Dec. 5, 1986, was a normal day for 18-year-old Bobby Fisher. It wasn’t until his neighbor pulled up at his work with an alarming message that his world was turned upside down: there was something wrong with his mother, Donna.

When paramedics arrived, they found Donna unconscious upstairs at her 78 Prospect Street home in Cranston. It was assumed she’d had a medical event, and she was rushed to the hospital where she later passed on Dec. 8, her 39th birthday.

It didn’t take long for medical staff to discover the true cause of death. This wasn’t a medical event; it was a murder. Donna Fisher had been strangled.

Now, her son, Bobby Fisher, is speaking out about her death. Both Fisher and the current detective, Robert Santagata, opened up about the case on a popular New England true crime podcast, Murder, She Told, in hopes of getting Donna’s story heard. In the episode, new details on the investigation are revealed for the first time, including that DNA evidence is at a lab being tested right now.

Bobby Fisher said to Murder, She Told about that tragic day, “In an instant, your whole world comes crashing down. She wasn’t just my mother… She was my best friend.”

36-years-later, Donna and her family remain without justice. No arrests have ever been made.

“It was so surreal. This person that would never hurt a fly was taken out in such a violent way, and 36 years later I’m still trying to wrap my head around it,” said Fisher.

Detective Robert Santagata of the Cranston Police Department refuses to let this case go cold. Both he and Fisher have a person of interest in mind

 “It definitely wasn’t who they thought it was in ‘86. So how do I move forward from this point? DNA is playing a huge part in this case. It’s just a matter of finding a match for it,” said Detective Santagata.

Detective Santagata took over the case around 2019, but spoke with the original investigator, William Grady, when it was re-opened around 2010 before Grady passed a few years later. “[By the time I took it over, it already] had a special place in my heart. I want to solve it for him because he died with it never being solved.”

“We spoke for about five or six hours with Bobby for this episode; talking about his mom’s life, the impact her death has made, and his quest not only for justice, but for people to remember Donna as the vibrant person she was and not just as an unsolved homicide victim,” said Kristen Seavey, creator and host of Murder, She Told.

“I firmly believe that Detective Santagata is going to be the one that cracks the case. I can see the frustration in his face whenever we talk,” Fisher said.

“Out of the few cold cases that I have, this is the one that does haunt me because it is that close to being solved. And it’s eventually gonna happen,” Santagata said.

The episode, titled “Still Unsolved: Donna Anthony Fisher” is available now on Murder, She Told on any podcast platform. Murder, She Told is a Maine based true crime podcast shedding light on the cold cases, missing persons and crime stories that often get overlooked from New England. The podcast uses detailed documentary-style storytelling, weaving in original interviews with the people closest to the case. Rooted in deep research, straightforward narratives, and the victims at the center of every story, Murder, She Told will speak to any listener no matter where they call home. For more information, visit murdershetold.com/episodes/donna-fisher. Murder, She Told is created and hosted by victim’s advocate, Kristen Seavey.

Anyone with information that could help solve Donna Fisher’s murder is asked to contact Detective Santagata at the Cranston Police Dept at (401) 942-2211.