The story of Mark Fisher ’06 has become one of frustration: the frustration of a mourning family, of detectives and of one Fairfield student who is trying to defend her name.
Four months after his murder in New York City, the investigation into the death of Fisher has gone completely cold, with both family members and investigators pleading for anyone with information to talk to police.
Meanwhile, Angel DiPietro ’06, one of the last people to see Fisher alive, has been named in a newspaper story as one of four people who are “not cooperating fully” with police.
“My whole family is refuting that report,” DiPietro told The Mirror. “I have been questioned twice and told [police] my whole story. I told them everything I know, and they dismissed me.”
The report, which was featured in the Feb. 5 issue of New York Newsday, also named a friend of DiPietro, Al Cleary, as one of the uncooperative members of the investigation.
Michael Fisher, the father of Mark, expressed his aggravation with the investigation.
“From what I’ve been told [from police], it’s been very difficult getting people to talk about Mark’s murder,” said Mr. Fisher.
Mr. Fisher believes that DiPietro holds vital information about his son’s murder, which occurred after attending a house party on Stratford Road in the Ditmas Park section of Brooklyn on Oct. 12.
“Mark went to Brooklyn with Angel DiPietro, that’s all I know,” he said. “The only reason he went to that party is because he knew Angel; they were her friends. He didn’t know anybody in Brooklyn.”
DiPietro denies that claim.
“That is not true,” she said. “The only person I knew was Al Cleary.” The Mirror could not reach Cleary for comment.
DiPietro’s Account
According to DiPietro, the events of the early morning of Oct. 12 are ones of unfortunate decisions that eventually lead to the death of one of her friends.
Fisher and DiPietro spent the night barhopping in Manhattan with a group of friends, both from Fairfield and Brooklyn.
After leaving the Bar Harbour, at First Avenue and 77th Street in Manhattan at 2 a.m., the group split into two parties: one a group of students from Fairfield, and the second being Fisher, DiPietro, and two friends of DiPietro.
Those two friends of DiPietro’s, one of whom being Cleary and the other Merry Denihan, a student of the University of Vermont, joined Fisher and DiPietro in going to another bar. The rest of the group decided to return to Fairfield.
“We tried to get into another bar, and we didn’t get in,” said DiPietro. “The next train back to Fairfield was at 5 a.m., and we didn’t want to wait.”
In lieu of waiting for the train, Cleary suggested that the four go to the house party on Stratford Road and return home in the morning.
The four went to the house and eventually the group of friends split up again.
“I left with Al, and Mark stayed at the house with Merry,” said DiPietro. “That was the last time I saw Mark. I called Merry in the morning, and she said that Mark went home all right. I expected to see him back in Fairfield the next day.”
Fisher never returned to Fairfield. Instead, police now believe that he fell asleep on a couch at the Stratford house and sometime between 6 and 6:35 a.m. ended up inside a white sport utility vehicle.
Investigators speculate that Fisher was shot twice inside the S.U.V. with a .22-caliber gun and then wrapped in a yellow blanket. At 6:41 a.m., his body was dumped in front of a house on 150 Argyle Road in Brooklyn and shot three more times, with one bullet piercing his heart.
That house on Argyle Road, according to Mr. Fisher, was located near the home of one of the people who spent the evening with his son.
“They found Mark’s body on 150 Argyle Road,” said Mr. Fisher. “That house is across the street from where Al Cleary lives.”
While being sympathetic to the death of her friend, DiPietro stressed that she has cooperated with police.
“I can’t imagine losing a son and not having any answers,” DiPietro said. “The last time I saw Mark, he was safe in a house with one of my girlfriends who he wanted to be with.”
“Mark was one of my friends also,” she said. “A lot of people forget about that.”
Parents and friends plead for help
Last week Mr. Fisher and his wife, Nancy, held a press conference with the New York Police Department on Stratford Road in Brooklyn, the last place Mark Fisher was seen alive.
During the press conference, Mr. Fisher pleaded for anyone with any information to be as forthcoming and cooperative with police as possible, while expressing his frustrations with people who he believes have information about the murder of his son and aren’t talking.
“I don’t understand how people can keep their kids quiet and hide behind lawyers,” he told reporters. “You don’t shoot someone with five bullets at the spur of the moment. Someone wanted him dead.”
Christopher Deneen ’06, a friend of Fisher, joined his slain friend’s family in asking for more information.
“It’s not fair to both the Fishers and Mark’s friends that certain people are withholding information,” said Deneen. “If you’re withholding information, wise up. Think about your old friend Mark.”
Only four months since his friend’s murder, Deneen said that he is relying on his friends for support.
“Our friends and I are sticking together, but it’s not easy,” he said. “We all miss him, but we’re doing alright.”
When asked about the published reports of DiPietro’s uncooperativeness, Deneen asked that she simply be as forthcoming as possible.
“If she knows something, just please come out with it,” he said. “It’s just not fair to anyone.”
Mr. Fisher issued one more call for anybody at Fairfield with information to openly communicate with police.
“Mark was part of your Fairfield family,” Mr. Fisher said. “Whoever you are, you should be more than willing to try and help and reach out.”
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