A judge on Thursday dismissed a second-degree murder charge against Aaron Spencer, the Arkansas sheriff candidate who was scheduled to go on trial this month for killing a man accused of sexually assaulting his teenage daughter.

In the order dismissing the case, Special Circuit Court Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. cited missing evidence and misconduct by law enforcement, saying it “was so egregious that dismissal of this case is warranted.”

Spencer admitted to gunning down Michael Fosler in the early hours of October 8, 2024, after he found him with his daughter after midnight despite a no-contact order. Fosler, 67, was out on bond while facing dozens of charges, including internet stalking of a child and sexual assault in connection with Spencer’s daughter, who was 13 at the time.

In February, Spencer won the Republican primary for Lonoke County sheriff, saying he’s running to fix a justice system that failed to protect his daughter.

Spencer had admitted to the killing but pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. His trial was expected to start June 22.

“First, I want to thank God, my wife, and my family. And I want to thank the people of Lonoke County who stood with us when it would have been easier to look the other way. I won’t forget it. The support we’ve received has carried our family,” Spencer said Thursday in a statement sent to the media.

“Neighbors here in Lonoke County, people from every part of Arkansas, and folks I’ve never met from around the world reached out, prayed for us, and refused to stay quiet,” he added. “When I couldn’t speak for myself, you spoke for me. I’ll never be able to thank you the way you deserve, but I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to live up to it.

“My focus now is on my family and getting back to a normal life. I would ask people to please respect my family’s privacy as we move into this next phase … I’m grateful this chapter is closed.”

In earlier statements Spencer and his wife said their daughter had vanished from her bedroom earlier that October night. Spencer said he jumped into his Ford truck and searched the roads around their home until he spotted her in Fosler’s truck, rammed the vehicle off the road and shot him during an altercation.

“I did what any good father would do — just save and protect their child,” he told CNN in February.

Spencer’s attorney has said that he and his wife feared their daughter was in grave danger when she left their house with Fosler that night. She was the only witness to the sexual assault charges against Fosler, whose trial was set to begin three months later.

“At that time, she was the only thing standing between him and life in prison,” said Erin Cassinelli, the defense attorney.

One key issue in the case was a missing SD memory card from the dash camera in Fosler’s vehicle. Spencer’s attorney argued it contained evidence that would shed light on what happened that night, and had sought to have the case dismissed over its disappearance.

Judge Wilson seemed to agree, finding in his ruling that a detective mishandled the evidence and failed to follow proper procedure.

“The Court acknowledges that dismissal is an extraordinary and extreme remedy. However, based on the totality of the circumstances and the unique, specific, and particular facts and circumstances of this case, the Court finds that conduct by law enforcement was so egregious that dismissal of this case is warranted,” Wilson wrote in his dismissal order.

In February, Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley told CNN that the memory card disappeared while in custody of the Attorney General’s forensics unit.

“The detective reviewed it and didn’t see anything of evidentiary (nature) so he put it back in the camera … We don’t know what happened to the SD card. We certainly wish the SD card was there. I don’t know where that happened, and humans are humans,” he said.

When reached by CNN after the dismissal Thursday, Staley said he takes responsibility for the detective’s failure to follow procedure and has terminated him.

“I believe in accountability. I can’t speak on what the judge said or his feelings,” he told CNN. “I can tell you that I agree he (the detective) didn’t do a decent job, and ultimately that falls on my shoulders as the sheriff.”

In an unexpected twist, Spencer announced last fall that he was running for sheriff against the incumbent whose deputies arrested him. Spencer, an Army veteran with no law enforcement experience, defeated Staley, a Republican who’d been in office for over 13 years.

Spencer’s prosecution sparked outrage on social media and prompted several petitions calling for the charges against him to be dropped, including one signed by more than 380,000 people. It also prompted conversations across Arkansas and beyond about a parent’s legal limits in protecting their child. Some observers expressed concern about the impact of taking justice into one’s own hands.

Thursday’s dismissal of the charges clears a path for Spencer to potentially become Lonoke County’s sheriff in November. As the Republican candidate, he’s well positioned in a county where Donald Trump received almost 76% of the vote in 2024.

“No member of this family should ever again be forced to walk into a courtroom and relive this horror. This father should have never been charged for protecting his child,” Cassinelli said Thursday in a statement.

“Today, the court did exactly what courts are supposed to do: protect the rights of the accused and hold our law enforcement accountable for following the same laws they are sworn to uphold.”