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SICK CRIMES
Brother reveals moment body of girl, 3, was found covered in blood after she was ‘raped and murdered by mom’s boyfriend’
Josefina's brother recalled having an eerie gut feeling when he first met his sister's accused killer
A DISTRAUGHT brother recalled the horrific moment he learned his little sister had allegedly been brutally raped and murdered by his mother's boyfriend.
Josefina Cunningham, 3, was found in a bedroom in her family's home in Rensselaer, New York, just outside of Albany, on July 7, 2023.
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Little Josefina was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Rensselaer police arrested 33-year-old Robert Fisher, who they said was attempting to regain access to the crime scene and interfere with cops' investigation.
Officials in Rensselaer County have described Josefina's killing as difficult and heinous.
"This has been absolutely heinous. It's something that the normal investigator, the normal prosecutor, doesn't anticipate," District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly told reporters after Fisher's arraignment in August.
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Donnelly said Josefine was left in Fisher's care.
"It's been very difficult for everyone - the innocence of the child, the brutality of the act," the district attorney added.
"It's just horrific for people. We sign up knowing that there's going to be things that you can't unsee, can't unsmell, can't untouch, can't unfeel," New York State Police Captain Robert Appleton previously told the Times Union.
She said she found Josefina with bruised spots all over her, with blood all over the bed.
Jy'Quan Stewart.
Jy’Quan Stewart, Josefina's older brother, recalled the moment his aunt informed him that his little sister was killed.
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"I was really shocked. I got on a Lyft and I went straight to my house, and I saw yellow tape outside, police cars outside, everything locked up," Stewart, 23, told The U.S. Sun.
"I remember I saw my mom, and I told her where Robert [Fisher] was, and she said the cops had him on the ground and took him back to the station.
"She said she found Josefina with bruised spots all over her, with blood over the bed."
A shattered Stewart learned from investigators that his sister had been raped and murdered.
GUT FEELING
The grieving brother disclosed to The U.S. Sun how his mother introduced Fisher to her kids days before his sister's killing.
Stewart said he felt something off about Fisher the first time he laid eyes on him.
"Something felt a little off inside when I first met him. It was a little off. I just felt something in my gut," he said, adding that his mother had only been seeing Fisher for a week.
"I never saw my mother with a White guy before. Maybe that's why, but I never spoke to her [about their relationship] - it was like she was hypnotized.
"She was too deep in love with him. It was actually kind of strange."
Fisher pleaded not guilty to charges of rape, murder, obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest, and criminal mischief.
Stewart recalled being in a hollow state at the arrangement of his sister's alleged killer, "I remember at the arraignment when he pleaded not guilty, there was outrage in the courtroom.
"I was just still shocked. I just couldn't believe this was happening.
"This has never really happened before. Everything didn't feel real.
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"It felt like it was a dream. It just didn't feel real."
Fisher is being held without bond and is scheduled to go on trial on July 31.