A development in Michigan’s criminal history resurfaced this week as Linda Stermer, a 60-year-old Van Buren County resident, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the second time in connection with the murder of her husband, Todd Stermer. According to FOX 17, Stermer had previously been convicted in 2010 but was granted a new trial after an appeals court found her rights were violated due to inadequate representation.
“Murder is by it’s nature a monstrous deed,” Van Buren County Judge Kathleen Brickley stated, characterizing the crime as more severe than typical cases, as reported by ClickOnDetroit. The conviction comes nearly two decades after the 2007 incident that claimed Todd Stermer’s life. Prosecutors alleged that Linda Stermer set her husband on fire and then, while he was aflame, struck him with a van. Despite her insistence that the event was accidental, the jury was unconvinced by her testimony that Todd had an oil lamp and candles burning in the house when she was doing laundry in the basement.
After her initial conviction, Stermer was released from prison when a federal appeals court granted her a new trial in 2020. Judges determined her attorney at the time did not effectively challenge prosecution claims that the fire was intentionally set. One judge on the panel, Jeffrey Sutton, expressed doubt about the claim that the fire was accidental, noting in his dissenting opinion that the evidence strongly pointed to intentional conduct, noted FOX 17…