Bio

Dora García Cisneros was born in 1938. She grew up in Los Indios, a ranching community near Brownsville, Texas. Her family name was Garcia and they owned property in the area. As a child she was raised where Mexican traditions and folk beliefs were common. Children there often learned folktales and superstitions from the workers on the ranches.

Dora later moved to Brownsville and attended high school. Her family had enough money to send the girls to a private school called Villa Maria. Her brothers attended St. Joseph Academy. People who knew her described her as quiet. She usually wore simple clothes and spoke English without an accent.

Her family experienced several tragedies. An uncle died by suicide and a brother drowned as a teenager. Those losses were remembered by people who knew the family. As an adult, Dora married Dr. David Cisneros, who had studied medicine in Mexico and practiced in Brownsville. She became active in local social groups, including a club for doctors’ wives and a mall-walkers group.

Murder Story

Dora Cisneros was the wife of a Brownsville surgeon and the mother of five. She gave a lot of attention to her youngest daughter, Cristina. When Cristina and her boyfriend broke up, prosecutors say Dora took action.

On March 3, 1993, 18-year-old Albert Joseph "Joey" Fischer Jr. was killed outside his home in Brownsville. He was a high school senior. His death became the focus of a police investigation.

Investigators found a clue near the body that led them to a local fortuneteller and Mexican faith healer, Maria Mercedes Martinez. Martinez had known Dora Cisneros for years. Martinez later told police that Cisneros first asked her to put a curse on Joey, and then to find someone to harm him.

Martinez involved Daniel Garza. Garza gave a photograph and other information to men who carried out the killing, according to prosecutors. Garza testified that he discussed the plot with Martinez during calls from Mexico. The record shows that $3,000 was passed from Martinez to Garza to be given to the people who carried out the act.

Maria Mercedes Martinez pleaded guilty to conspiracy and received a 20-year prison sentence. Daniel Garza was convicted and received a life sentence for his role in arranging the killers.

Dora Cisneros was convicted of murder in Texas in 1994 and sentenced to life in prison. An appeals court overturned that state conviction in 1996 because of a prosecutor error, and she was released. Federal prosecutors then brought a murder-for-hire case showing travel and phone calls involving Mexico. A federal jury convicted her in 1998, and she was sentenced to life in federal prison.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear her appeal in 2008. Maria Martinez and Daniel Garza remain convicted for their parts in the case. Dora Cisneros is serving a life sentence in federal custody.