Dora Cisneros Obssession With Joey Fischer
In 1992, Dora Garcia Cisneros was a 54-year-old mother of five who was married to a surgeon and living a great life in Brownsville, Texas.
That summer, her youngest daughter, Christina, was dating 17-year-old Joey Fischer, but Joey broke up with her in June 1992.
Christina took the breakup hard, but oddly, her mother did too. Cisneros became obsessed with getting Joey to date her daughter again. She contacted him and asked him why he had broken up with her daughter. She even met Joey’s father, Buddy, at a nearby Burger King and asked him why his son broke up with Christina.
Reports indicate she offered Joey $500 to get back with Christina, but he turned it down.
By the beginning of 1993, Joey and Christina had both moved on and were dating new people, but Cisneros was still living in the past.
Obsession Turns To Murder
She went to 77-year-old fortune teller María Mercedes Martínez and asked the woman to put a spell on Joey, but Martinez refused. Things escalated from there, and Cisneros asked Martinez if she knew anyone who could kill the innocent teen.
Martinez reached out to Daniel Ortiz Garza, another one of her clients. Garza was having lots of relationship problems, and Martinez said she would solve them if he found someone to kill Joey.
Garza contacted a couple of guys he knew from Mexico, Israel Olivarez Cepeda and Heriberto Puentes Pizaña, and they met on several occasions to plan the murder.
On March 3rd, 1993, 18-year-old Joey was outside his Rancho Viejo, Texas, home cleaning the windows on his mother’s vehicle when he was shot twice and killed.
The hitmen fled the scene and were later paid 3,000 dollars in cash before heading back to Mexico.
Investigation
When detectives began investigating the case, several witnesses claimed to see a vehicle with Mexican license plates, and they found a business card from a local bail office. Other than that, they didn’t have much to go on.
After contacting the bail office, the detective zeroed in on Rudy Cuellar, a Dallas man who frequently traveled to Mexico. Cuellar pointed to his friend, Ramiro Moya. Moya then led the police to his brother, Garza.
Garza was taken to the station on March 31st, 1993, and he confessed to being involved in the murder. He cooperated with the police and met Martinez several times while wearing a wire, and got her to incriminate herself.
After Martinez was arrested, she agreed to wear a wire and meet with Ciseneros. Cisneros incriminated herself and, after their meeting, was arrested.
Legal Proceedings
The two hitmen were prosecuted for murder in Mexico and were both sentenced to 15 years.
Martinez was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit murder. She was released after six years and later died in Mexico.
Even though Garza was the first to cooperate, he was not given a plea deal. He was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to 35 years to life in prison.
Cisneros was also found guilty of capital murder and received 35 years to life in prison, but the conviction was overturned in January 1996. She could not be retried for murder.
In 1998, she was hit with federal charges of murder for hire. She was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
DOB:
1938Conviction(s):
- Federal murder-for-hire
Accomplice(s):
- María Mercedes Martínez
- Daniel Ortiz Garza
- Israel Olivarez Cepeda
- Heriberto Puentes Pizaña
Date of crime:
March 3rd, 1993Location(s):
Rancho Viejo, TXDate of arrest:
April 7th, 1993Details:
Had a teenage boy killed because he dumped her daughter.Confirmed Victim(s):
- Joey Fischer (17)
Method:
ShootingMotive(s):
RevengeSentence:
Life in prisonCurrent whereabouts:
FMC Carswell in Fort Worth, TXSources:
N/ALast Updated on 09/12/2026