Death of Kristie Fischer

Last updated

On December 1, 1991, three-month-old baby Kristie Fischer died in a house fire in Thornwood, New York. [1] Fischer's family accused their au pair , a Swiss woman named Olivia Riner, of killing the baby by arson. They stated that she had not attempted to rescue the baby, and therefore they believed she was guilty. [1] Riner originated from Wettingen and was a babysitter for a Swiss family for three years. She worked as a pediatrician's assistant before being hired for a one-year term to care for the Fischer family, through the company EF Au Pair. [2]

Contents

Alex Prud'homme of People wrote that "the case turned into an international cause célèbre", partly because it almost coincided with the release of the film The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and partly due to the gravity of the crime. [2] Richard Lorant of the Associated Press wrote that the case was compared to the film and that it "frightened working mothers everywhere." [3] William Glaberson of The New York Times wrote that the case "crystallized the concerns and worries parents have about leaving their children in other people's care". [4]

Incident

Fires started in three separate places in the Fischer house: In Riner's room, in Kristie's, and in the one belonging to Leah, Kristie's adult half-sister. [2]

Prosecutor George Bolen accused Riner of gathering accelerants and putting paint thinner on the baby. [5] Authorities charged Riner with second-degree murder and first-degree arson. [6]

Trial and verdict

Riner's agency hired lawyer Laura Brevetti one month prior to Fischer's death; Brevetti became Riner's attorney. [3] Riner's trial began on June 2, 1992. The authorities had insufficient physical evidence to show that Riner had caused the fire. Brevetti stated that the police had botched the investigation: The crime scene was not secured, and was quickly returned to the home owners. Police officers – without being specifically tasked to investigate the scene and gather evidence – and craftsmen were able to enter the rooms without hindrance. A day after the fire, Leah – Kristie's adult half-sister – and her boyfriend, John Gallagher, were recorded on video searching through Leah's scorched belongings. During and shortly after the incident, the police did not properly interrogate Gallagher, who was friends with several police officers and was the first person to arrive at the scene.

Olivia Riner's interrogation was marred by language difficulties. Riner did not know what "lawyer" meant, and could not readily indicate a distance in feet. The recording of the interrogation was of poor quality, as the microphone was behind the interrogating officer, and even after adjusting the volume, jurors had trouble understanding Riner's expressions.

Only after a number of days did investigators try to gather fingerprints in Fischer's home (and found none that stemmed from the crime), and secured overlooked pieces of evidence – like the bag the body of Kristie Fischer had been found in. Brevetti also explained that the police did not consider other possible suspects for the fire. [2] Brevetti stated that two men had started the fire. [7]

George Bolen's suit mainly rested on the premise that Olivia Riner did not notice any other person – except the baby – in the house. Bolen asserted that the house was impenetrable, and that Riner would have certainly noticed a foreign person entering the house. During the trial, when Kristie's father was interrogated, he stated that he was able to enter the house unnoticed by Olivia mere hours before the fire, and surprised her. The family usually left the main door unlocked as long as somebody stayed at home.

The jury of seven men and five women ruled that Riner was not guilty after one day of deliberation. Some jurors stated that the prosecution never provided a motive for Riner committing the crime. [4] Glaberson wrote that the verdict "appeared an endorsement of an aggressive defense strategy." [4] The judge, Donald N. Silverman, stated his agreement with the result. [4] Fischer's family maintained their belief that Riner was guilty. [1] Authorities never filed any criminal charges related to this case against anyone else. [8]

Legacy

Geraldo Rivera, according to Lorant, suggested and "all but accused" a family friend of the Fischers of being the perpetrator. Lorant stated that Geraldo's presentation "didn't hurt" Riner's case. [3]

Joyce Eggington wrote the book Circle of Fire: Murder and Betrayal in the "Swiss Nanny" Case. Eggington believed that Riner had perpetrated the crime. Eggington stated that she initially believed Riner was innocent, but that she later believed that nobody else could have set the fires. [3]

Don Davis wrote the book The Nanny Murder Trial.

After the trial Riner found employment in Switzerland and began working in a doctor's office. Her lawyer stated that Riner did not wish to give interviews. [3]

The Fischer family sued EF Au Pair, seeking an equivalent of 60 million British pounds. [9]

See also

Literature

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jury</span> Group of people to render a verdict in a court

A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make findings of fact, and render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindbergh kidnapping</span> Abduction and murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr. (1932)

On March 1, 1932, Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr., the 20-month-old son of colonel Charles Lindbergh and his wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was abducted from his crib in the upper floor of the Lindberghs' home, Highfields, in East Amwell, New Jersey, United States. On May 12, the child's corpse was discovered by a truck driver by the side of a nearby road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Megan Kanka</span> Murder of a young American girl

The murder of Megan Nicole Kanka occurred in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Seven-year-old Megan Kanka was raped and murdered by her neighbor, Jesse Timmendequas, after he lured her into his house; Timmendequas had previously been convicted of child molestation. The murder attracted national attention and subsequently led to the introduction of "Megan's Law", which requires law enforcement to disclose details relating to the location of registered sex offenders.

Louise Woodward, born in 1978 (age 45–46), is a British former au pair, who at the age of 18 was charged with murder, but was subsequently convicted of the involuntary manslaughter of eight-month-old baby Matthew Eappen, in Newton, Massachusetts, United States.

The 1991 Austin yogurt shop killings are an unsolved quadruple homicide which took place at an I Can't Believe It's Yogurt! shop in Austin, Texas, United States on Friday, December 6, 1991. The victims were four teenage girls: 13-year-old Amy Ayers, 17-year-old Eliza Thomas, 17-year-old Jennifer Harbison and Jennifer's 15-year-old sister Sarah. Jennifer and Eliza were employees of the shop, while Sarah and her friend Amy were in the shop to get a ride home with Jennifer after it closed at 11:00 pm. Approximately one hour before closing time, a man who had tried to hustle customers in his queue was permitted to use the toilet in back, took a very long time and may have jammed a rear door open. A couple who left the shop just before 11:00 pm, when Jennifer locked the front door to prevent more customers entering, reported seeing two men at a table acting furtively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Helle Crafts</span> Danish flight attendant murdered by her husband, airline pilot Richard Crafts

Helle Crafts was a Danish flight attendant who was murdered by her husband, Eastern Air Lines pilot Richard Crafts. Her death led to the state of Connecticut's first murder conviction without the victim's body.

A false confession is an admission of guilt for a crime which the individual did not commit. Although such confessions seem counterintuitive, they can be made voluntarily, perhaps to protect a third party, or induced through coercive interrogation techniques. When some degree of coercion is involved, studies have found that subjects with highly sophisticated intelligence or manipulated by their so-called "friends" are more likely to make such confessions. Young people are particularly vulnerable to confessing, especially when stressed, tired, or traumatized, and have a significantly higher rate of false confessions than adults. Hundreds of innocent people have been convicted, imprisoned, and sometimes sentenced to death after confessing to crimes they did not commit—but years later, have been exonerated. It was not until several shocking false confession cases were publicized in the late 1980s, combined with the introduction of DNA evidence, that the extent of wrongful convictions began to emerge—and how often false confessions played a role in these.

The murder of 12-year-old Stephanie Crowe took place in her bedroom inside her home at Escondido, California, sometime between late night January 20, 1998, to early morning January 21, 1998. Stephanie's parents and grandmother found her body on the floor of her bedroom on the morning of January 21, 1998. She had been stabbed eight times. There was no sign of forced entry. Stephanie's window was found unlocked, but a screen was in place and there was no disturbance of accumulated grime and insect traces. A sliding glass door in her parents' bedroom was also unlocked. No knives were found at the scene that seemed consistent with the murder weapon, and no bloody clothing was found despite an exhaustive search.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death of Caylee Anthony</span> 2008 death of an infant American girl

Caylee Marie Anthony was an American toddler who lived in Orlando, Florida, with her mother, Casey Marie Anthony, and her maternal grandparents, George and Cindy Anthony. On July 15, 2008, she was reported missing in a 9-1-1 call made by Cindy, who said she had not seen Caylee for 31 days. According to what Cindy told the operators, Casey had given varied explanations as to Caylee's whereabouts before eventually saying she had not seen Caylee for weeks. Casey later called the police and falsely told a police dispatcher that Caylee had been kidnapped by a nanny on June 9. Casey was charged with first-degree murder in October 2008 and pleaded not guilty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Peterson (serial killer)</span> American serial killer

Obadyah Ben-Yisrayl is an American serial killer found guilty of committing four murders and acquitted on three other murder charges related to the "Shotgun Killer" spree in Indiana from October 30, 1990, to December 18, 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brenton Butler case</span> Murder case in Jacksonville, Florida

The Brenton Butler case was a murder case in Jacksonville, Florida. During the investigation of a shooting death outside a motel in 2000, police arrested 15-year-old Brenton Butler and charged him with the murder. Butler subsequently confessed to the crime, and the case went to trial. However, during the trial he testified that he had been brutalized into his confession, and he was acquitted. The case gained significant notice in the media, and became the subject of an award-winning documentary, Murder on a Sunday Morning.

Lucia and Leo Krim, aged 6 and 2 respectively, were murdered in the late afternoon of October 25, 2012, at the La Rochelle apartment building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The children's part-time caretaker, Yoselyn Ortega, was convicted of stabbing the children to death with kitchen knives while their mother Marina Krim and three-year-old sister Nessie were a few blocks away at a swimming lesson. Upon returning home, their mother and sister found Lucia and Leo dead in a bathtub at the family apartment. Ortega then began stabbing herself repeatedly in the neck and throat. She survived the self-inflicted wounds.

<i>Scenes of a Crime</i> 2011 American film

Scenes of a Crime is a documentary film that focuses on the case of Adrian P. Thomas who was the subject of nearly 10 hours of interrogation by Troy, New York police, culminating in a controversial confession and high profile murder trial. The film won multiple festival awards, a Gotham Award for "Best Film Not Playing At Theater Near You," played theatrically and was broadcast nationally. Reviews of the film were highly favorable.

Adrian P. Thomas was a father of seven children living in Troy, New York, when, in September 2008, his four-month-old son died. A preliminary medical examination indicated that the infant died from head trauma. The police interrogated Thomas for nearly 10 hours during which he confessed to throwing his son on the bed three times. The entire interrogation was videotaped. He was charged with second-degree murder, found guilty, and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Ben Smart and Olivia Hope, two young New Zealanders, disappeared in the early hours of the morning on New Year's Day, 1 January 1998. The two friends had been celebrating on New Year's Eve at Furneaux Lodge in the Marlborough Sounds with other partygoers. The pair accepted an offer from a stranger to stay aboard his yacht in the early hours of the morning, and it was the last time they were seen alive. The disappearance of the duo sparked one of the most publicised and controversial investigations in New Zealand's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Joey Fischer</span> 1993 murder of American high schooler

On March 3, 1993, Saint Joseph Academy high school senior Albert Joseph "Joey" Fischer Jr. was shot dead outside his home in Rancho Viejo, an upscale community north of Brownsville, Texas. Dora Cisneros, the mother of his ex-girlfriend, was responsible for orchestrating Fischer's murder after he broke up with her daughter Cristina. Fischer and Cristina had broken up the previous summer, but Cisneros became obsessed with their relationship and insisted that Fischer date her daughter again. After he refused a US$500 offer from Cisneros, she consulted María Mercedes Martínez, a fortune teller, to cast a spell on him.

The McCulkin murders were the murders of Barbara McCulkin (34) and her two daughters, Vicki (13) and Leanne (11), in Queensland in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Brown (barrister)</span>

Edward Francis Trevenen Brown KC is an English barrister who specialises in international criminal law and human rights. He is one of the most senior prosecutors at the Old Bailey where he also served as a Recorder, as well as sitting as a part-time circuit judge at Southwark Crown Court. Brown has written extensively on gang violence and joint enterprise murder in The Times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Ryan Poston</span> Murder of an American attorney

On October 12, 2012, Ryan Carter Poston, an American attorney from Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, was shot to death by his on-again off-again girlfriend Shayna Michelle Hubers. After a trial in the Campbell County circuit court, Hubers was convicted of murder on April 23, 2015. She was sentenced to 40 years in the Kentucky Department of Corrections on August 14, 2015, with parole eligibility after 20 years. On August 25, 2016, Hubers' conviction was overturned on appeal when one of the jurors in her murder trial was revealed to be a convicted felon. Hubers was convicted of murder during her second trial on August 28, 2018. On October 18, 2018, she was sentenced to life imprisonment with parole eligibility after 20 years.

The "Baby Lollipops" murder was the murder in 1990 of three-year-old Lazaro Figueroa by his mother Ana Maria Cardona in Florida. The body of Lazaro was found abandoned, and identified through house-to-house inquiries. The case was widely covered in US media, who called the initially unidentified boy "Baby Lollipops", after the design on the T-shirt he was wearing when found.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Glaberson, William. "Family Is Convinced of Suspect's Guilt." The New York Times . July 8, 1992. Retrieved on July 19, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Prud'Homme, Alex. ""I Set No Fire"." People . July 20, 1992. Volume 38, No. 3. Retrieved on July 19, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Lorant, Richard. "Swiss nanny got away with murder, Eggington writes." Associated Press at the Daily News (Bowling Green, Kentucky). Friday January 20, 1995. p. 8-A.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Glaberson, William. "Swiss Au Pair Found Not Guilty of Setting Fire That Killed Baby." The New York Times . July 8, 1992. Retrieved on July 19, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Jurors acquit Swiss nanny in child death." Associated Press at the Spokane Chronicle . Wednesday July 8, 1992. p. A4. Retrieved on July 19, 2016.
  6. ↑ Foderaro, Lisa W. "Baby's Nanny Set Fatal Fire, Police Charge." The New York Times . December 4, 1991. Retrieved on July 20, 2016.
  7. ↑ Glaberson, William. "Au Pair's Lawyer Blames 2 Men for Fire That Killed Infant." The New York Times . June 25, 1992. Retrieved on July 19, 2016.
  8. ↑ O'Sullivan, Claire. "Nightmare scenes all too common." Irish Examiner . Friday January 25, 2013. Retrieved on July 19, 2016.
  9. ↑ Wilson, Colin. "She was a nanny from the same agency as tragic Louise Woodward...they said she burned her baby...she walked free!" Sunday Mail (Glasgow, Scotland). November 9, 1997. Retrieved on July 19, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.