Dora Cisneros

 

As the mother of two boys this case particularly hits a spot with me. We used to have a joke with one of my sons that he has a tendency to find girls who have “crazy” mothers and while it was true and was a joke, this case proves that it is not always a joke.

On the morning of March 5, 1993 eighteen year old high school senior Albert Joseph “Joey” Fischer Jr. was in his driveway in Brownsville Texas washing his car before school. His mom would find him laying in a pool of blood. He had been shot once in the head and once in the chest. The water hose was still in his hand.

At the scene of the crime police found a card to a fortune teller and Mexican faith healer named Maria Martinez. Investigators talked to Maria and it seems she just spilled her guts, although I cannot say I understand her train of thinking. According to Maria, Dora Cisneros was a frequent client of hers and had asked her to put a curse on Joey Fischer. Joey had dated Dora's youngest daughter, Christina for a period of time and had broken up with her the previous summer. Here is where I get a bit confused. Maria refused to “put a curse” on Fischer but she agreed to talk to someone about having him murdered. Maria claims that she contacted another client, Daniel Garza who then hired two gunmen from Mexico. Just how much money changed hands seemed hard to determine. There were some reports that Dora gave Maria $3,000, other reports say that Daniel Garza was given $5,000. It is obviously unlikely that Garza got more money than Dora gave Maria and it also seems unlikely that Maria would have given him all that she was given by Dora. Maria Martinez would plead guilty and receive a twenty year sentence on the condition that she testified against Dora and Garza.

Due to the motive behind the murder of Joey Fischer and the fact that this crime occurred nearly thirty years ago much of the information found revolves around Dora. It was, and remains, a sensational story that a mother would plan the death of a young man because he had broken up with her daughter. That being said it appears that Dora and Garza were tried together in the state of Texas.

Dora's trial in the state took place in early 1994. There was testimony that Dora, the wife of a prominent surgeon and the mother of five children, had, along with her daughter, Christina, seemed obsessed with finding out the reason behind the breakup. There were reports that Dora had even offered Joey $500 if he would get back with her daughter. There seemed to be the thought that it was possible that Christina may have known or even been involved in the murder plot but she was never charged. She did however testify at Dora's trial but apparently in her defense or at the very least told the jury she trusted that her mother was not involved, defending her mother.

It is unclear exactly what was outlined in the trial but it was said that the “suspected killers were jailed in Mexico.” There was some information that witnesses at the scene had seen a white car driven by two Hispanic men and at some point custom officials and a motel manager also identified allegedly the same car. At the end of the trial both Dora and Daniel Garza were convicted of murder. Garza got a life sentence and Dora was given a sentence of thirty years to life on April 19, 1994.

In 1996 the State of Texas not only “overturned” Dora's case on what was called an “error in jury instructions” but ordered her acquitted. The courts stated that while the state had proven Dora had given money to Maria Martinez they had not proven that Maria had contacted the killers herself and there was insufficient evidence that the alleged killers, Israel Olivares and Heriberto Pizana, had carried out the murder. I am unsure how I feel about this decision. I find it odd that the court stated that it was Dora had given Maria money for the murder but it almost sounded as if they decided that because she did not have direct contact with the alleged gunmen she was not guilty, hence the acquittal.

On February 22, 1996 Dora was released from custody but as you can imagine the prosecutors were not happy at all. It is not clear whether it was prosecutors, or possibly Joey's family that pushed for federal prosecutors to look into things. In May of 1998 Dora went on trial again only this time it was federal court. Federal prosecutors believed they had a case against Dora and could claim jurisdiction because the alleged gunmen had not just come from Mexico but across the state border. It seems possible that Garza at the very least had talked to investigators about his role at that time or may have even testified in Dora's second trial. While Dora did not have direct contact with the alleged gunmen, Garza had admitted to talking to Maria Martinez at least four times from Mexico. I should point out that my research claimed that there was no documentation or proof of these calls beyond Garza's statements. The second jury took just three hours to deliberate Dora's fate before finding her guilty. She was sentenced to life in prison.

Maria Martinez was released in April of 2001 after serving only six years of her sentence. Daniel Garza is in a prison in Huntsville Texas and is eligible for parole in 2028. He has express not just remorse but also disgust with himself. He had never been in legal trouble and has express regret that he ever met Maria Martinez, but then again, he made the choice. In 2013 Dora was in a federal facility in Florida but currently, at the age of 82, she is being held at a prison that has a medical facility in Fort Worth Texas. There is no parole in the federal system, life means life there.

It is confusing as to what may or may not have happened to the alleged gunmen, Israel Olivares and Heriberto Pizana. One article indicated that they had split the money given to them and had been charged with capital murder. Later there was indications that one of the men (it was non-specific) was in custody in Mexico while the other was “at large.” Then there were indications that both men were in prison in Mexico on unrelated charges and that neither man was ever charged. Another report stated that one man was never charged while Mexico refused to extradite the other, again it was non-specific as to which one they were referring to.