Constance Margaret Fisher (née Sirois) was born on March 26, 1929, in Oakland, Maine. She was abandoned by her birth parents and adopted by the Sirois family. In 1946, at age 17, she married Carl Marion Fisher, a World War II veteran who worked at a car shop associated with the Maine Central Railroad. The couple settled in Waterville, Maine, and had three children: Richard, born in 1947; Daniel, born in 1948; and Deborah Kay, born in 1953. During these years, Constance reportedly developed serious anxiety and depression, frequently worrying about her children, finances, and the family’s cramped home. She also attempted suicide at least once.
On March 8, 1954, Carl returned home from work and discovered that the door was locked. Concerned, he contacted Dr. Richard Chasse, who had been treating Constance for depression, and the two men forced their way inside. Carl found Daniel and Deborah dead in their beds and Richard drowned in the bathtub. Police searching the house eventually found Constance unconscious beneath a bed after she had apparently attempted suicide by drinking liquid shampoo. A suicide note said that she had drowned the children to “save them from evil” and that God had ordered her to do it. A psychiatric examination determined that she suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and was unable to stand trial, so she was committed to Augusta State Hospital. After several years of treatment, she reportedly stopped hearing voices and showed significant improvement. Despite the hospital’s medical board initially opposing her release, she was discharged into Carl’s custody on March 6, 1959, partly amid the broader national movement toward deinstitutionalization.
After her release, Constance and Carl moved to Fairfield, Maine, where Carl had built a new home. They had three more children: Kathleen Louise in 1960, Michael Jon in 1962, and Natalie Rose in 1965. On June 30, 1966, Carl returned from work and discovered nine-month-old Natalie drowned in the bathtub. He ran to a neighbor’s house to telephone the police because the Fisher home did not have a telephone. Officers subsequently found Michael and Kathleen dead in their beds, while Constance was found unconscious after apparently overdosing on pills. The striking similarity to the 1954 killings led newspapers to describe the event as a “duplication of tragedy.” Constance was charged with the murders and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. After psychiatric examination and testimony, the court accepted the insanity defense and ordered that she be confined to Augusta State Hospital for the remainder of her life.
Constance remained hospitalized for the next seven years. On October 1, 1973, she escaped from Augusta State Hospital. A search followed, and on October 9, duck hunters discovered the bloated body of a woman floating in the Kennebec River near Gardiner, Maine. An autopsy identified the body as Constance Fisher, and her death was recorded as an accidental drowning, apparently occurring on the day of her escape. Her death prompted the hospital superintendent, Roy Ettlinger, to criticize the use of milieu therapy because he believed it could increase the risk of suicide among certain patients. Constance was buried in the Fisher family plot in Waterville. When Carl died in 1990, he was buried there as well, alongside Constance and all six of their children.
And could you imagine what it was like at family gatherings?
"Carl, your new daughter has the same eyes as your previous daughter - you know: The one your wife drowned?"
Conducting even a casual conversation with your son, brother-in-law, uncle, etc. would be like navigating a verbal mine field!
Regards,