Dora Isabel Garcia Cisneros was born in 1938. She was married to a prominent physician in Brownsville, Texas, and was a mother of five children. Described as leading an ordinary suburban life, Cisneros was particularly attentive to her youngest daughter, Cristina. ​

In the spring of 1992, Cristina began dating her high school classmate, Albert Joseph "Joey" Fischer Jr., a senior honors student at Saint Joseph Academy in Brownsville. Their relationship ended after several weeks, a decision initiated by Fischer. Dissatisfied with the breakup, Cisneros attempted to persuade Fischer to rekindle the relationship with her daughter, even offering him $500, which he declined.

Following this rejection, Cisneros sought the assistance of María Mercedes Martínez, a local fortune teller, initially requesting that she cast a spell to reunite the young couple. When this proved unsuccessful, Cisneros escalated her demands, asking Martínez to arrange for Fischer to be physically assaulted. Eventually, Cisneros expressed her desire to have Fischer murdered and agreed to pay $3,000 for the act.

Martínez relayed this request to Daniel Orlando Garza, who in turn contacted two Mexican hitmen, Israel Olivarez Cepeda and Heriberto "Eddie" Puentes Pizaña. On March 3, 1993, as Fischer was preparing for school outside his home in Rancho Viejo, Texas, he was approached and fatally shot by the hired assassins.

The investigation into Fischer's murder led authorities to Garza, who, burdened by guilt, confessed and cooperated with law enforcement. His testimony implicated Martínez and subsequently Cisneros as the orchestrator of the plot. In 1994, Cisneros was convicted in state court for capital murder; however, the conviction was overturned due to insufficient evidence linking her directly to the crime. Federal prosecutors then charged her under the federal murder-for-hire statute. On May 12, 1998, a federal jury found Cisneros guilty, and she was sentenced to life in prison. ​

As of December 2021, at the age of 83, Cisneros sought a reduction of her sentence due to medical complications, including neurocognitive disorder and dementia. The motion was denied, and she remains incarcerated, serving out her life sentence. ​