Tag: Emily Fisher

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Intermission Impossible Theater

Magnificent Disasters: Voices of the South Brings Rebecca Fisher Back to TheatreWorks

21 years ago, Emily Fisher, wife, mother, socialite, and celebrated patron of the arts, was beaten and stabbed in her Central Gardens home. The murder, and the harrowing trial that followed, quickly turned into a media feeding frenzy. Prosecutor Jerry Harris choked back angry tears as he described and redescribed every aspect of Fisher’s murder in painstaking detail. Defense attorneys Glenn Wright and Loyce Lambert were no less emphatic in swearing that the case was being tried in the media, and their innocent clients — who were eventually acquitted — were being rushed to a guilty verdict. It was, needless to say, not an easy time for Fisher’s children.

in 2007 Rebecca Fisher, Emily’s writer/actor daughter launched The Magnificence of the Disaster, a solo performance chronicling not only her mother’s murder and her brother Adrian’s subsequent overdose but also the icy disaffections that can sometimes pass for familial love in a big white house in one of Shelby County’s more privileged neighborhoods.

It’s been 8-years since Fisher brought her critically-acclaimed and award-winning show to TheatreWorks, in conjunction with Voices of the South. VOTS has been marking its 20th-anniversary by reprising landmark performances, and The Magnificence of the Disaster returns to Memphis and TheatreSouth for performances April 9, 10, 14, 16, 17. 

Magnificent Disasters: Voices of the South Brings Rebecca Fisher Back to TheatreWorks

Magnificent Disasters: Voices of the South Brings Rebecca Fisher Back to TheatreWorks (2)

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“Memphis” Magazine Probes Emily Fisher Murder

Emily Fisher’s murder in 1995 was among the most brutal and high-profile crimes in this city’s history. In its October issue, our sister publication, Memphis magazine, gives readers an inside look at this tragedy and the events leading up to it.

Marilyn Sadler’s story, “A Murder in Central Gardens, Part I,” takes readers through Fisher’s struggle as a parent dealing with a drug-addicted son — who bragged to the wrong people about his family’s wealth. It also covers the 1996 trial of two suspects who were ultimately acquitted.

“Part II,” coming in November, explores the rest of the saga, offering more insights into Fisher’s son Adrian and his best friend — and what role they played in covering up the crime. The October issue is on newsstands now, or go to Memphismagazine.com to subscribe.

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Convicted Fisher Killer Eligible for Parole Hearing

He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in February 2007, with the first chance of parole expected after four-and-half years. But Alfred Turner, the man convicted in the high-profile murder trial of Emily Fisher earlier this year, is already eligible for a parole hearing on September 13th.

Fisher, who was prominent in the Memphis social and arts community, was stabbed to death in 1995. Two suspects were found not guilty of the murder in 1996. A few years later, an informant led police to Turner, whose blood was found at Fisher’s house on Central. In January 2007. Turner was convicted of “facilitation to commit felony murder.” Jurors never doubted he left blood at the scene but weren’t convinced he committed the act. Turner had ties to Fisher’s drug-addicted son, Adrian Fisher, who admitted in the first trial that he bragged about his family’s wealth and the presence of a safe in the elegant Midtown house.

According to Dorinda Carter of Tennesssee’s Department of Corrections, Turner was a “Standard Range One” offender who was ordered to serve at least 30 percent of the 25 years. However, after subtracting 1,142 days of jail credit, 304 days of pretrial behavior credit, and 54 days of “sentence reduction credit” earned since his sentence, Turner’s release eligibility date is August 14, 2010. His offense is also eligible for a “safety valve date, an early parole consideration date in place due to prison overcrowding,” says Carter. “He also gets credit for behavior and programs he’s completed while incarcerated.”

Not surprisingly, the family of Fisher, who was stabbed more than 50 times, is shocked. Rebecca Fisher, daughter of the victim, says, “I knew parole was a possiblity but to go up for it now — when it hasn’t even been one-fourth of the allotted time — is crazy. I have to tell myself it’s not going to happen or it will make everything, the whole justice system, seem pointless.”

Fisher, a San Francisco-based writer, performer, and teacher, wrote and performed a one-woman show about the murder titled The Magnificence of the Disaster, which ran in Memphis in May and will run again in March 2008.