In the summer of 1979, 78-year-old Claudine Eggers Fischer was found repeatedly stabbed in the trailer she shared with her husband in Wassaic, New York. Her body was discovered after her husband, 50-year-old Joseph Fischer, walked into a New York City precinct on June 27, 1979 and confessed to killing her, saying he had stabbed her numerous times and left her on the bedroom floor. He told officers he married Claudine after exchanging letters while he was incarcerated and said he killed her because at 78 she was too old for him.

After the confession, New York City police notified Poughkeepsie authorities, who took Fischer into custody and returned him to Dutchess County. Investigators confirmed Claudine’s death at the Wassaic trailer and moved forward with charges in that county. While awaiting trial in Poughkeepsie, Fischer also began claiming responsibility for many other unsolved homicides, saying he had killed 30 to 40 people across the country; those broader claims were under investigation.

If anyone knew Claudine, her life in Wassaic, or has information about her death, please share what is known.