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Callaroga Shark Media, Good morning. I'm Red Carter. Wednesday October fifteenth,
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twenty twenty five. Aaron Spencer is thirty seven years old
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Army veteran father of a teenage daughter who was sexually
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assaulted by a sixty seven year old man. The man,
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Michael Fossler, faced over forty sexual offense charges and was
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released on bond with a no contact order. October twenty
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twenty four, Spencer woke up to find his thirteen year
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old daughter missing, founder in Fossler's truck, shot, Fossler dead,
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called nine one one Now. Spencer is charged with second
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degree murder, released on one hundred and fifty thousand dollars bond,
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awaiting trial in January, and he's running for Sheriff of
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Lonoke County, Arkansas. His campaign video, I'm the father who
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acted to protect his daughter when the system failed. I
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refuse to stand by while others face these same failures.
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Ellen Greenberg was found dead January twenty sixth, twenty eleven,
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stabbed twenty times, ten stab wounds to the back of
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her head and neck, a ten inch kitchen knife sticking
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out of her chest. Bruises in various stages of healing.
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The pathologist who did her autopsy ruled it homicide by
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unknown person. Days later, after a closed door meeting, he
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changed it to suicide. For fourteen years, her parents have
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fought that ruling. In February, that same pathologist admitted he
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was wrong that Ellen didn't kill herself. Yesterday, Philadelphia's chief
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medical examiner released a new ruling, still suicide, and the
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Supreme Court rejected Alex Jones's appeal of the one point
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four billion dollar judgment for calling Sandy Hook a hoax.
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No comment, didn't even ask families to respond, just rejected. Meanwhile,
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Sandy Hook families offered to settle for eighty five million
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dollars over ten years pennies on the dollar. Jones's lawyer
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says that still too much. I'm reed Carter Today, a
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father running for sheriff while charged with murder, a woman
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stabbed twenty times who Philadelphia insists killed herself, and Alex
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Jones losing at the Supreme Court. This is Celebrity Trials.
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Spring twenty twenty four, Lonoke County, Arkansas. A thirteen year
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old girl confides in a family member that she's been
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sexually assaulted. Her parents, Aaron and Heather Spencer report it
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to authorities. An investigation begins. The suspect, Michael Fossler, sixty
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seven years old. According to Heather Spencer, he was old
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enough to be my father, an opportunist who started grooming
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their daughter via text, a predator with a long history
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of targeting children. Fossler is arrested quickly faces over forty
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sexual offense charges, including Internet stalking of a child, two
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counts of sexual assault, sexual rule, indecency, and possession of
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child pornography. Serious charges federal offenses, the kind that should
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keep someone locked up pending trial, but Fossler is released
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on bond, low bond, no supervision. The Spencer family wasn't informed.
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They expected his release eventually, but thought the pending felony
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charges and no contact order would keep him away from
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their daughter. They were wrong. October eighth, twenty twenty four,
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the Spencer family is awakened in the middle of the
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night by their daughter's dog. Aaron Spencer checks on his daughter.
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She's missing. A search begins immediately. Spencer gets in his
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truck drives around looking for her. He finds Fossler's truck
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with his daughter inside. According to court documents, Spencer forced
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Fossler's truck off the highway, an altercation occurred, Spencer shot
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Fossler multiple times. Fossler died at the scenae. Spencer called
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nine to one one to report what he'd done. Spencer
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was arrested and charged with second degree murder with gun enhancement.
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Arraigned before the same judge who'd released Fossler on bond
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set at one hundred fifty thousand dollars bail. That judge
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also imposed what Heather Spencer calls an unconstitutional gag order
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on the case. October twenty twenty five, Spencer is out
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on bond, awaiting trial scheduled for January twenty sixth, twenty
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twenty six. His pre trial date is December sixteenth. He
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faces years in prison for killing the man who was
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abusing his daughter after the system failed to protect her,
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and now he's running for sheriff. His campaign launched with
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a video message, many of you know my story. I'm
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the father who acted to protect his daughter when the
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system failed. I refused to stand by while others face
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these same failures. This campaign isn't about me. It's about
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every parent, every neighbor, every family who deserves to feel
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safe in their homes and community. It's about restoring trust
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where neighbors no law enforcement is on their side, and
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families know they will not be left alone in a
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moment of need. His wife, Heather wrote on Facebook, I
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have no doubt that if it weren't for God and
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my husband, I would have never seen my child again.
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The relief of my child being alive was quickly followed
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by terror as the prosecutor set preliminary charges at murder
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I with one hundred fifty thousand dollars bond. She detailed
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the timeline their daughter confided about the abuse. They trusted
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the system. Fossler was arrested. They were happy that he
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was quickly arrested, but not privy to the fact that
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he was released on a low bond with zero supervision.
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They anticipated his release, but thought the pending felony charges
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and a no contact order would be enough to keep
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him away from our child. We were wrong. The night
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their daughter was taken, my husband didn't ask to be
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put in a position to save our ch child. We
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didn't ask for any of this. An evil man with
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a long history of predatory behavior targeted our child and
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was not scared of the consequences. My husband was forced
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to save his child from someone who should have never
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been on the streets to begin with. A GoFundMe created
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by Heather's sister has raised over seventy nine thousand dollars
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for legal fees and therapy for their daughter. The page
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describes the family as facing a very challenging uncertain time.
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Spencer's son commented on his father's campaign video, proud to
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call this man my father. Community response has been overwhelmingly supportive.
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Comments on his video include I will stand with you
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as a veteran and a father, and I was working
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dispatch when this call came through. My officer went to assist.
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You definitely got our votes and will be praying for
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your daughter that she may heal from this trauma. And
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you against our justice system. I think you served the
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justice that the Justice Department wouldn't. Current Sheriff John Staley
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announced he's seeking reelection. His statement, since twenty thirteen, I
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have served as Sheriff of Lenoke County with a clear
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mission to protect our citizens and hold those who break
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the law accountable. From day one, our focus has been
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on three major threats to our communities. Drug traffickers, sexual predators,
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and thieves. My motto has been and will continue to
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be do what's right, not what's easy. That last line
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carries weight given the circumstances. Spencer is arguing the system
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failed to protect his daughter from a sexual predator, that
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doing what's right meant shooting the man who was abusing her,
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That the Sheriff's office should have prevented Fossler from being
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released or supervised him properly. The legal questions are complex.
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Was Spencer justified in using deadly force, did he act
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in defense of his daughter, or was this premeditated murder?
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Hunting down Fossler and executing him. The facts suggest heat
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of passion at minimum. Spencer woke up, found his daughter missing,
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immediately went searching, found her in her abuser's truck despite
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a no contact order, and shot the man. That's not
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premeditation in the traditional sense. That's a father discovering his
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worst nightmare and acting. But second degree murder charges indicate
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prosecutors believe Spencer acted with malice, that forcing Fossler's truck
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off the highway and shooting him went beyond reasonable defense,
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that he could have called police instead of taking matters
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into his own hands. Spencer's defense will argue necessity and
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defense of another. His daughter was in immediate danger. Fossler
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had violated the no contact order, kidnapped her, and, based
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on his pending charges, was likely planning to assault her
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again or worse. Spencer had seconds to act. He acted
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to save his daughter's life. The prosecution will argue Spencer
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had alternatives. He could have followed Fossler's truck and called police,
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could have pursued legal remedies, could have done anything except
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shoot a man to death on a highway. A jury
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will decide which narrative is true, but the community has
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already decided. Spencer has widespread support, people who believe he
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did what any parent would do, what any parent should
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do when the system fails to protect their child. The
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political implications are fascinating. Spencer is running for sheriff while
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awaiting trial for murder. If acquitted, he could actually become sheriff.
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If convicted, he goes to prison. The election is before
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his trial, so voters will choose whether to elect someone
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charged with murder to lead law enforcement. That's either brilliant
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politics or insane. Spencer is making his criminal case part
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of his political platform. He's the father who protected his
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daughter when the system failed. Vote for him, and he'll
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protect your family too. He won't let sexual predators roam
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free on low bond. He'll do what's right, not what's easy.
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It's a compelling message in a county where residents probably
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know similar stories, where predators get released on bond, where
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victims feel unprotected, where families don't trust the system. But
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it's also a message built on admitting to killing someone.
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Spencer isn't claiming innocence. He's claiming justification. Yes, I shot him,
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I'd do it again. Now elect me sheriff so I
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can protect you too. That's unprecedented. Candidates usually distance themselves
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from criminal charges, claim innocence, avoid discussing pending cases. Spencer
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is doing the opposite, embracing his charges as qualification for office.
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The trial is January twenty sixth, twenty twenty six. The
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election presumably happens before then. If Spencer wins, he'd be
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sheriff elect awaiting trial for murder. If acquitted, he becomes sheriff.
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If convicted, the county has to hold another election. Michael Fossler,
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faced over forty sexual defense charges, was released on bond
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with no supervision despite pending federal crimes, violated a no
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contact order to abduct a thirteen year old girl he'd
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been abusing, was shot to death by her father, and
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now that father is running for sheriff on a platform
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of fixing the system that failed his family. That's the
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Aaron Spencer story. Murder defendant sheriff candidate father who refuses
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to apologize for protecting his daughter. We'll be right back
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with Ellen Greenberg stabbed twenty times and Philadelphia rules its
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suicide again. January twenty sixth, twenty eleven, Philadelphia, a nor'easter
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covers the city in snow and ice. Schools closed, businesses shuttered,
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everyone hunkering down inside. Ellen Greenberg, twenty seven year old
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elementary school teacher, returns to the sixth floor apartment she
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shares with her fiance Sam Goldberg, man a young neighborhood
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safe area nice building. Around four forty five pm. Goldberg
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goes to the gym in their building. Returns thirty minutes later.
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The door is locked from the inside. He can't get in.
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He texts Ellen, Hello, open the door. What are you doing?
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I'm getting pissed. Hello, you better have an excuse, you
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have no idea. During that time, he also calls his
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uncle and cousin, James and Kamian Schwartzmann, both powerful attorneys.
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Talks to them on the phone while locked out of
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his own apartment. After about an hour, Goldberg says he
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breaks down the door, finds Ellen in a pool of
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blood on the kitchen floor a ten inch kitchen knife
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sticking out of her chest. He calls nine to one
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one around six thirty pm. Two minutes into the call,
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Goldberg mentions the knife. She stabbed herself. He says moments
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later she fell on a knife. Responding officers treated as
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suicide because Goldberg said the door was locked from inside
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and no one else was in the apartment. No CSI
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team called home, not treated as crime scene. Next day,
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doctor Marlon Osborne conducts Ellen's autopsy. Finds horrific injuries. Twenty
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stab wounds, ten to the back of her head and neck.
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One three inch wound near the base of her skull
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caused a stroke. One severed the spinal column membrane, one
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sliced her aorda bruises in various stages of healing, indicating
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repeated beatings. Possible finger marks on her neck suggesting strangulation.
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Osbourne rules it homicide caused by multiple stab wounds by
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an unknown person, but by then the scene has been
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released and professionally cleaned. Goldberg's relatives visited the home and
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took electronic devices evidence gone. Days later a closed door
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meeting between the Medical Examiner's office and law enforcement, Osborne suddenly,
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without explanation, changes his ruling to suicide. For fourteen years,
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Ellen's parents, Josh and Sandy Greenberg, have fought that ruling.
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Hired pathologists, investigators, experts, all contradicting suicide. Prominent pathologist Wayne
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Ross found the bruising indicated repeated beating prior to death.
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Found that one stab woond to her head severed the
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cranial nerves and brain and would have caused unconsciousness, making
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it impossible for Ellen to cause the final stab wound
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to her chest. Doctor Lindsay Emery, pathologist in the Medical
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Examiner's office, examined Ellen's spinal column in twoenty nineteen, found
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no hemorrhage in the stab wound that severed the spinal membrane,
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possible conclude usion that wound was inflicted post mortem after death.
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The scene itself looked staged. Dried blood on Ellen's face
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indicated she'd been moved to where she was found propped
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against kitchen cabinets. Questions about whether the door was actually locked.
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The official account that Goldberg was accompanied by a security
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guard when entering has been refuted by surveillance footage and
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the guard's sworn testimony. January twenty twenty five bombshell moment.
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Doctor Osborne, who did the original autopsy and changed his
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ruling to suicide, admits in a sworn statement that he
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no longer believes Ellen killed herself, that her manner of
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death should be designated something other than suicide. Three days later,
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a settlement reached in lawsuits Ellen's parents brought against the city.
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Key part the Medical Examiner's office would conduct an expeditious
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reinvestigation of Ellen's death. Months pasted no response, The Greenberg's attorney,
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Joe Pedraza, filed a motion to force the city to act.
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September third Hearing Judge Linda Carpenter scolds the city for
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dragging its feet, says expedited should mean a week to
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ten days, that the delay shows they obviously just don't care.
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The city agrees to a deadline October fourteenth, twenty twenty
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five final answer on whether Ellen's death remains suicide or