LONOKE, Ark.– A judge has dismissed the murder charge against an Arkansas mayoral candidate accused of killing his teenage daughter’s alleged abuser in 2024.
Special Circuit Court Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. dismissed the case against Aaron Spencer Thursday afternoon — just a few weeks before his trial on second-degree murder is expected to begin — because a camera memory card that may have captured the shooting was lost to law enforcement.
“The court finds that the conduct of law enforcement was so egregious that dismissal of this case is justified,” Wilson wrote.
Spencer’s lawyers did not deny that he shot and killed Michael Vosler, 67, while Vosler was out on bail after being charged with dozens of sex crimes against Spencer’s then-13-year-old daughter.
Court documents show the night of the shooting, Spencer woke up to find his daughter missing, and later found the girl in the passenger seat of the car Vosler was driving. Spencer forced Vossler’s truck off the road and after an altercation called 911 to report the man had been shot.
Prosecutors said Spencer planned the killing and that he could have called police while pursuing Vossler. But Spencer pleaded not guilty and maintained that he acted to protect his child from a predator.
Spencer’s attorney, Erin Cassinelli, said she was grateful for the court’s decision.
“No member of this family should ever again be forced into a courtroom and relive this horror,” she said in a statement. “This father should never be accused of protecting his child.”
The Associated Press does not typically identify victims of sexual assault, but Spencer has made his daughter’s experience with the criminal justice system a key part of his campaign for sheriff.