Matthew James Bromley, a 39-year-old Caucasian male, found his life unexpectedly and violently cut short on June 7, 2021, in the otherwise tranquil town of Litchfield, Connecticut. A father of two sons, Bromley had recently returned to his home state from Virginia, in part to be with his mother who was in hospice care. He was also exploring job opportunities, hoping to re-establish his life in the area where he was raised. On that Monday afternoon, a confrontation in the parking lot of the Cramer & Anderson law firm, located on the town's historic green, would end in his death from a single gunshot wound to the head.
The man involved in the fatal encounter was Robert Fisher, a 75-year-old attorney and a partner at the firm. The incident began when Bromley followed Fisher's car into the law office's parking lot. According to Fisher's account to investigators, Bromley then aggressively approached his vehicle, opened the door, and began punching him while shouting that Fisher had ruined his life. Fisher, stating he was in fear for his life due to his age and physical limitations, managed to exit his car. The altercation continued, culminating in Fisher drawing a legally registered handgun.
What transpired in the final moments is a matter of conflicting accounts. Fisher claimed that Bromley charged at him and grabbed for the gun, leading to a struggle during which the weapon discharged. However, eyewitness testimony suggested that Bromley may have frozen or stepped back upon seeing the firearm. After the shot was fired, Fisher himself called 911 to report the shooting. Police arrived to find Matthew Bromley lying in the parking lot; he was pronounced dead at the scene. The law firm later stated that Bromley had never been a client and they had no record of him as an opposing party in any legal matter, though a witness recalled a tense phone call between the two men in the month prior regarding foreclosures.
In the aftermath, Robert Fisher was identified as the subject of the investigation and was placed on leave from his law firm. Nearly a year later, in May 2022, he turned himself in to the Connecticut State Police and was charged with first-degree manslaughter. After a trial, a jury found the 78-year-old Fisher guilty of manslaughter in March 2025. In June 2025, he was sentenced to seven years in prison, suspended after serving two and a half years. An appeal of the verdict has since been filed.
