Community reacts to death of man who raped, murdered 3-year-old

RENSSELAER, N.Y. (NEWS10) – A man who admitted to the rape and murder of a child died in prison earlier this week. A family member and law enforcement officer who worked on the case wanted justice to be served. 

Three-year-old Josefina Cunningham had been left in the care of Robert Fisher and was found by her mother unresponsive on July 7, 2023.

He admitted to the egregious crimes and his attempt to conceal them in July of this year, according to Antonia Edwards, Rensselaer County Assistant District Attorney.

“He told us that he administered drugs to the child. They were prescription drugs the mother was prescribed to. He then raped the child. The child then died, and he did try to clean her up with Clorox wipes,” said Edwards.

He accepted a plea agreement on July 9. “Full parameters of the plea included a plea to the entire indictment, so both counts murder in the second-degree and rape in the first-degree. And he will receive, in exchange for that, a sentence of 20 years to life,” said Edwards.

New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) took Fisher into custody on September 23. 

He was at the Elmira Correctional Facility when officials confirmed he was pronounced dead around 1:50 a.m. on Tuesday morning, just one month later.

“I just miss hearing her voice,” said Josefina’s brother, Jy’Quan Stewart. He shared with NEWS10's Carina Dominguez how he learned the news. 

“I was working at Spirit Halloween. I was at my cash register, and he called me out of the blue, and I told my boss I have to go take this call, and it was Israel from the U.S. Sun,” said Stewart. “I stayed at work. My heart was pacing. I was kind of sweaty. I was really shocked. I was in shock.” 

Shocked, but also felt a strange sense of justice. “It’s kind of weird. Last year, he murdered Josie. She died, and now he’s dead. It’s kind of hard to really grasp it, a little bit... it doesn’t really make sense, really,” said Stewart. “I was originally trying to pursue the death penalty, and this happened unexpectedly….I don’t think he deserves a funeral.”

Stewart felt there was a good chance Fisher would have been released after 20 years.

“Obviously, there is some comfort in knowing that, no matter what, now, he will never get out,” said Rensselaer Police Chief Warren Famiglietti.

He said this case had a lasting impact on everyone involved in Josefina’s case from the first responders on the scene to the Albany Medical Center pediatrics emergency room personnel and even personnel from the District Attorney’s office.

He said the police department has been fielding calls from the public, regarding Fisher’s death, that’s why he posted an update on Facebook.

“Some closure for our people, just to say now maybe everybody can heal. He’s not around anymore, so we firmly believe that the city, the residents, the vulnerable population like our children, certainly, are safer without him out in public. So I think it was just something we put out that I thought people would want to know,” said Famiglietti.

He said it was the first time in his career he saw something like this .

“I just commend hard work, and everybody did a great job. It’s a horrific case, but ultimately, it has probably the best possible ending it could have,” said Famiglietti. 

As of now, Fisher’s cause of death has not been made public. Anyone struggling in the wake of the case should seek out resources through the Healthy Alliance Program.

Stewart said he wants to keep his sister’s memory alive and is continuing his work on a documentary film and is pushing for a federal death penalty act.