#MICHAEL SHERMER WIFE TRIAL#
The Attorney General can decide to appeal the decision to overturn Stermer's conviction with the Supreme Court of the United States.īedford tells 48 Hours, "Once that part of it is final, we will work with the trial judge in our county to get the ball rolling for a new trial if necessary.“Have you ever,” he inquired hesitantly of Yossarian … “been in a situation which you felt you had been in before, even though you knew you were experiencing it for the first time?” Yossarian nodded perfunctorily, and the chaplain’s breath quickened in anticipation as he made ready to join his will power with Yossarian’s in a prodigious effort to rip away at last the voluminous black folds shrouding the eternal mysteries of existence. He points out that the appellate process is not necessarily over. Van Buren County Prosecutor Michael Bedford says he "plans to retry the case if in fact that is necessary." But he concluded that "given the relative weakness of this evidence, the fairness of her trial was irreparably undercut by the prosecutor's closing, in which he repeatedly opined that Stermer was untruthful and called her 'a diabolical, scheming, manipulative liar.'"įriday's ruling is not the end for prosecutors, who have 120 days to decide if they will try the case or have it dismissed. Judge Clay noted that the prosecution's case was not "impossibly weak." He acknowledged that circumstantial evidence - while possibly explained by Linda - could point toward her guilt. "In reality they were predominantly based on the prosecutor's own assessment that Stermer's version of events was not credible." "The state says the prosecutor's statements were rooted in the evidence," writes Clay. In delivering the court opinion, released Friday, Judge Eric Clay, with one judge joining him, weighed heavily on the improper remarks made during trial. Michigan's attorney general had appealed the federal decision, asking that Linda's conviction be reinstated. He vacated her conviction and Linda was released from prison. In 2018, nearly 12 years after the fire, the federal judge ultimately decided Linda Stermer didn't get a fair trial. He also found fault with the defense, saying the attorney failed his client by not calling a fire expert. had gasoline poured all over them."Ī federal judge who called an evidentiary hearing found the prosecutor was wrong telling jurors that Linda had two cell phones inside the van, when there was no evidence of that. "They all laughed when I told them about somebody getting out of a building after they. "I've asked probably 30 or 40 people who are firefighters, investigators," he said. The investigation was "inadequate," he said, adding that the evidence does not support the state's theory that Linda doused Todd with gasoline and then set him on fire. "48 Hours" spoke to veteran fire investigator Robert Trenkle, who says he would have testified there was not enough evidence to prove the fire that killed Todd Stermer was deliberately set.
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In part, she blamed her conviction on her own defense attorney, who had chosen not to hire a fire expert. "Bad luck doesn't even describe it," Linda said.Īfter her conviction, Linda wrote her own petition to the federal court.
"You must know, Linda, that it's very difficult for people to believe that your husband is burned in a fire, he escapes, he's still alive, badly burned and then you hit him with a car," Erin Moriarty asked Linda in an interview for "The Death of Todd Stermer." "What, you just happened to have that kind of bad luck?" Todd Stermer death: Inside the investigation 20 photos Detectives spent two years investigating - focusing on a troubled marriage, and the fact that Linda ran Todd over when he escaped the fire. Linda Stermer was convicted of murder and arson in the 2007 death of her husband, Todd Stermer.Īuthorities have long believed she set the family home on fire to kill her husband and then ran him over with a van when he escaped the flames. A Michigan woman will remain free, after judges with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday to uphold a federal judge's decision to overturn her conviction.
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