Murder With My Husband - 103. Fisher Family Murders - The Wanted Fugitive

Episode Date: March 14, 2022

On this episode of MWMH, Payton and Garrett discuss the Fisher Family Murders. LIVE ONLINE SHOW TICKETS HERE! https://www.moment.co/murderwithmyhusband Case Sources: https://work.chron.com/odds-mak...ing-navy-seals-26032.html https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/murders/robert-william-fisher http://murderpedia.org/male.F/f/fisher-robert-william.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Walsh_(television_host) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_William_Fisher https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/scottsdale/2021/11/03/arizona-fugitive-robert-fisher-removed-fbi-10-most-wanted-list/6270056001/https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/scottsdale/2021/11/03/arizona-fugitive-robert-fisher-removed-fbi-10-most-wanted-list/6270056001/ https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/fbi-removes-robert-fisher-from-ten-most-wanted-fugitives-list https://ktar.com/story/4275876/fbi-search-for-robert-fisher-continues-20-years-after-arizona-murders/ Links:  https://linktr.ee/murderwithmyhusband  Ads: Prose: www.prose.com/mwmh  Ship Station: www.ShipStation.com, click on the microphone at the top of the page, and type in HUSBAND. Green Chef: www.greenchef.com/mwmh130  Lumineux: www.getlumineux.com/husband code husband Betterhelp: www.betterhelp.com/husband Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:25 Yes, you energy, energy for everything. Captain Banner now to learn more. Hey everybody, welcome back to our podcast. This is Murder with My Husband. I'm Peyton Morland. I'm Garrett Morland. And he's the husband. Good on the husband.
Starting point is 00:00:36 All right, you guys. So this is the last week to get Strangy, Dain G, and where the cameras merge, along with all of the other merch, I think we will have it up for this week and then this drop will be over with. So if you haven't yet, go ahead and check that out at fanjoy.co slash MWMH
Starting point is 00:00:53 or at the link in our bio episode notes wherever. Also, if you are listening to this right now, just a reminder that we had a Patreon exclusive episode drop this week. So if you wanna check that out, we're just on Patreon. Okay, what's your 10 seconds? 10 seconds. Well, we were in Vegas. That was fun. We ate some good food. We did eat some good food. We ate some good food. We lost some money. You know, it wasn't cheap, the food, but you know, it was 110% worth it. That's all I know.
Starting point is 00:01:22 Peyton and I both actually really like steak. Yeah, we do. So we're just throwing that out there. Well, yeah I really do want to be a vegetarian, but I just every time I try a can't so if anyone has any tips, okay? It's just too good. I don't know how to explain it. So all those candy suggestions I really appreciate them keep them coming, but apparently they are not doing me good because I had a cavity for the first time in my entire life. So Peyton and I actually both went to the dentist and we both had cavities. We both got them filled.
Starting point is 00:01:55 Peyton did not have the best time. I will say that. It wasn't anyone's fault. I think Peyton just doesn't like... She isn't getting shots in her mouth. I mean, who does like getting shots in their mouth? But let's just say Peyton had a rough go, but she's alive, she's here, her cavities are filled.
Starting point is 00:02:12 My cavity is filled. Yes, I say cavity, not cavities like Peyton, but that is okay. That's not fair. Well, no, we both kind of, I think we left that office and they were like, let's never have them back again. You spilled your water bottle in the, in the, um, kind of, I think we left that office and they were like, let's never have them back again. You spilled your water bottle in the, in the, um, whatever that's called, the front desk
Starting point is 00:02:31 area. It's okay. You know what happened. And I, I cried. I wanted to say, everyone wished me luck in about three to four weeks. I'm getting surgery. Um, I don't really know how to explain what it is. Like, you know what I'm saying? Well, because we don't really know, really. We don't really know how to explain what it is. Like, you know what I'm saying?
Starting point is 00:02:45 Well, because we don't really know, really. They don't really know. Anyways, I'm getting surgery, everything should be fine. Mouth surgery. Like mouth surgery, just wish me luck. They're taking something out that shouldn't be there. It's the best way to explain. They have to open them up to even see what it is.
Starting point is 00:02:57 And then if it's a good thing, like if it's a good option, they're just gonna take it out. And if it's the bad option, they're gonna test it. So anyways, we're dealing with that, but maybe I'll explain more about it later. It's kind of nice, but we know more about it. Right now we don't know too much. So if Garrett talks a little funny,
Starting point is 00:03:14 or is missing for an episode for some reason, then that is why. Then that is why. Peyton and I also watched the UFC fight a little bit ago, you know, just kind of doing our normal thing. Yeah, keep the questions coming and all the suggestions and stuff. I really like to look at those. We read the comments. We do read everything. We do. Well, not everything, not everything, but we try to read as much as we can. Yeah. So we appreciate it. All right, so before we jump
Starting point is 00:03:39 into case sources, we're actually going to do, if you're on YouTube, we're going to do a quick outfit change so don't be like, why are they all a sudden in different clothes? Because we're actually going to do if you're on YouTube, we're going to do a quick outfit change so don't be like, why are they all a sudden in different clothes? Because we're just filming on different days. All right, perfect. Should we get into this? Let's do it. All right, our case sources this week are work.com.com, FBI.gov, murderpedia, Wikipedia, AZCentral.com, fox10fenix.com, and katar.com. Okay, so our case begins on the morning of April 10th, 2001. We are actually in a quiet suburban neighborhood in Scottsdale, Arizona. Neighbors in the area are starting their morning, just like any other morning, when a sudden, loud bang comes from outside. It was around 8.40 a.m. and the neighborhood is stunned. This wasn't a car door slamming or even a gunshot.
Starting point is 00:04:27 This noise was louder than that. Neighbors from up and down the street rush outside to figure out what is happening. And the answer to that question was hard to miss. A house sat snugly in the middle of the neighborhood was up in flames. Like huge flames. It took a minute for everyone to figure it out to wrap their minds around it, but that big bang that they had heard had been an explosion. This house in the middle of the neighborhood had just exploded and now was threatening to spread. Neighbors immediately
Starting point is 00:04:59 called 911 about the explosion. It had been strong enough that it collapsed the entire front brick wall of the home and had rattled frames of neighbors' houses for about one half mile in each direction. And I know if you're not watching right now, you're kind of just like, oh, a house is on fire, but we will have footage of the house on fire. And it's like, it's not just a normal house fire. It is like the whole house is up in flames that's coming out of the roof, like the roof has collapsed. Like a movie explosion. Yes, like a movie explosion. Okay.
Starting point is 00:05:27 And the worst part of this, this is a family neighborhood. And all of the neighbors watch in panic because they know the family that lives in that house, the Fisher family, husband, Robert Fisher, the wife, Mary Fisher, and their two children, Brittany and Bobby. And it's the morning time, so all hopes that this family isn't inside of the burning houses kind of low because it's morning. Families are at home in the morning, but as one neighbor tells the 911 operator, they are almost sure the family is inside or at least was because based on the state of the
Starting point is 00:06:03 house, the state of these flames, that family is most likely not alive anymore if they are in there. Okay. As firefighters rush towards the scene, neighbors try using garden hoses to keep the flames under control. But not only is it not really helping, it's also extremely dangerous to be that close
Starting point is 00:06:21 to the burning fire. Luckily, firefighters arrived quick enough that they were able to take over and keep the now 20-foot high flames from spreading into the other houses. So none of the other houses caught on fire? No, because the firefighters arrived fast enough that they were able to contain it.
Starting point is 00:06:38 Wow, I'm surprised. It's pretty crazy. And as you are probably thinking about right now, like everyone in the neighborhood, they are looking at these firefighters, like you have to get in there You have to save the fishers like we are almost sure that that family is inside But firefighters couldn't immediately go into the house because as they arrived There was a series of smaller secondary explosions happening
Starting point is 00:07:02 This could be from anything inside of the house like paint cans and Unition, if there's anything in there that's flammable, it could be causing more explosions and Firefighters at this point are even like was this a bomb? Are these more bombs that are going off? Whatever it was it forced rescue to keep their distance and everyone else to stand helpless in the street as this family's home burned away, possibly with the family still inside. Eventually firefighters were able to get the flames under control and rescue was able to make their way in. They called out for the fishers, combing the mess for anyone.
Starting point is 00:07:38 But as they had feared, there was no one inside the house to successfully rescue. No one was found alive in the Fisher home that dreadful morning. What they did find was the burned bodies of a woman and two children. Those bodies were later identified as 38-year-old Mary Fisher, 12-year-old Brittany Fisher, and 10-year-old Bobby Fisher. So the husband's not there. Yep, where was the father? Already.
Starting point is 00:08:04 Suspissions already happening. Where's the husband? Where there. Yep, where was the father? Already. Suspissions already happening. Where's the husband? Where was Robert William Fisher? Yep. And what had happened inside their home that morning? To answer that, we actually need to back up almost 40 years and leave Arizona for Brooklyn, New York. The date is April 13, 1961, when Robert William Fisher, husband and father to what would
Starting point is 00:08:27 eventually be the Fisher family, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Robert was born to William Fisher and Jan Howell, and he had two sisters. By 1976, when Robert was just 15 years old, his mother actually left his father. Jan describes herself as a yes or wife, who chose not to stand up to Robert's father William, basically their whole marriage. This family life had been pretty abusive and toxic. There had been a lot of fighting. So by the time Robert was 15 years old, his mother decided to finally stand her ground and leave. After the divorce, Robert and his sisters actually went to live with their father in Arizona because he was given custody. Robert attended Saharo High School in Tuscan, Arizona during his teen years.
Starting point is 00:09:19 Friends and relatives of Robert mentioned that during this time in high school, the divorce had lasting effects on Robert. He took it very hard during those formative years. Friends at his new high school noted that Robert seemed extremely bitter about his parents divorce. He would talk about it all the time. Robert would hold on to this bitterness forever.
Starting point is 00:09:42 Going on to eventually claim that his whole entire life would have turned out different if his mother had not abandoned the family. So he blames his mother for everything? Yes, and he blames the whole divorce basically. I mean, and divorce can be hard, obviously, but he's definitely, it's definitely hitting him very, very hard during his teenage years. Okay. During the 1980s and after high school, Robert decided to enlist in the United States Navy and actually attempted to become part of the Navy Sills but was not successful. And if you don't know, a Navy Sill in the U.S. is, according to Google, a nimble elite
Starting point is 00:10:20 maritime military force suited for all aspects of unconventional warfare. We got any Navy SEALs out there, shout out Shoot us at the end. That's awesome. Yeah, that is awesome. SEALs actually stands for Sea, Air, and Land, and Navy SEALs are members of a special operations force trained to engage in direct raid or assaults on enemy targets. They also conduct missions to report on enemy activity and take part in action against terrorist groups. I'm basically telling you this because the training is intense and actually has one of the hardest weeks of the hardest training program in the whole
Starting point is 00:10:56 US military. That's how it's ranked. It's actually referred to as hell week and only the tough survive. So I'm telling you this, so you know how hard it is to actually become a Navy SEAL. Don't other armed forces have hell week as well? Yes, but this one is ranked as the hardest. I don't know enough about like armed forces. I wish I knew more, just don't know. I'm kind of sure they all do have what we've heard of
Starting point is 00:11:20 as a hell week before, but- Yeah, correct, just a for wrong, by the way. Each year about 1,000 recruits make it to seal training and only 250 of those 1,000 then make it through seal training. About 50% willingly drop out and the rest are forced out. So that's, I mean, food for thought. Just because someone attempts and doesn't make it, doesn't mean that they are failures
Starting point is 00:11:45 because this is one of the hardest programs to get into. And I'm actually currently reading a book about Navy Sills right now. And so I was surprised to see this come up in my research this week. I was kind of like how ironic. But by this point in his life, Robert was an avid outdoorsman, hunter and fisherman. When Robert Roberts desired career path didn't pan out as a Navy Seal, he decided to work his way as a firefighter in California. In 1987, Robert Fisher met and married a woman named Mary Cooper. Together, they had two children named Bobby and Brittany. As time went on and the young couple navigated family life, things took a turn for the worse.
Starting point is 00:12:26 Robert began to kind of exhibit cruel and controlling behavior toward his family. When Robert had a back injury, he actually had to retire as a firefighter and decided at that point that the best decision was to move to Arizona and try to embark on a career in the medical field, which once again is a very strenuous career path that requires a lot of sacrifice and time. Mary and Robert fought
Starting point is 00:12:51 often during this time about sex and money. She eventually took a job that she told friends was strictly for a security fund because Robert was kind of trying to figure out where he wanted to go. Mary's mother, Gin Jenny Cooper, noticed the struggles in her daughter's marriage early on. And she noticed the odd and toxic behavior from Robert Fisher. On one hand, just as a father, Robert treated his children kind of badly. As they had grown up,
Starting point is 00:13:19 he had hoped that Bobby would like to hunt or fish like him, but Bobby was young and not interested in this. And this frustrated Robert enough that he kind of pegged his son as an embarrassment and would tell people how embarrassing he is. It's kind of scary that, I mean not scary. Well, I mean, off of what you told me at the beginning
Starting point is 00:13:37 that he was a firefighter as well. Right. I actually didn't see that brought up in any sources, but as I was writing, I kind of was like, okay, what are the odds of this? Yeah. By the 1990s, Ginny wondered why Robert was so standoffish. So Ginny is Mary's mom.
Starting point is 00:13:53 Uh-huh. And she's like, why when he comes around as he's so standoffish, why is he so quiet? And he was like this with all extended family. Has he been like this? Not the entire time, correct? I think it's getting worse with time. Okay. And also with time, Ginny is noticing that her daughter Mary is being urged by her husband
Starting point is 00:14:12 Robert to be standoffish as well. He's trying to separate her from the family, like trying to do this stuff. And Robert finally told Ginny when Ginny confronted him about this, that the only reason he didn't want to get close to anyone in the family or anyone in general was for fear of eventually losing them because his mom abandoned him. When a close friend of Robert's met his family, he couldn't help but notice the striking resemblance
Starting point is 00:14:37 Robert's own family bore to his childhood family. Almost like Robert had turned exactly into his father and was now treating his family the same way that his father treated them. Just normal, I mean, I think that that happens a lot. Right. On one occasion, Robert was on a hunting trip with friends and after killing an elk, he smeared the elx blood all over his face. Which I don't know if that's like super red flaggy, but it did remind me.
Starting point is 00:15:05 Yeah, I think that's like super red flaggy. It did remind me of you, like the TV show you, the last season, when they all go on the hunting trip, the Alphamel's Farm, and they're like rubbing blood all over the day. Yeah, that's what reminded me of. On another hunting trip, Robert snuck up behind a family who was on a picnic
Starting point is 00:15:23 and emptied his loaded gun into the air right behind them with what he thought would be an amusing prank. No one else thought it was funny. They were like, Rob, what are you doing? That's freaking weird. Don't do that, but he was like, this will be so funny. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.
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Starting point is 00:17:21 and your pocket. Stop throwing your money away. Cancel on one of the subscriptions and manager expenses the easy way. By going to rocket money.com slash husband. That's rocket money.com slash husband. Rocket money.com slash husband. There was also an instance where police noted that Robert orchestrated an encounter between his Labrador retriever and a harmless pit bull just so he could shoot and kill that pit bull.
Starting point is 00:17:46 So cops were called and they were like, hey, he set this whole thing up. Like, he just wanted to kill the pit bull. Yeah, that's not okay. So it sounds like some of the stuff he's doing is not weird but odd but not like super odd but it's like almost progressively getting more odd as time goes on. Yes, and also, I mean, I think, according to sources,
Starting point is 00:18:07 it wasn't ever weird enough behavior that people were like steer clear of him, he's weird, but just odd enough behavior that some people were like, oh, Robert, he's a little odd. You know what I mean? But never enough that people were on edge around him. And I think this goes to show that although on the outside families can seem normal, they have friends, they have jobs, they lead a life, you never know the behavior
Starting point is 00:18:32 that's going on behind closed doors. The fighting, the abuse, it was a super toxic environment in the Fisher family. And Robert was showing strange enough behavior that people in his immediate life like I was saying began to notice. In 1998, things had gotten so bad that the fishers decided to attend marital counseling with the senior pastor at the Scottsdale Baptist Church. Neighbors had reported constant fighting and screaming coming from the family home, So it was loud enough that people in the neighborhood could hear.
Starting point is 00:19:07 Yeah. And Robert's friends also noted that during this year in 1998, Robert was in severe depression or at least that's what he said. So like I was saying, it sounds like everything year after year is kind of progressively getting worse. The marriage is getting worse. The fighting is getting worse and it's gotten to a point where they decide that they're going to try marital counseling. Has he ever abused any past girlfriends?
Starting point is 00:19:32 You know, did it say anything about that? No sources said anything about that. And I'm not sure if he was even physically abusive to marry. No one strictly stated that. It was more just like toxic, almost toxic almost toxic like in constant fighting just an abusive household where the just fighting is just mentally and emotionally abusive Robert had expressed suicidal thoughts to multiple people during this year and it was all due to the condition of his marriage It was a parent to many people that this marriage was just not happy. It was not healthy. He told one friend that he could not live without his family despite how bad the marriage had gotten.
Starting point is 00:20:12 According to psychologists, an intense fear of loss is not unusual among individuals who were traumatized by a divorce in their adolescence. But the couple remained married despite all of this and continued counseling hopeful to turn this thing around. That's good. Two years later in 2000, a depressed robber had kind of changed his tune on his marriage. So two years before he's super depressed, he's telling friends, I can't stand where my marriage is. We need to work on it. He's trying to fix things. But then two years go by and now he's kind of changing his tune. Instead of being sad about the marriage or eager to work on it, he's no mad, huh? He told co-workers about a one-night affair that he had decided to have with a sex worker. He expressed concern that Mary would actually find
Starting point is 00:21:02 out about this affair because the interaction left him with a UTI that left him extremely ill in December and this wasn't good because by this point Mary was really keen on divorce. She was kind of over the working on it as well and she was more like I'm over it. Let's get divorced. Okay. Whereas Robert was I'm over it. Let's stay together Got it. It. So two completely different opinions, I guess. Right. He didn't necessarily want to change his behavior. They were both exhausted, but he was absolutely not going
Starting point is 00:21:34 to let a divorce happen. Like the fear of just letting go. Right. Yeah. At this point, Robert was working as a surgical technician at a Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. So it sounds like he's pretty smart though. I mean, he's done a lot.
Starting point is 00:21:47 Well, and like I was saying before, friends weren't like, oh, this guy is a total watch. Like, he's works hard. He was trying to be a still. Then he got into the medical field. Like, he definitely, he has a job, a steady job. He has a family. There's no money problems.
Starting point is 00:22:02 You know what I mean? Yeah. And now we are essentially caught up to April 9th, 2001. Which is interesting because in no way am I like a counselor, family counselor or anything, but it seems like majority of the versus always have some financial aspect to it. And it seems like financially they're doing okay. Right.
Starting point is 00:22:23 So we are at the day before the Fisher Home exploded and the bodies of Mary Brittany and Bobby were found. And that day, Robert Fisher spent the day caring for patients at the clinic earlier before all of this. And at the end of his shift, he actually picked up Brittany and drove her to the National Junior Honor Society induction ceremony, where she was supposed to be honored for her outstanding academic achievements.
Starting point is 00:22:50 But during the ceremony, Robert grew impatient because it was dragging on. And so he decided to grab Brittany and leave before she could even collect her certificate. While this was happening, Mary was with Bobby accompanying him to a gun safety class. It's about 10 p.m. When neighbors in their Scottsdale Arizona neighborhood reported hearing the couple fighting once again. No one called the police because this wasn't out of the norm for the Fisher
Starting point is 00:23:18 household as we've come to learn. Finally, the fight subsided and all was silent in the Fisher House until that next morning at 8.42am when neighbors made their way outside after the explosion. After everything calmed down, 38-year-old Mary Fisher, 12-year-old Brittany Fisher, and 10-year-old Bobby Fisher were found dead inside of the home. That is so crazy. What's crazy is that, I mean, obviously I assume it was him. I mean, there's just, we haven't gotten there yet, but there's no other explanation. And also like why are your kids?
Starting point is 00:23:55 Like why are your kids? And also, I think as you guys are all probably feeling as well as I'm sure you're feeling, does this just fill out of the blue? Like everyone in the neighborhood was like, oh, we knew their marriage wasn't perfect by any means, but this, like even her, even her family is like, this doesn't even make sense. Like how could this have happened?
Starting point is 00:24:17 Yeah, I mean, it sounds like something snapped and something just triggered. Police were obviously immediately concerned and worried about Robert. Why had they not found him? Was he also dead in the house and they just hadn't found him in the rubble? Was he out of town on business? Like immediately they're like, what's going on? But all of this confusion for Robert Fisher turned into fear when it was finally confirmed that Mary and her children had not actually died from the explosion and fire Freaking way Mary Fisher had been shot in the back of the head and Brittany and Bobby's throat had been cut Babe, oh you thought they were alive on you can't do that to me. Oh my gosh
Starting point is 00:24:58 I thought you were just like oh he killed him a different way. I thought that they were alive Well, I'm so sorry. My hopes were like so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I totally thought you were following a lot with me. Oh, man.
Starting point is 00:25:12 OK, so say that again, they were. Mary Fisher was shot. Oh. And Brittany and Bobby's throat had been cut. Oh, my. Even more devastating. Like still very devastating. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:25:22 I'm really sorry. So this case had just turned into something everyone was hoping it wouldn't be. Police fear. Do they now have another family annihilator on their hands? Another husband, father, who kills his whole family and either runs away or attempts to take his own life. They needed to find Robert Fisher immediately.
Starting point is 00:25:47 The search for answers is on as crime scene investigators are sifting through every piece of ash on the property. Police are reaching out to Robert Fisher via the media. He's the missing puzzle piece they need. They're like, please come home. His family is like, please Robert come home. And even her family is telling police, listen, we know their relationship wasn't good, but we really don't think Robert would have done this. Maybe there was an attacker and
Starting point is 00:26:15 they've kidnapped him. Like, no one can believe that this would have even happened. Which is, which I totally get, but it's, I guess, ironic from our standpoint now looking at it. It's like, it was obviously him. Like, who else was it? I had to be. And I think police are kind of, they're like, listen, we understand as family, this is hard to understand, but they did let them know that some of his clothes were gone and that his gun was missing from the house.
Starting point is 00:26:41 So they're like, all fingers are pointing towards him. Investigators discover while searching through the crime scene that the gas line in the back of the house's furnace had been pulled. The accumulating gas was later ignited by a lit candle inside of the house. So this discovery led to the daunting conclusion that if Robert did this, he pulled the gas line, lit the candle, and then waited for enough
Starting point is 00:27:06 gas to accumulate and then eventually reached the flame inside of the house, which would cause the explosion. This delay of the fuse would have given Robert a possible 10-hour head start. He could be out of the state, by this point, all of this was incredibly discouraging for investigators, but also just furthered their all of this was incredibly discouraging for investigators, but also just furthered their theory that this was definitely a family annihilation at the hands of the husband. While searching, police theorized that the murders of Mary Brittney and Bobby actually
Starting point is 00:27:36 took place the night before, because the house would have had to be full of gas for that candle to ignite. Which I was going to say it makes sense why they were fighting. And the next thing you know, the neighbors had everything was quiet, quiet, which is horrible. And police are like, we think this happened after getting all the way through the house. They they theorized that this happened between 930 and 1015 PM, which is right during the time that the neighbors reported hearing the fighting.
Starting point is 00:28:06 After searching, police actually ended up finding ATM footage of Robert Fisher at 10.53. I'm glad you're here. Thank you. Right. At 10.43 pm that night before the house exploded and after they believe he killed his family. So on this footage, police believe that he has already murdered his family. So on this footage, police believe that he is already murdered his family. He is withdrawing $280 out of the ATM. In the background, you can see that he drove Mary's Toyota 4Runner to the ATM. People have speculated whether it's possible that Robert took the money out
Starting point is 00:28:39 before the murders, but police have confirmed based on the neighbor's timeline and the gas that they think. And because he was driving Mary's car, that they believe that this was after he committed the murders. It was while talking to friends and family that police discover everything about Robert and the Fisher family that we discussed earlier. And although it wasn't like I said, serious red flags, It was once you hear all of those things and now see what's happened, which is where we're at. They're kind of like this is obviously him. After pleading for Robert to come forward with no avail, police come to the conclusion
Starting point is 00:29:15 that Robert Fisher murdered his family because he felt threatened by Mary's intention to divorce him. Maybe it's easier now, but it's got to be really hard to find someone that just drives off. And you're like, okay, we don't have much footage. Like, how do we find them? And I'm pretty sure the only reason they found the ATM footage was because if you use the ATM, his bank would have said, oh, he pulled money out of this ATM. So it wasn't like they were just combing footage. It's also 2001. So I don't think there's as much footage. And I'm pretty sure the only reason they found that footage was because it's documented.
Starting point is 00:29:47 Police feel like this is because of the looming divorce. And they also feel like maybe Robert couldn't handle Brittany or Bobby going through the same thing he did when he was close to their age. And I need to point out here that just because he had that experience does not mean that his kids would have. And Mary's intent to divorce is her right. Like she doesn't deserve to be killed for wanting out of a bad relationship. By April 14, five days after the murders, Robert William Fisher was named as the only person of interest
Starting point is 00:30:20 in this case by Arizona Department of Public Safety officers. A statewide bulletin to arrest him was sent out. Six days later, on April 20, 2001, Mary's missing Toyota 4Runner was found in the Tonto National Forest near the towns of Young and Pace in Arizona. Oh, no. This was roughly 100 miles north of Scottsdale. The family dog, Blue, was found alive outside of the car underneath it, although he was hungry and agitated. An Oakland raiders hat that was identical to the one Robert
Starting point is 00:30:54 was seen wearing in the ATM footage was found inside of the vehicle further suggesting that he was in there after the murders. Yeah. Another odd note is that there was a pile of human excrement found near the passenger door, like on the outside. A search was conducted throughout the park as the thought that maybe guilt had taken over Robert and he decided to drive here and take his own life, but his body was never found in the park.
Starting point is 00:31:20 And I actually looked this up statistically for family and idolators or family aside. His body was never found. Not in the part. Oh, okay. And I looked this up because I was like, I wonder how often this happens. And they said that it is pretty often that a family and idolator will then go on
Starting point is 00:31:36 to take their own life. Yeah. But very rarely would they do it this far away from the original crime scene. More often and not, they do it right there with the family or right nearby. Kind of like in the heat of the moment crime scene. More often than not, they do it right there with the family or right nearby. Kind of like in the heat of the moment. Moment, yep.
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Starting point is 00:33:39 actually form a complex underground network that spans out for miles beneath the service. And he was like an expert hunter and he loved being in the wild. I remember you talking about that. Right, you and Reddit. You and Reddit, because Reddit and professional Cavers have suggested that during this time, maybe Robert could have used these caves
Starting point is 00:33:56 as a hiding place before escaping. Cavers have actually gone on to search these caves after the police initially went there, but like no sign of Robert was ever found in these caves. An interesting fact about the car being found here is that several days before it was found, a couple claims to have seen a man resembling Robert walking around like a nearby road, maybe hitchhiking, but this wasn't reported until after the truck was found. So we don't know if that was just because the truck was found.
Starting point is 00:34:26 They were like, oh, we saw a guy. Maybe it was him. There is a for Apache Indian reservation. Are you saying he's never been found? Yes, that's what I'm saying. He's literally never been found. There's no way. We'll keep going with the story.
Starting point is 00:34:41 But yes, as of today, nobody knows where Robert Fisher is. Oh my gosh, that's insane. There is an Indian reservation less than a mile from where the Toyota was discovered. But police obviously don't search the Indian reservation. So we don't know if maybe that's where he had went during this time. By June 29th, 2002, Robert Fisher was officially named by the FBI as the 475th fugitive to be placed on its top 10 most wanted list. This is one of those cases where police are like, we have the suspect, we know who committed this, we know who did this.
Starting point is 00:35:19 There's no one else, but we cannot find him after months of searching. They needed help. And so the FBI was like, yep, we'll put him on our top 10 most wanted list. And people who are listening might actually know this case because it was kind of national news, just due to the fact that he had killed his family blown up the house and now was missing. Now was on the run. Like he blew up his house. Oh my God.
Starting point is 00:35:44 And that headline of like man murders his Like he blew up his house. Oh my God. And that headline of like, man murders his family, explosion, blows up his house and his family and then is now on the run. People are like, oh my gosh, there's a fugitive. There's a bad guy out there. How did he get away? Where did he go? Well, he did have 10 hours. Like where?
Starting point is 00:36:00 Like do they think he's in Mexico? Do they think he's out of the country? They have no idea. They're it's what you were saying earlier. How do you just like pick up and know where to go once someone is on the run? Yeah. America's most wanted actually aired an episode
Starting point is 00:36:14 about Robert Fisher. And he was also profiled on the hunt with John Walsh. Now, those of you who are listening know who John Walsh is. Do you know who John Walsh is? Yes. You do? I might have heard you say his name before. Okay. I think I guess John Walsh isn't he the one who does the TV show? No.
Starting point is 00:36:36 He isn't? No, not the headline. That's not John Walsh. No. Okay. Is he does he do the FBI? John Walsh is not Keith Morrison. It is, is he do the FBI's most one-a-list? Like does he talk about the top 10? Yes, yes. Okay, okay. So let me give you a little back story. So I think I might not hoot it.
Starting point is 00:36:53 Right. So John Walsh is the father of a six-year-old boy named Adam Walsh who went missing in July of 1981. Adam was abducted from a Sears department store at a mall in Florida across from the police station. His mother turned her back for two seconds and then six year old Adam was missing. 16 days after Adam was abducted, his severed head was found in a drain. Oh, canal 120 miles away from his home.
Starting point is 00:37:18 No way the rest of his body was never found six years old. Oh, that's sickening. After the tragedy, the Walsh family became super involved in true crime. Like, like household names in true crime and legislation, making a lot of headway in the industry and helping missing and exploited children. Oh my gosh, I feel like a loser.
Starting point is 00:37:35 How do I not know this? After securing a deal with Fox, John Walsh, whose son literally went missing and was murdered, actually launched America's most wanted. The TV show. Yeah, so that's where you were getting from. That's where I managed America's most wanted. Right, right.
Starting point is 00:37:50 So I do know who it is. And that show has actually contributed to the capture of more than 1,000 fugitives. That's crazy. He then went on to start his own daytime talk show called The John Walsh Show, which was canceled two years later. And interesting enough, the John Wall Show aired an episode about Elizabeth Smart and a caller called in
Starting point is 00:38:11 about Elizabeth Smart's abductor and said, this is like my cousin, it was somehow related, which then that information got turned over to police and then she was found with that person. So police kind of knew who they were looking for before they actually found Elizabeth Smart because of the John Malsho. On July 19th, a state arrest warrant was issued in Phoenix,
Starting point is 00:38:31 charging Robert William Fisher with three counts of first degree murder and one count of arson, although he's not in custody. He was also declared a fugitive, and a federal arrest warrant was issued by the US District Court for the District of Arizona, charging him with unlawful flight to avoid persecution. And he do want to say here, for those who know the Josh Powell case, who he blew up his house and killed, I mean, it's assuming that he killed his wife earlier
Starting point is 00:38:59 and then went on to kill his two kids and himself. They never would go out and arrest him until they wanted to find her body, which they never did. So he sat free for a long time. This is the difference here, is they've decided to charge Robert. So if he's found, he will automatically be arrested. Despite all of these efforts,
Starting point is 00:39:20 days turned to years without any sign of the wanted Robert Fisher. In February of 2004, three years after the murders, investigators on the case thought they had finally caught a break in the case when an individual with a striking physical resemblance to Robert Fisher was located in Vancouver, Canada by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He was arrested and brought in for identification. The man surprisingly had a missing tooth, right where Robert had a gold tooth that had been released to the public saying he has a gold tooth here, so maybe he had pulled the tooth
Starting point is 00:39:56 because that was a way to identify him. And the man also had the same exact scar on his back, right where Robert. And it wasn't him. Police were hopeful. Despite the man's denial, they really believe they had found Robert. But the man's fingerprints did not match. This was not the notorious Robert William Fisher. And before you're like, oh, maybe he altered them.
Starting point is 00:40:16 Yeah, let's go see that. The police were like, there were no burn marks, there were no healing. So for sure it wasn't him. For sure it wasn't him. That's scary. Could you imagine like if someone brought you in? Was like, we think you're this guy and you're like,
Starting point is 00:40:26 no, no, my name's Bob dude. Right. I'm just hanging out. Like I'm not this killer. Truly though, think of how scary that is. Yeah, that's scary. In April of 2016, FBI officials and Scottsdale police released new, age enhanced photos of Robert,
Starting point is 00:40:42 which will be on our social media during a news conference on the 15th anniversary of the murders. 15 years, he's been on the run. By November 3rd, 2021, Robert William Fisher was officially removed from the FBI top 10 most wanted list, but he sat on it for that long. That's crazy. So is the FBI's most one list?
Starting point is 00:41:06 Is there like a top 20, like a top 30, top 40, so good. So he's still on the list. Right, but top 10 is kind of like the one that's constantly aired, the one that's hung up everywhere. Got it. And also, I mean, to be on the FBI's top 10 most wanted list and still evading police.
Starting point is 00:41:21 That's crazy. That is pretty crazy. According to family, Mary was a loving and involved mom who frequently volunteered at the kids school. Mary loved those kids so much, said Mary's father, Bill Cooper. Brittany and Bobby loved the Lord. Both kids were very, very spiritual.
Starting point is 00:41:39 Brittany was very intelligent and studious and despite a hectic school schedule, she remained active in sports, including basketball and soccer. Ten-year-old Bobby was very close to his sister and he really enjoyed drawing. Robert William Fisher has now evaded the FBI and police for nearly 20 years. His love for the outdoors and hunting is believed to have aided the escape, which is what you were saying. The police are like, if this guy knows how to survive in the wilderness, we're out of luck.
Starting point is 00:42:10 Yeah. Like he could be anywhere. So hard to find someone out there. Many people on Reddit theorized that Robert was most likely living off-grid for a while. But his now actually probably assumed a new identity and is a living among us. He probably looks way different, probably changes to parents. Yeah. I mean, he, no one would probably have any idea what he looks like.
Starting point is 00:42:29 Because no one's gonna live in the wilderness forever, just long enough to be. You go get veneers, you go cut your hair, you go shave, you go dye, I mean, you just look like a completely different person and 20 plus years. Right. So where is Robert William Fisher? Is he dead?
Starting point is 00:42:44 Is he living off grid or possibly your next door neighbor? Take a look at the age-progress photos and please contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate if you have any information about the missing Robert William Fisher. Oh my gosh, I can't believe he's alive. When you said that, I was, or like when I was like, is he alive?
Starting point is 00:43:05 Or not alive. Sorry, they never caught it. They could be dead. We don't know. Well, and a lot of people on reddit because this is obviously very very Very rare. Yes. A lot of people on reddit have you know theorized that Maybe he did just die in those caves because there's a ton of caves down there And maybe he just died in his body hasn't been found or his body was taken by animals and spread. Oh, I think for sure he's alive somewhere. Your team, he's alive. He just seemed like, oh, I'm not team, he's alive.
Starting point is 00:43:36 Well, I hope he's alive. But yes, he just seemed like a very smart guy. Mm-hmm. And then the fact that, I mean, he, Navy sales, all this stuff. I mean, I think his will to survive was probably strong. Right. So I don't think he's dead. I can't believe he did that to his family.
Starting point is 00:43:54 It's horrible. Yeah. And one thing I did want to talk about real quick is just like how often these family and nihilators know one sees it coming. Okay. Josh Powell, a little different. Everyone was a little like, ee about Josh Powell, but Chris Watts, we covered his case, the one who murdered his daughters.
Starting point is 00:44:11 Like a trigger, just snaps. Snaps, yeah. Like no one saw it coming. If you were to ask them, they would say, oh, you know, he could have his problems, but he's just a normal guy. Yeah, cause I mean, like we've gotten into like, you know, little arguments here and there.
Starting point is 00:44:23 It's normal for Relationship for a marriage, but then to take that and just Kill someone. I mean that's just levels above and I think it goes back to the psychology of it all Which is what I think the FBI have talked about a lot in this case is just like his fear of abandonment and Not saying that is an excuse at all. I'm just saying there's definitely psychological reasons behind why Chris Watts did what he did or why Robert Fisher did what we did. That is like, okay, he obviously wasn't as normal
Starting point is 00:44:54 as we were all normal, as we were all paging him to be. Yeah. All right, you guys. So that was the case of Robert William Fisher and his murdered family who is still at large today. I mean, he's still people are still looking for him. Okay, you guys, we will see you guys next week with another regular episode. I love it.
Starting point is 00:45:14 I hate it. Goodbye. you

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