Nationwide — Robert Fisher, a 34-year-old man from Rensselaer, New York, died in prison just one month after starting a 20-year-to-life sentence for raping and killing his girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter, Josie. Her family initially called for the death penalty as punishment for his crime.
Fisher had pleaded guilty to the murder of Josefina Cunningham, known as Josie, in July 2023. He was sentenced to 20 years to life and entered Elmira Correctional Facility in September 2024. By late October, he was found unresponsive on the bed and leaning against a wall in his cell.
Emergency responders pronounced him dead shortly after. Officials listed the cause of death as unknown, though an autopsy was completed.
Fisher’s prison death came after he admitted to killing Josefina while he was living with the child and her mother. Authorities said Josefina’s mother found her unresponsive inside the home in July 2023.
Emergency responders rushed Josefina to a hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead. Investigators later discovered evidence that led to charges of aggravated sexual abuse, assault, and endangering the welfare of a child before Fisher was indicted for murder and rape.
Prosecutors said Fisher confessed that he gave the child “prescription drugs the mother was prescribed” before abusing her. Authorities also said he tried to “clean her up with Clorox wipes” after the child died, according to News 10.
Josefina’s older brother, Jy’Quan Stewart, said he always felt uncomfortable around Fisher after meeting him for the first time. He said he believed something seemed wrong about his relationship with his mother.
“Something felt a little off inside when I first met him. It was a little off. I just felt something in my gut,” Stewart said. “It was like [my mother] was hypnotized. She was too deep in love with him. It was actually kind of strange.”
Josefina’s family had pushed for the death penalty, but prosecutors said New York law does not allow capital punishment. Instead, Fisher was sentenced to 20 years to life, the maximum sentence available under state law, before his death in prison.