Bob Motta: Judge Removed From Spencer Trial, McKee Hires Lawyer Who Beat 14 Murder Charges
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
True Crime Today
3.3 • 907 Ratings
🗓️ 29 January 2026
⏱️ 71 minutes
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Summary
Defense attorney Bob Motta joins me for a two-part legal breakdown of the biggest murder case developments this week.
First: Aaron Spencer. The Arkansas Supreme Court removed Judge Barbara Elmore from his second-degree murder trial—the second time they've reversed her on constitutional grounds in seven months. Spencer killed Michael Fosler, the man out on bond for allegedly raping his 14-year-old daughter. Now a retired judge is taking over, prior rulings could be reconsidered, and the defense has to figure out how to counter Rule 404(b) statements about what Spencer said he'd do if Fosler came near his daughter again.
Second: Michael McKee. He pleaded not guilty to four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of his ex-wife Monique Tepe and her husband Spencer Tepe. His lawyer is Diane Menashe—the same attorney who got Dr. William Husel acquitted of fourteen ICU patient murders by calling one witness. The prosecution has ballistics, surveillance, vehicle tracking, and a suppressor. Menashe doesn't present defenses. She dismantles prosecutions.
Bob Motta breaks down both cases. What judicial removal means for Spencer. How defense-of-others works against premeditation evidence. Whether Menashe can replicate the Husel strategy against different evidence. Two murder trials. Two defense approaches. One expert analysis.
#BobMotta #AaronSpencer #MichaelMcKee #MoniqueTepe #JudgeBarbaraElmore #DianeMenashe #MurderTrial #SelfDefense #HuselAcquittal #HiddenKillers
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Hidden Killers Live with Tony Bruske, Stacey Cole, and Todd Michaels. |
| 0:08.8 | The Arkansas Supreme Court did something it almost never does. |
| 0:13.2 | It yanked a sitting judge off a case. |
| 0:16.6 | Not once, but effectively twice. |
| 0:18.4 | Judge Barbara Elmore has already been slapped down last May |
| 0:22.0 | when the High Court called her gag order a plain, manifest, clear, and gross abuse of discretion. |
| 0:30.9 | That's some stiff words there. |
| 0:33.9 | Seven months later, she pulled the same move with different clothes, limiting the trial |
| 0:39.5 | to 55 people, banning cameras, no overflow room. The Supreme Court didn't just reverse her |
| 0:44.9 | this time. They removed her entirely and appointed a retired judge from the other side of the |
| 0:49.8 | state to take over. Defense attorney Bob Mata is with us now to break down what this means and what |
| 0:56.4 | it tells us about how Aaron Spencer's case has been handled from day one. Bob, welcome. I know you |
| 1:04.3 | were on the road. You were there. You were ready for this. Then the Arkansas Supreme Court stepped in |
| 1:10.1 | and removed the judge. |
| 1:12.7 | It's rather extraordinary. In your experience, what does it take for the state's highest court |
| 1:17.7 | to reach that conclusion? And what does it signal about how they viewed Elmore's conduct? |
| 1:24.8 | Hey, T. Yeah, it was a quick turnaround, my friend. |
| 1:28.9 | 20 hours of driving out of 36. |
| 1:31.8 | So, yeah, it was because I didn't want to get trapped down there because the snow cripples, Arkansas. |
| 1:37.2 | Yeah, it was stunning, frankly. |
| 1:39.0 | I was, and especially with the speed in which it came and the element of the fact that we're on the eve of trial. |
| 1:48.7 | You know, the timing of it is what made it so stunning because we're literally just leaving a hearing wherein she had set jury to start getting selected. |
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