Oct. 15, 2025

"FATHER RUNS FOR SHERIFF WHILE AWAITING MURDER TRIAL & 20 STABS RULED SUICIDE"

"FATHER RUNS FOR SHERIFF WHILE AWAITING MURDER TRIAL & 20 STABS RULED SUICIDE"

Reid Carter covers Aaron Spencer, Arkansas father running for sheriff while awaiting murder trial for shooting his 13-year-old daughter's abuser - 67-year-old Michael Fosler who was out on bond for 40+ sexual offenses when Spencer found his missing daughter in Fosler's truck. Ellen Greenberg stabbed 20 times including 10 to the back of head - Philadelphia rules it suicide AGAIN despite pathologist who did autopsy now saying he was wrong. Supreme Court rejects Alex Jones' appeal of $1.4 billion Sandy Hook judgment, families offered to settle for $85 million over 10 years.

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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

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gets changed to homicide or undetermined. Yesterday, October fourteenth, Philadelphia

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Chief Medical Examiner Lindsay Simon releases a thirty two page

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review the ruling still suicide. Simon claims Ellen could have

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inflicted all twenty stab wounds herself, says many were hesitation wounds.

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Says there's no evidence she was incapacitated when they were inflicted,

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points to lack of evidence of domestic abuse, notes that

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only Ellen's DNA was found on the knife, no one else's.

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Also cites Ellen's anxiety at time of death. She'd recently

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changed medication helping with insomnia, giving her an increase in

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energy to act on her anxious thoughts. Simon's conclusion, with

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all of this information considered, it is the opinion of

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the Undersigned that the manner of Ellen Greenberg's death is

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best classified as suicide. Joe Padraza's response the ruling is tripe,

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an embarrassment to the city, and an insult to Ellen

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and her family, called it a deeply flawed attempt to

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justify a predetermined conclusion. He notes false claims like asserting

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a stab wound in Ellen's spinal column was made during autopsy,

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a theory rejected by every credible expert, including the city's

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own neuropathologist. Says Simon ignored key evidence contradicting suicide, Extensive

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three D photogrammetry proving Ellen couldn't self inflict all wounds,

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unexplained bruises, missing surveillance footage, intact, Locke accounts of a

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toxic relationship. Ellen's family just wanted the truth. It is

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clear the truth will not come from Philadelphia's law enforcement machinery.

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Though Ellen's city turned its back on her, we will

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continue through other avenues to get justice for her murder

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by any means necessary. The implications are huge. A homicide

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ruling or even undetermined, would trigger a criminal investigation, would

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mean looking for a killer. With the suicide ruling standing,

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no investigation happens because officially no crime occurred. As Padraza said,

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so long as that death certificate says suicide, it's an

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obstacle for an investigation to proceed because it's the state

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literally saying no crime has occurred. The perfect murder is

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to have the manner of death declared a suicide. That's

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the truth. Think about the facts. Ellen was stabbed twenty times,

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ten wounds to the back of her head and neck.

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How do you stab yourself in the back of the

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neck ten times? One catastrophic wound severed cranial nerves and brain,

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causing unconsciousness. How do you continue stabbing after losing consciousness?

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One wound to the spinal column shows no hemorrhaging, suggesting

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post mortem injury. How do you stab yourself after death?

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Bruises in various stages of healing indicate repeated beatings before death,

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possible strangulation marks on her neck, finger impressions, dried blood

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pattern suggests her body was moved, and Goldberg's behavior texts

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escalating from normal to aggressive. You better have an excuse?

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What the fuck? Why you have no idea? That's threatening language,

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then calling powerful attorney relatives while locked out. Then she

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stabbed herself within two minutes of the nine to one

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to one call. How do you know someone stabbed themselves

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before examining the scene? The door locked from inside, except

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surveillance and security guard testimonies suggest it wasn't. The scene

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professionally cleaned and devices removed before investigation complete. The medical

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examiner changing is ruling after a closed door meeting with

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law enforcement. It looks like a cover up, feels like

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a cover up, but Philadelphia says it's suicide again. Sam Goldberg,

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now a married father of two living in New York,

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has spoken publicly about Ellen's death only once, a written

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statement to CNN in late twenty twenty four, blasting lies, distortions,

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and falsehoods about him and insisting Ellen died by suicide.

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He hasn't joined Josh and Sandy in fighting the suicide ruling,

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hasn't demanded an investigation to clear his name if he's innocent,

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just moved on, new wife, new kids, new life. Josh

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and Sandy believe their daughter was murdered, one her killer

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brought to justice, have fought fourteen years, spent everything on

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lawyers and experts, and yesterday Philadelphia told them to stop fighting.

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Your daughter killed herself. Case closed except twenty stab wounds

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to the back of the neck, multiple catastrophic injuries, post

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mortem wounds, strangulation marks, and a staged scene. All say otherwise.

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More in a moment Alex Jones update. Six minutes Tuesday,

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the Supreme Court rejected Alex Jones's appeal of the one

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point four billion dollar Sandy Hook judgment no comment, didn't

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even ask the families to respond, just denied. Jones had

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argued the judge was wrong to find him liable without

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a trial on the merits that he deserved a full trial,

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that his First Amendment rights were violated. The Supreme Court disagreed,

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or rather didn't care enough to explain why sometimes scotus

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denials or statements themselves. This was one not worth our

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time appeal denied move On background twenty twelve Sandy Hook

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Elementary School shooting, twenty first graders and six educators killed

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by a gunman in Newtown, Connecticut, one of the worst

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school shootings in American history. Jones, on his Info Wars show,

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repeatedly said the shooting never happened, called it staged, said

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it was an effort to tighten gun laws, claimed the

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parents were crisis actors whose children never existed. Relatives of

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victims sued Jones in Connecticut and Texas won nearly one

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point five billion dollars in judgments. In Connecticut, specifically, a

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judge issued a rare default ruling against Jones because of

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his repeated failure to abide by court rulings and to

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turn over evidence. Convened a jury to determine damages. Jury

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awarded nine hundred sixty four million dollars. Judge added four

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hundred seventy three million dollars in punitive damages. Jones filed

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for bankruptcy in late twenty twenty two. His lawyers told

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the Supreme Court playintiffs have no possible hope of collecting

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the entire judgment. He's separately appealing a forty nine million

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dollar judgment in Texas. Now with Scotus denying his appeal,

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the one point four billion dollar judgment stands, but Jones

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can't pay it. He's in bankruptcy. His assets are being liquidated.

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November twenty twenty four, the Onion was named winning bidder

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in an auction to liquidate InfoWars assets, but the bankruptcy

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judge threw out the auction, citing problems with the process

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and the Onion's bid. The attempt to sell info Wars

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moved to Texas State Court. Jones is appealing the appointment

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of a receiver to liquidate assets. Some of Jones's personal

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property is being sold as part of bankruptcy. Meanwhile, Sandy

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Hook Families offered a settlement eighty five million dollars over

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ten years. That's pennies on the dollar, less than six

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percent of the one point four billion dollar judgment. But

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it's realistic, Jones's lawyer told the court even eighty five

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million dollars over ten years is too high. There are

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no financials that will ever show that mister Jones ever

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made that in ten years. The settlement offer gave Jones

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two options, either liquidate his estate and give proceeds to creditors,

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or pay at least eight point five million dollars a

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year for ten years years plus fifty percent of any

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income over nine million dollars per year. Jones's financial disclosures

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about thirteen million dollars in total assets, including eight hundred

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and fifty six thousand dollars in bank accounts. Free Speech

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Systems info War's parent company expects to make about nineteen

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point two million dollars next year from selling supplements, clothing,

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and merchandise. Jones promotes operating expenses, including salaries, about fourteen

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point three million dollars. That leaves roughly five million dollars

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profit annually. A court appointed restructuring officer recently increased Jones's

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salary from five hundred twenty thousand dollars annually to one

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point five million dollars, saying he'd been grossly underpaid for

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how vital he is to the company. But bankruptcy Judge

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Christopher Lopez rejected that raise, saying it wasn't properly done

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under bankruptcy law. The family's lawyers accused Jones of failing

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to curb his extravagant lifestyle, failing to preserve holdings, refusing

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to sell assets, failing to produce financial documents. Jones has

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failed in every way to serve as the fiduciary mandated

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by the bankruptcy Code. His time is up. If Jones

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doesn't accept the settlement, Judge Lopez will determine how much

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he pays. October ruling Jones cannot use bankruptcy protection to

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avoid paying more than one point one billion dollars of

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the debt. Relatives of Sandy Hook victims testified at trials

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about being harassed and threatened by Jones's believers. People sent threats,

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confronted grieving families in person, accused them of being crisis actors,

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told them their dead children never existed. That's the legacy

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of Jones's lies. Families who lost children in a school's

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shooting spent years being harassed because a conspiracy theorist told

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his audience the massacre was fake. Now Jones has a

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one point four billion dollar judgment he can't pay. His

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appeal to the Supreme Court was rejected without comment. His

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assets are being liquidated. Sandy Hook families offered to settle

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for eighty five million dollars, and his lawyer says even

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that's too much. Alex Jones spent years calling Sandy Hook

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a hoax. Now he'll spend the rest of his life

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paying for it or trying to avoid paying, while bankruptcy

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courts liquidate everything he owns. That's celebrity trials for Wednesday,

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October fifteenth, twenty twenty five. Aaron Spencer shot his daughter's abuser,

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a sixty seven year old facing forty sexual offense charges

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who violated bond and a no contact order to abduct

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Spencer's thirteen year old daughter. Spencer found her in the

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man's truck, shot him dead. Now charged with second degree

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murder and running for sheriff on a platform of protecting

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families when the system fails. Trial in January election. Before that,

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Ellen Greenberg stabbed twenty times, including ten to the back

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of the neck. Philadelphia rules its suicide again, despite the

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original pathologist now saying he was wrong, despite catastrophic wounds

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that would cause unconsciousness, despite evidence of strangulation and post

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mortem injuries, despite a scene that looked staged. Fourteen years

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her parents still fighting, Philadelphia still refusing to investigate. Supreme

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Court rejected Alex Jones's appeal no comment. One point four

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billion dollar judgment stands. Sandy Hook families offered to settle

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00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:02.240
for eighty five million dollars over ten years. Jones's lawyer

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says that's still too much. His assets are being liquidated.

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He'll spend his life paying for calling a school shooting

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a hoax. I'm read Carter. One father becoming a political candidate.

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One suspicious death, ruled suicide twice, one conspiracy theorist losing everything.

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See you tomorrow. By the way, we have a poll

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going in our Facebook group's page. Do you want to

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hear more classic celebrity trials, more current murder cases or

411
00:28:27.359 --> 00:28:31.160
is the mix just right? Let us know. Search celebrity

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00:28:31.200 --> 00:28:33.480
trials and Facebook groups or follow the link in the

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00:28:33.480 --> 00:28:44.960
show notes. We'd love to hear from you.