Robert Fisher, 34, changed his plea to guilty on Tuesday for the murder of Josefina Cunningham, who was found foaming at the mouth in her family's home in Rensselaer, New York, just outside of Albany, on July 7, 2023.
Fisher's trial was slated to begin on July 31
Jy'Quan Stewart, Josefina's older brother, slammed his sister's killer, saying the pressure of facing the family in court was too much for Fisher to handle.
"Everything happened so fast. I think he couldn't stand being in a courtroom," Stewart told The U.S. Sun on Tuesday after learning about Fisher's plea.
"Too much pressure, too much media in there. He wouldn't be able to stand it.
"To me, it's not over. I still plan on pursuing that death penalty."
At the time of her murder, Josefina was left in the care of Fisher, who was dating the child's mother.
Stewart, 23, described the shock that overcame him and his mother when they learned of Fisher's plea change.
"I was really shocked, two weeks before the trial. So, that means he admitted that he did it.
"She told me she was very shocked, just very surprised he pleaded guilty because at first [during his initial arrest], cops had him pinned to the ground, and he said, 'I didn't do it.'
"Now, two weeks before he pleaded guilty."
Stewart expressed to The U.S. Sun how a life sentence is not enough for his little sister's murderer.
"I want him to pay for what he did. I want him to get the death penalty," the enraged brother said.
"People that commit these crimes, they need to pay, they need to get the death penalty. This crime was really heinous, it was really heinous.
"I want the world to see, they need to be in shock, they need to know they can't be doing stuff like this."
Rensselaer County officials previously described Josefina's murder 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.
"It's been very difficult for everyone - the innocence of the child, the brutality of the act."
"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.
'JOSEFINA WAS BRUISED ALL OVER'
Stewart previously recalled to The U.S. Sun the moment he learned his sister had been killed.
"I got on a Lyft and I went straight to my house, and I saw yellow tape outside, police cars outside, everything locked up," he said.
"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 and blood over the bed."
The shattered brother learned from investigators that his sister had been raped and murdered.
Stewart told The U.S. Sun how his mother had introduced him to Fisher days before his sister's killing.
The brother 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," Stewart said, adding that his mother had only been dating 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."
On Tuesday, Fisher pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree rape.
His sentencing is scheduled for August 6.
