Constance Margaret Fisher: The Maine Mother Who Killed Six of Her Children
Constance Margaret Fisher, born Constance Margaret Sirois on March 26, 1929, in Oakland, Maine, was an American murderer whose crimes occurred in two separate episodes twelve years apart. She is frequently described as a serial killer because she killed six victims during separate periods of criminal activity, although the case can also be viewed as two acts of familicide. All six victims were her own children, and all six died by drowning.
Fisher's case became especially notorious because the first three killings resulted in her confinement in a psychiatric hospital rather than imprisonment. After several years of treatment, she was released and returned to her husband. The couple subsequently had three more children. In 1966, Fisher killed those three children in circumstances disturbingly similar to the first deaths.
Early Life and Family
Constance was born in Oakland, Maine, and was adopted by the Sirois family. In 1946, when she was seventeen, she married Carl Marion Fisher, a World War II veteran who worked for the Maine Central Railroad. The couple settled in Waterville, Maine. Their first three children were Richard, Daniel, and Deborah.
During the early years of the marriage, Constance experienced serious emotional and psychiatric problems. Accounts of the case describe periods of depression, anxiety, suicidal behavior, and unusual religious ideas. The psychiatric terminology applied to her changed over the years, and historical records include diagnoses or descriptions involving severe depression and paranoid schizophrenia. These diagnoses came from an era when psychiatric standards and treatments differed significantly from those used today.
The Waterville Murders: March 8, 1954
On March 8, 1954, Fisher killed her first three children at the family's home in Waterville. Richard was six years old, Daniel was four, and Deborah was approximately eleven months old and was commonly reported as being one year old.
The children were drowned in the family's bathtub. When Carl Fisher returned home from work, he found the residence locked. Concerned about what was happening inside, he obtained assistance in entering the home. The children were then discovered dead inside the residence. Richard was found in the bathroom, while the younger children had been moved from the bathtub after their deaths.
Constance was also found inside the house. She had attempted to take her own life and was unconscious. Investigators found evidence indicating that the deaths were intentional rather than accidental. Fisher admitted drowning the children and expressed religiously influenced beliefs about protecting or saving them from evil.
The deaths shocked Waterville. Fisher was arrested and faced murder charges, but psychiatric examinations became central to the case. Doctors concluded that she was suffering from severe mental illness. She was considered incapable of proceeding normally through a criminal trial and was committed to Augusta State Hospital rather than sent to prison.
Psychiatric Confinement and Release
Fisher remained at Augusta State Hospital for several years. Treatments described in accounts of her hospitalization included methods that were common in mid-twentieth-century psychiatric institutions but would be considered highly unusual today. Over time, hospital personnel believed that her condition had improved.
Carl Fisher sought his wife's release and continued to support her return to the family. On March 6, 1959, approximately five years after the deaths of Richard, Daniel, and Deborah, Constance was released from the hospital into her husband's custody.
The couple established a home in Fairfield, Maine, and began another family. They had three more children: Kathleen, Michael, and Natalie Rose Fisher. Some historical records render the youngest child's first name as "Nathalie," but Natalie is also widely used in accounts of the case.
The Fairfield Murders: June 30, 1966
On June 30, 1966, history repeated itself. Fisher's second group of children were then six-year-old Kathleen, four-year-old Michael, and nine-month-old Natalie. All three died that day at the Fisher home in Fairfield, Maine.
Again, drowning was the method of killing. Carl Fisher returned from work and discovered that something was terribly wrong. The youngest child, Natalie, was found drowned in the bathtub. Authorities called to the residence subsequently found Michael and Kathleen dead elsewhere inside the house. Evidence established that the children had been drowned and then, in the case of the older children, removed from the water.
Constance was found unconscious following another apparent suicide attempt, this time involving an overdose of pills. The similarities to the events of March 1954 were unmistakable: three children killed by drowning inside the family home, followed by an attempt by Fisher to end her own life.
The 1966 deaths brought renewed scrutiny to the decision to release Fisher from psychiatric confinement. She was taken into custody after receiving medical treatment and was formally accused of murdering Kathleen, Michael, and Natalie. Psychiatric testimony once again played an important role in the legal proceedings. Although questions were raised about her competency and her understanding of her actions, the case ultimately resulted in Fisher being found not guilty by reason of insanity. She was returned to Augusta State Hospital for indefinite confinement.
Victims
- Richard Fisher — Age 6. Died March 8, 1954, at the Fisher family home in Waterville, Maine. He was killed by drowning.
- Daniel Fisher — Age 4. Died March 8, 1954, at the Fisher family home in Waterville, Maine. He was killed by drowning.
- Deborah Fisher — Approximately 11 months old and commonly listed as age 1. Died March 8, 1954, at the Fisher family home in Waterville, Maine. She was killed by drowning.
- Kathleen Fisher — Age 6. Died June 30, 1966, at the Fisher family home in Fairfield, Maine. She was killed by drowning.
- Michael Fisher — Age 4. Died June 30, 1966, at the Fisher family home in Fairfield, Maine. He was killed by drowning.
- Natalie Rose Fisher — Age 9 months; her name is also rendered as Nathalie in some records. Died June 30, 1966, at the Fisher family home in Fairfield, Maine. She was killed by drowning.
Final Confinement and Death
After the second set of killings, Fisher remained confined at Augusta State Hospital. Unlike an ordinary prison sentence, her detention was based on her psychiatric status and the court's determination concerning her mental condition. The six deaths remained one of Maine's most disturbing family murder cases, particularly because the second tragedy followed a nearly identical series of killings twelve years earlier.
On October 1, 1973, Fisher disappeared from the grounds of Augusta State Hospital. Authorities began searching for her. On October 9, her body was discovered in the Kennebec River near Gardiner, Maine. Investigators determined that she had drowned, with her death believed to have occurred around October 1, the day she disappeared. She was forty-four years old.
Legacy of the Case
The Constance Fisher case remains unusual in American criminal history because the same offender killed two separate groups of her own children by essentially the same method, with twelve years separating the crimes. The first three verified deaths occurred on March 8, 1954, in Waterville, and the second three occurred on June 30, 1966, in Fairfield.
The case also became part of a larger historical discussion about psychiatric treatment, criminal responsibility, institutional release decisions, and the difficulty of predicting whether a person who has committed severe violence while mentally ill may become dangerous again. Fisher's release in 1959 was followed by the births of three additional children, all of whom became her victims seven years later.
Ultimately, six children lost their lives: Richard, Daniel, Deborah, Kathleen, Michael, and Natalie Fisher. Their deaths, occurring in two groups of three and under strikingly similar circumstances, transformed what initially appeared to be a singular family tragedy in 1954 into one of Maine's most extraordinary and disturbing repeated murder cases.
