The legal situation surrounding Fischer and his alleged involvement in the death of Norman "Lee" Radder has been a topic of interest for investigators for more than a decade now. For context, Fischer was convicted of murder in 2013 for Radder's 2010 death. Radder, who was married to Fischer's stepdaughter, lived with her and their three children in Queen Creek, Ariz., and Fischer was staying with the family at the time of Radder's death.
According to the Associated Press, Radder was shot dead in the right eye with Fischer's gun after a night of drinking. After it occurred, Fischer called 911 to report that Radder had committed suicide, and investigators went with that for a while. However, things changed after some time and police began suspecting that Fischer, who has previous law enforcement experience, killed Radder and staged the murder as a suicide.
Two months after Fischer's initial murder conviction in 2013, a judge moved for a retrial, citing that the decision was "contrary to the weight of the evidence." Shortly after that, the Arizona Court of Appeals decided to shoot down that move and claim that the trial judge abused her discretion by overturning his conviction. This then prompted the Arizona Supreme Court to shoot down the Arizona Court of Appeals and side with the trial judge, ordering an official retrial.
In 2018, also per the Associated Press, Fischer was once again convicted of Radder's murder. He returned to prison until 2021 when prosecutors cited an "interest of justice" and overturned Fischer's conviction, a move that was granted by the judge. No other specific details were given by the prosecution about what prompted this surprising request, but it once again set Fischer free.
Now, Dateline is looking to peel back the layers of Fischer's alleged involvement in Radder's death yet again with a special episode dedicated to the situation and all of its many legal details. Be sure to check out America's favorite true-crime show when it spotlights the case on March 25, 2022, at 9 p.m. EST on NBC.
