Constance Margaret Fisher

Serial Killer

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. ...

Confirmed Victims: (6)

Richard Fisher Age: (6), Date of Death: 1954-03-08

Constance Fisher - Wikipedia