Linda Stermer's retrial set to begin as she maintains innocence in husband's 2007 murder
LAWRENCE, Mich. — A West Michigan woman convicted of murdering her husband will soon begin the process of having a second murder trial.
Tuesday, jury trial is set to commence years after the January 2007 murder case of Todd Stermer.
According to investigators, Todd Stermer was beaten, set on fire alongside his family home and then ran over with a van driven by his wife, Linda Stermer.
“I have been blessed with an incredible family,” Linda Stermer said.
Linda Stermer was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in January 2010. She was released from prison eight years later in December 2018 after a federal judge granted her release on a $10,000 bond.
- Previous Coverage: New testimony allowed in retrial of Lawrence woman convicted of killing her husband
There was also a conditional writ of habeas corpus, a legal order that requires law officials to justify detention.
It came after the court determined Linda’s rights were violated when her then attorney, now current Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting, failed to effectively challenge key evidence among other issues in the trial.
“I know that you heard the judge say that the prosecutor violated rules, the judge allowed the violations to stand, my lawyer failed to protect me,” Linda Stermer said.
Linda Stermer has always maintained her innocence while in prison. Though her sister-in-law and Todd’s sister, Kelly Stermer, disagrees.
“It took the jury very little time to decide unanimously that she was guilty. I think that they got it right,” Kelly Stermer said.
Originally, Kelly would not speak to anyone regarding her brother’s case.
However, she chose to speak out after the case got national attention and debuted on the true crime show "48 hours."
Kelly did not like that the show portrayed her brother in a bad light, which highlighted accusations of arson.
“It was arson, but it was found to be somebody else who had done it. It was somebody who was living in the area and it was multiple fires in kind of abandoned buildings,” Kelly Stermer said.
In the 2020 interview, Kelly noted that her brother had imperfections like any other person. She also noted that his marriage was not perfect either.
According to a U.S. court of appeals document, Todd and Linda’s 14-year marriage contained accusations of abuse and an affair.
It also detailed injuries Todd sustained during the time of his death that could not be directly linked to Linda, and noted Todd’s autopsy found in part “the cause of death to be a combination of burns and smoke inhalation.”
In addition, the document stated “blunt-force injuries to Todd’s head, but could not say if these injuries were caused by him being struck by an object multiple times, being struck by a vehicle, or both.”
- Previous Coverage: Kelly Stermer wants her brother's voice heard following '48 Hours' feature on his death
A forensic pathologist added Todd Stermer died from four lacerations to his scalp. along with two rib fractures.
“I know there’s a lot of pain on my husband’s side of the family, but they shouldn’t have to suffer not just the pain of losing someone but the pain of thinking that he was murdered in such a horrific way,” Linda Stermer said.
A horrific and intentional death is what investigators believe.
According to investigators, Todd’s sweatpants, socks, and underwear tested positive for gasoline, leading detectives to the conclusion that the house fire was intentionally set in the living room.
News Channel 3 tried reaching out to Kelly Stermer’s current defense attorney, Wolfgang Mueller, but was unable to get a comment.
Linda Stermer's second trial is set to begin Tuesday. News Channel 3 will provide updates both on-air and online as they become available.
