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48 HOURS: “The Death of Todd Stermer” was Saturday’s #1 primetime program with viewers, according to Nielsen live plus same day ratings for Saturday, Feb. 1. The broadcast delivered 3.67 million viewers and a 0.6/03 with adults 25-54, the demographic that matters most to those who advertise in news. 48 HOURS added +180,000 viewers from the previous week.

Saturday’s broadcast featured Erin Moriarty and 48 HOURS’ investigation into the death of Todd Stermer and the case against his wife, Linda Stermer, who was accused of setting fire to their family home and killing her husband. The broadcast featured Linda Stermer’s first interview.

On Jan. 7, 2007, while Stermer and her husband, Todd, were home, their house burst into flames. Linda Stermer got out safely. Her husband was also able to get out, but he was horribly burned. Linda Stermer says she got in the family’s van to get help. And then she saw her husband had gotten out of the house. She said she got back in the van. But, in a shocking twist, Todd Stermer, after escaping the fire, was run over by his wife. She maintains it was an accident. Prosecutors disagree.

48 HOURS takes viewers inside the case that split a family and continues to play out in the courts. The investigation into what happened revealed a fractured family and a couple on the brink of breaking up. After the fire and the death of Todd Stermer, there were allegations of domestic abuse, battles over money and accusations that Linda was having an affair.

In 2009 Linda Stermer was charged with arson and murder. She was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Stermer has maintained throughout that she doesn’t know how the fire started and that running over her husband was purely an accident. While in prison, she put together her own appeal. With the help of a new attorney, she convinced a judge she had an unfair trial and was freed in 2018. But authorities in Michigan are appealing that decision. Stermer is awaiting a court’s decision on her fate.

48 HOURS: “The Death of Todd Stermer” is produced by Judy Rybak. Alicia Tejada is the field producer. Kat Teurfs is the associate producer. Jud Johnston and Grayce Arlotta-Berner are the editors. Patti Aronofsky is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.

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