The Scottsdale Explosion: How Robert Fisher Murdered His Family and Disappeared

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When a firefighter who saves lives becomes the one taking them,

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when a father who promises protection becomes the greatest threat his children will ever face,

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you get Robert Fisher, a man so terrified of losing his family that he chose to destroy them instead.

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This is what happens when trauma turns toxic and control becomes catastrophic.

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[Music]

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Born in 1961 to Jan Howell and William Fisher in New York,

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Robert William Fisher started life like millions of other American kids.

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The family relocated to Arizona when Robert was young and by most accounts

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his early childhood looked pretty standard.

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Three kids, two parents, suburban life in the southwest,

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nothing that could make you think you were looking at a future family annihilator.

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Trauma has a way of reshaping people from the inside out and when Robert turned 15

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in 1976 his parents divorced. Divorce was becoming more and more common in the 1970s

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but for Robert watching his family fall apart became the defining moment of his entire existence.

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He processed this event differently than most kids would.

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This became his blueprint for terror, the thing that would haunt every relationship he ever had.

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Robert graduated high school in 1979 and immediately enlisted in the Navy, serving aboard the USS

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Bella Wood. Here's where the story takes its first major turn toward disappointment.

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Robert had bigger ambitions than regular Navy service. He wanted to become a Navy SEAL,

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the elite of the elite. In 1982 his SEAL application was rejected.

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This rejection hit Robert Hard adding another layer to his growing collection of perceived failures

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and humiliations. He left the Navy that same year and transitioned to civilian life,

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eventually finding work as a firefighter in San Diego County. At least in this career he could be the hero

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the one who saves people from disaster, which is kind of what he wanted to be with the Navy SEAL.

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Maybe a hero complex. By 1987 Robert had met Mary Cooper, a deeply religious woman who valued

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family above everything else. Mary came from a close knit family, faith-centered background,

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and she saw Mary as a sacred commitment. The couple married and settled in Scottsdale, Arizona,

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close to Mary's family. This proximity to her support system would later prove both a blessing

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and a curse. Robert and Mary went on to have two children, Bobby and Brittany. From the outside they

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looked like the perfect American family. Robert was active in their community church, appeared to be a

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devoted father, husband, and maintained steady employment. Neighbors saw a man who seemed to have his

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life together. But behind closed doors the reality told a completely different story. Mary's family

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would later reveal the truth about their marriage. Robert had transformed Mary into what they

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described as "a yes sir wife." He controlled every aspect of her life, treating his wife and

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children like possessions rather than people he loved. This need for absolute control stems

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directly from his childhood trauma. Having watched his parents' marriage crumble, Robert became

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obsessed with preventing the same fate for his own family, even if it meant destroying the very people

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he claimed to love. Mary's father would later say, "We never knew a thing. She didn't want

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mommy and daddy to know anything she was going through. She took care of those two precious kids."

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Mary had become an expert at hiding the abuse, protecting both her children and her family from the

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knowledge of what was really happening in her home. Mary's devotion to motherhood was absolute.

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Her children were her world, and she did everything her power to shield them from their fathers

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increasingly erratic behavior. She was living for Bobby and Brittany, trying to maintain some

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semblance of normalcy and a household ruled by fear and control. By 1998, seven years after Bobby was

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born, cracks began appearing in Robert's life carefully constructed facade. He started missing

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church services regularly, leaving Mary to explain away his absence to their religious community.

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Around this time, according to reports, Robert contracted a urinary tract infection after

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cheating on Mary with a prostitute. He desperately wanted to hide both his infection and its

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cause from his wife, terrified that the truth would expose his hypocrisy and threaten his control

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over the family. Despite treating Mary horribly, Robert remained adamant about one thing. His

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marriage would never end in divorce. He would rather die than repeat his parents' mistake.

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The couple attempted marriage counseling with their church pastor, but the sessions failed to

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resolve their fundamental problems. Neighbors frequently heard them arguing about money and intimacy.

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Their voices carrying through the walls of their Scottsdale home.

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Robert's behavior became increasingly disturbing as the new millennium approached.

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Friends noticed significant changes in his personality during hunting trips, which had always been

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his primary outlet for stress. One particularly memorable expedition, Robert killed an elk and

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celebrated by smearing its blood across his face. This macabre ritual shocked his hunting companions

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who had never seen him behave so bizarrely. Full disclosure, I live in the south and doing that is

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not strange. I mean, it's weird to me, a non-hunter, but I've seen people do it. Anyway,

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during another hunting trip, Robert crept up behind a family friend and fired his gun into the air

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repeatedly, terrorizing them for his own amusement. His hunting buddies later reported that

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Robert had begun expressing deep anxiety about losing his family. He would tell anyone who would

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listen that he, quote, "could not live without his family." A statement that would prove prophetic

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in the most horrific way possible. By 2001, Mary had reached her breaking point. She confided in

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friends that she wanted to end her marriage for the sake of their children. Whether she communicated

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this decision directly to Robert remains unclear, but given his possessive nature and his stated fears

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about losing his family, he likely sensed that his control was slipping away.

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April 9, 2001, started like any other Monday in the Fisher household. Robert left for his job as

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a respiratory therapist at the Mayo Clinic, but he departed earlier than usual. His behavior

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throughout the day would later be scrutinized for clues about his state of mind and his plans for

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that evening. Robert picked up his daughter, Brittany from school, around 3.30 pm, to attend a ceremony

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where she was scheduled to receive an academic award. However, he rushed her out of the event before

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she could actually receive her recognition. This detail would later strike investigators as significant.

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Why would a father who allegedly loved his daughter deny her the moments of this achievement?

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That evening, neighbors heard Robert and Mary arguing with unprecedented intensity.

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Their voices carried through the neighborhood for hours, escalating into screaming matches

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that continued to around 10 pm. Then suddenly, the Fisher House fell silent. Completely.

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What happened next represents one of the most calculated and brutal family annihilations in American

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criminal history. Robert, William Fisher, systematically murdered his entire family,

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starting with his wife. Mary died first. Robert slashed her throat, then shot her execution style to

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ensure she was dead. This combination of methods suggests this was personal, an act of rage and

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control rather than a crime of passion. After killing Mary, Robert crept into the bedrooms of his

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children where they were sleeping. He slit Bobby and Brittany's throats from ear to ear, ending

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their lives where they slept. The children never had a chance to defend themselves or even

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understand what was happening. Once he confirmed that his family was dead, Robert began implementing

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his escape plan. He doused the house in gasoline, then cut the home's natural gas line.

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He lit a single candle, creating a delayed ignition device that would give him hours to disappear.

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Before leaving, he took his dog blue, two-year-old Queensland healer, and drove away in Mary's car.

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For ten hours, natural gas filled the Fisher home while Robert put distance between himself and the

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crime scene. At 8.42am on April 10, 2001, the gas reached the candle flame. The resulting

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explosion was so powerful that it shook the entire neighborhood like an earthquake. Firefighters

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arrived quickly, working desperately to prevent the blaze from spreading to neighboring homes.

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When they finally gained access to the structure, they discovered the charred remains of Mary,

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Bobby, and Brittany Fisher. Robert had hoped the fire would destroy all evidence of the murders,

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making the deaths appear accidental. His plan might have worked if he'd been more careful

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about covering his tracks. However, investigators quickly began piecing together the events of the

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previous evening. CCTV footage showed Robert at a nearby gas station, withdrawing $280 from an ATM

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while driving Mary's Toyota 4Runner. Four days after the explosion, Robert William Fisher was

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named as the only person of interest in the three homicides. The FBI launched a massive manhunt

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and tips began pouring in from across the country. Robert had what investigators described as an

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"every man face," making positive identification extremely difficult. He was your average looking

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middle-aged American white man, the type of person who could blend into almost any crowd.

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The last confirmed evidence in the case surfaced ten days after the explosion.

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Searchers found Mary's Toyota 4Runner abandoned in the Tonto National Forest, about 100 miles

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northeast of Scottsdale. Even more disturbing, they discovered blue. Robert's dog, in dire condition

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under the vehicle. The dog was severely dehydrated, malnourished, and highly agitated.

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Rescuers had to sedate him before they could safely remove him from his hiding spot.

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The discovery of the dog raised more questions than it answered. Why would Robert abandon

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his pet? Had something happened to Robert in the wilderness or had he planned this abandonment

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as part of his escape strategy? Investigators found human feces in the area, suggesting Robert

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had spent at least some time there, but no other physical evidence emerged.

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On June 29, 2002, Robert Fisher was added to the FBI's 10 most wanted list, with a reward

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of $100,000 offered for information leading to his arrest. Over the following years,

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hundreds of tips and ledged sightings were reported, but none led to his capture.

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The most promising lead came in February 2004, when Canadian authorities arrested a man who bore

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a striking resemblance to Robert Fisher. The unidentified man had the same facial scarring and

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missing teeth as Fisher, leading investigators to believe they'd finally caught their fugitive.

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However, fingerprint analysis conclusively proved this was not Robert Fisher, and the man was released.

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In April 2016, the FBI released age-progressed images showing what Robert might look like after 15

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years on the run. These images generated renewed interest in the case, but failed to produce any

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credible leads. In 2021, Robert Fisher was removed from the FBI's 10 most wanted list after 20 years.

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The Bureau stated that he no longer fit the criteria for inclusion, though they assured the public

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that the investigation would continue. The question of whether Robert Fisher is alive or dead has

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consumed amateur detectives and law enforcement professionals for over two decades. Several theories

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have emerged, each with its own merits and weaknesses. The first theory suggests that Robert

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successfully escaped to another country has been living under a new identity sense.

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Proponents of this theory point to his military training, survival skills, and the head start he gained

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through his elaborate escape plan. However, the limited amount of cash he withdrew and his lack of

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sophisticated resources make this scenario less likely. The second theory proposes Robert has

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been living off the grid in remote wilderness areas using his hunting and outdoor skills to survive.

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Given his extensive knowledge of Arizona's backcountry and his experience as an outdoorsman,

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this theory has some credibility. The vast rugged terrain of the American Southwest could potentially

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hide someone determined to remain invisible. The third theory, which I find the most plausible,

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is that Robert died by suicide shortly after abandoning his dog in the Tonto National Forest.

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People often argue that narcissistic personalities don't commit suicide, but this reasoning has been

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proven wrong numerous times. The comparison to Brian Laundrie, who killed himself, allegedly,

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after murdering Gabby Petito shows that even controlling abusive individuals can choose suicide

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when faced with the consequences of their actions. Robert's decision to kill his family

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stemmed from his terror of losing them through divorce. Once he had committed these murders,

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he may have realized that he destroyed the very thing he was trying to preserve. The psychological

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weight of his actions combined with a certainty of life imprisonment or execution, they've

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called, might have driven him to end his own life in the wilderness. Regardless of where Robert

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Fisher is today, his actions on that April 9, 2001 destroyed far more than three lives.

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Mary's family lost a daughter, sister, and beloved mother. Bobby and Brittany Fisher had their entire

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future stolen from them. The Scottsdale community was shaken by the realization that such evil could

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exist behind the facade of suburban normalcy and religion. Robert Fisher represents the ultimate

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perversion of family values. His claim that he could not live without his family led him to ensure

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that his family could not live at all. His fear of divorce drove him to commit acts far worse than

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any marital dissolution could ever be. The case remains officially open, and the FBI continues to

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accept tips about Robert Fisher's whereabouts. Whether he's hiding somewhere in the world or

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died in the Arizona wilderness over two decades ago, one thing remains certain. Robert Fisher

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deserves to face justice for the brutal murders of Mary, Bobby, and Brittany Fisher. Their memory

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deserves that much. And frankly, so do we all.

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Thanks for listening to 10 Minute from Murder, Bingeable True Crime Stories. I'm Joe, I'm your host,

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and I really appreciate you taking the time to listen to the episode today. Now, if you're off

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to binge more episodes, as I know many of you often do, don't let me stop you. But if this is your

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first time listening to the podcast, please take a moment to hit subscribe right now. You can also

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go to 10minutemurder.com, learn about the podcast, everything we've done in the past, and I say we

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like there's more than just me. But it's just me. We is me. But go to 10minutemurder.com, you can also

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send me an email if you go there, like this one from Michael in Tennessee. Hey Joe, love the pod.

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Let me ask you this question. I know that sometimes you like to talk about different things other than

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true crime. I'm interested what videos are currently in your algorithm. What are you currently

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enjoying watching? And Mike, can I call you Mike? It's very specific and it's going to sound strange.

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But I've been watching a lot of videos of, okay, so at ball parks, at baseball fields,

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many of them have dog days where you can bring your pets, you can bring your dog to the ballpark.

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But the videos that I'm currently enjoying the most aren't just specifically that. It's videos of

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these dog nights at ball parks, but then they play a doorbell sound and all these dogs start barking.

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I laugh so hard and I don't know what it's funny, but it's not like laugh out loud funny. But it gets

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me every time and I don't know why. It's these cute dogs who most of them are dressed up for the game

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they have like a cap on or a jersey or they've got something. They're just adorable. I love dogs. And

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then they play the doorbell sound and then the dog start barking and the ones that don't bark at the

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doorbell, they bark at the other dogs barking and it just creates a whole stadium of barking dogs.

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And I know that's very specific, but if you've seen it, you know why I love it. All right, that's

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going to do it. That's your episode for today. Thank you again for listening to 10 Minute Murder. See

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See you next time.