voters need to remember who they elected judge, prosecutor and sheriff, and you need to look at who they seem to protect.
Speaker 3:Now prosecutor Graham is pushing for a conviction saying there's more to the story, but not elaborating on that. More to the story His support for the gag order fueled distrust, seen as silencing a traumatized family. Elmore's history of stealing cases like the the 2022 Hunter-Britton shooting adds to the scrutiny. That case, where a deputy killed a 17-year-old, sparked protest and Elmore sealed the file, limiting transparency.
Speaker 2:Staley's no stranger to controversy either. A 2019 incident where he grabbed an inmate by the throat resurfaced in 2022 and 2024 lawsuit paints his jail as a haven for abuse. These issues aren't directly tied to Fossler, but they feed the perception of a broken system.
Speaker 3:So what's next? As of today, Aaron Spencer's out on bond awaiting trial, His team's pushing self-defense arguing he stopped a predator who'd already hurt his daughter and posed an immediate threat. The Supreme Court's ruling lifted the gag order, giving the Spencers their voice, but the battle is far from over.
Speaker 2:Their daughter's in therapy, facing years of healing. Heather's words linger. 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. The FBI's warnings about seconds mattering underscores why Aaron acted. He saved her life.
Speaker 3:Man. This case is bigger than one man and one night. It's about a system that failed. I think I'm all behind this dude man.
Speaker 2:Oh, I am too, absolutely. And also they have a Give Send Go campaign. It's kind of like a GoFundMe, but with GoFundMe you can't use those funds for legal defense and stuff of that nature, but with the Give SendendGo campaign you can. So we're going to link the GiveSendGo in the bottom of our show notes as well as our Facebook. So if you guys would like to donate to help Aaron Spencer with his cause in fighting the Arkansas government in the prosecutor's office down there, I'm sure they would greatly appreciate that. Now we will keep following this case, share your thoughts with hashtag 69 South and let's keep the pressure on for justice. Like Heather said, if this can happen in rural Arkansas, it can happen anywhere. If this can happen in rural Arkansas, it can happen anywhere. So that's it for this episode of 69 South. We want to thank our listeners and our Patreon supporters and everyone standing with the Spencers. If you'd like to join our Patreon, you can go to wwwpatreoncom. Forward slash 69 South, where you can get access to legal documents, bonus episodes, early releases, et cetera.
Speaker 3:Well, until then, rest in peace, ozzy. Have a good day, good evening, whatever, we'll see you next time.
