The Fire That Left Too Many Questions

Hi Crime Junkies, I'm your host Ashley. Flowers. >> And I'm Britt. In 2023, a fire tore. through a Chicago family home and killed. everyone inside. A mother and her three. kids. It seemed like an especially cruel way. for them to go considering that the. woman's husband, the kids' father, was a. Chicago firefighter who was on duty that. night fulfilling his oath to protect and. serve the city. The community rallied. around the surviving family who'd been. torn apart by what seemed to be a.

terrible accident. But not everyone. believed it wasn't accident. Within. weeks of the fire, someone emailed me. and told me to watch this case closely. as it unfolded because everything might. not be what it seems. Three years and. one back-and-forth legal fight with the. Chicago Police Department later, what. I'm going to share with you might make. you agree that something isn't right. here. But I'll let you be the judge.

This is the never-before-told story of. the Day Stewart family house fire. It's shortly after 9:00 p.m. on March. 7th, 2023 when a call for a multiple. alarm fire comes through the radio at. the Chicago firehouse. Firefighter. Walter Sean Stewart, who everyone calls. Sean, is on duty that night and he. recognizes the address coming through. over the speaker. 2554 North Rutherford.

Avenue. That's his house. Now, his station is hearing the message. over dispatch even though their unit. isn't the one designated to respond. But. I mean, if you think he's not going, you're out of your mind. He rushes to. the battalion chief, tells him that. [music] he has to leave, and asks if. he'll go with him. And within minutes, the two are in the chief's SUV speeding. across Chicago's Montclare neighborhood. The chief behind the wheel and Sean. staring at just this [music] smoke. rising in the distance. The 20-minute. drive probably took less if they had.

their emergency light on, but it must. have still felt like an eternity. It. didn't take responding firefighter. engines long though. 2 minutes after the. neighbor had called 911, firefighters. were on the scene breaking through the. front and back doors, and from the back. door one team went into the home's. enclosed back porch. And that's where. they found the family dog Mabel in. [music] a crate, and the smoke had. already gotten to her, which meant that. they were running out of time to get to. the family that the neighbor said lived.

there. The back porch leads directly into the. kitchen where the firefighters who. entered through the front door were. already there fighting flames. And to. the left of the kitchen was a room with. a single mattress on the floor. And they almost missed 7-year-old Ezra. because he wasn't on the mattress. Trying to run from the flames that had. already lapped up his body and given him. second-degree burns, he had collapsed. and was [music] unconscious on the floor. near the foot of the staircase that led. from that room that he was in to the.

[music] second floor. As one firefighter. scooped him up to take him outside, others ascended the staircase and fanned. out to check the rooms upstairs. In the first room on the right, they. found a 2-year-old boy, Emery, unconscious in his crib. In the next. bedroom, painted pink and full of. soot-covered stuffed animals, they found. 9-year-old Autumn unconscious on the. floor near the window. By now, Sean and his chief had arrived. at the chaotic scene, and he watched as. fellow firefighters came out of the. house one by one carrying all of his.

children and laying them on the lawn to. be tended to by paramedics. But his wife. wasn't there. Where was 36-year-old. Summer? Firefighters hadn't seen her in. the house, but between the flames and. the smoke, visibility was like next to. nothing, and she could still be there. I. mean, if the kids were there, she had to. be there. So, they were sent back in to. do a second sweep. And that is when they. found Summer in her first-floor bedroom. unresponsive on the floor near the side.

of her bed. Now, when she's finally. carried out of the house and placed on. the lawn with the children, Sean runs to. her and begins performing CPR until the. EMTs are able to load her and the kids. up in ambulances and take [music] them. off. But, they will never be coming back. home. One by one, like the way they came. out of that house over the next few. days, they succumbed to their injuries. and [music] pass away without ever. waking up, without ever being able to. say what happened that night or what.

caused the fire that ravaged their home. That was a mystery left for the Chicago. Fire Department investigators and. Chicago police. And anyone who is. familiar with fire investigation will. know that they're notoriously difficult. because the entire scene is one giant. ball of contamination. everything on the. first floor is covered in water and soot. and debris. There is no drywall even. left to speak [music] of. And even the. support beams of the house in this fire, the ones that are exposed, those are all.

charred. But, despite everything that is. ruined by the fire, there is some. evidence that the fire itself provides. Like where it started and what could. have caused it. Pretty quickly, everyone. hones in on the kitchen. [music]. Actually, one particular area on the. east half where the fire patterns. indicate that it originated. And a. couple of key clues right around there. are interesting to them. The stove and. this outlet. On the stove, there was a. pot on the rear left burner and a pan.

kind of sitting like on the right side. And even though the plastic knobs on the. stove had melted away, [music]. investigators could see that the. leftover metal stem was clearly turned. to high. And near the stove that had. clearly been turned on, they also saw a. melted water cooler plugged into a. charred extension cord that ran all the. way to the wall. So, they know the what. and where. The fire started in this. general area of the kitchen. What they. don't know is how and why. Like, was.

there a spark from this outlet? Did. something bubble over on the stove? When? Who put it there? >> Well, and I assume they tested for. accelerants and stuff like that, too, right? Well, according to the reports. that we have from the Chicago police, there is only one piece of evidence that. they sent off in this case for testing. There was this metal can that was on the. floor near the stove, and they had that. tested, like seeing if there was any. kind of accelerant or anything or like. anything in it. But, they found out this. had nothing to do with the cause of the.

fire. So, that is the scene side of things. The. what, the where, the how, that's being. handled by the Chicago Fire Department. Chicago police detectives are trying to. collect anything that might give them. the who or the why. And the first person. they turn to. is Sean. When they speak to him on March. 19th, this is like nearly 2 weeks after. the fire. He tells them that, obviously, he wasn't. at the house that night because he was. on duty at the fire station. He says he.

got there at like 6:00 in the morning, did some grocery shopping at two local. stores at around 8:00 so that he could. make dinner for the crew that night, and. he was there until he heard the call. come over the radio at around 9:00 p.m. And there are a couple subsequent. interviews that they conduct with other. people on duty who all confirm this. Now, I don't know how in detail they get. with him about his family's lives or. what could have contributed to the fire. because all that is in this file is an. investigator's quick write-up. summarizing the conversations they had.

with them. But, the investigator makes. note of something that I assume he. thinks is important. Sean tells him that. Summer abused alcohol and was often. intoxicated. So, maybe that's the. contributing factor here, right? I mean, at the scene near Summer on the floor. where she was found in her room, they. also found a mostly full bottle of Jack. Daniel's. And then, on the side table in. her room, there were a few soda cans, a. Styrofoam cup, a red Solo cup. And if. that wasn't the tip-off that she'd been.

drinking, the blood that they took from. her when they first got her to the. hospital was. Summer's blood alcohol. level was one of the probably highest. I've ever seen in a case, [music]. .312, almost four times the legal limit. So, she could have very easily forgotten. that she was cooking and passed out. Another thing I don't see mentioned in. any of the reports, but we learned from. talking to Summer's sister, Sarah, and. Sarah's wife, Amber, is that Ezra, their.

middle child, had non-verbal autism. The. reason he was sleeping downstairs. instead of upstairs with the other kids. is because he had trouble sleeping, which seems pretty common for children. with autism. And he would often roam. around downstairs, sometimes escape if. no one was looking and just like beeline. into traffic. It was super dangerous. So, Summer had converted their dining. room into a bedroom for him so that they. would be on the same floor, and she. actually had these security latches. installed on the doors to prevent him. from getting out. So, what if it's this combo of everything?

Summer passes out, maybe she left. something on the stove, maybe not. Maybe. Ezra is still awake and moving about the. house. He goes into the kitchen. Summer's sister told us that in the. past, Summer had issues with Ezra. playing with the stove knobs. So, sometimes she took them off the stove. completely to prevent him from messing. with them. But that night, March 7th, it. looks like those knobs were on. So, was. it possible that Ezra was playing with. the stove and it was just all this. tragic accident? Police make no mention.

of this in their narrative reports, but. I do think it's relevant. >> And do they have an idea of how that day. and night played out for them? Like. after Sean left for work, did they see. anyone? Did anyone see them? Like are. there phone records of anything? They. don't pull any of that as far as I can. tell. I mean, like at least from the. reports that we have, it doesn't look. like they even talked to anyone besides. Sean and his coworkers. They just get. the info from him, work to confirm his. alibi, and then wait for the autopsy.

reports to come in. But even when they. get those, I mean, there's not a ton. that helps. Like no surprise injuries, like all four died as a result from the. fire. There was, though, one strange. detail that came back in the autopsies. Two-year-old Emery had a tiny amount of. the drug lorazepam in his system. Now, the autopsy report says it wasn't enough. to be fatal or even close to an. overdose, but everything I read is that. pediatricians would only give this drug. in like a clinical setting, not at home,

and usually it's given for things like. seizures or severe anxiety episodes or. in emergency situations where they need. to sedate a young child. [music] To my. knowledge, none of this applies to. Emery. So, how did it get in this baby's. system? >> Yeah. The autopsy report makes no. attempt to answer that question, and. neither do investigators, according to. the documents we have. Once they know. the deaths were caused by a fire, and. that fire is ultimately concluded to be.

a result of either an electrical. malfunction or what they call human. action, meaning someone left that stove. on, CFD decides to make their final. ruling on the fire, undetermined. suspended. And CPD classifies the deaths. as non-criminal, [music]. meaning they're done investigating. unless some big new piece of evidence. comes to light. >> But why not just call it an accident? That's basically what they're saying, because it seems like. there is more investigating that could. be done if they wanted to, right? Like,

have we canvassed the neighborhood? You. said they never got call records. Like. I'm really interested in those. >> I don't think this was truly like a lack. of investigative leads and we have no. idea what happened. It seems like they. have a pretty good idea of what they. think happened, but I learned that it's. not unusual for a fire investigators to. be a little vague in their cause if. they're not immediately sure if it's. criminal in nature because they like to. leave the door open for insurance. agencies to do their own investigations. So, by August, this case is closed. And.

family and friends of the Day-Stewart. family are left reeling. Local headlines. ran with stories about Sean's. unimaginable loss and the whole. community really rallied around him. I. mean, strangers and neighbors covered. their soot-blackened back porch with. stuffed animals [music] and flowers, while the Chicago Fire Department. launched the Stewart Family Fund to. raise money for Sean. And there was a. massive showing for the two separate. funerals held in Chicago. One for the.

public, which the fire department showed. up for in droves, and another that was a. Jehovah's Witness service to honor. Summer's religion. There were even two. celebrations of life back on the West. Coast, where Summer had a lot of friends. and where her sister lives. But, while. people were grieving across the nation. for this senseless loss, someone in the. Chicago area was emailing me. The tip was it was vague. And the source. said that they couldn't go on record.

But, they told me to pay attention to. this story as it unfolds, because though. it looks like a tragic accident on the. surface, there might be more if I dug deeper. >> That is like such an Ashley bait email. That's like the perfect way to kidnap. you, honestly. >> It was. But, listen, at that moment, I. didn't jump. I did what the tipster told. me to do. I waited. I watched to see how. this unfolded. But, it didn't. The story. just kind of faded from the headlines in.

2023 and 2024, and in the chaos of. running two weekly shows, I almost. forgot about it. Almost. Until March of last year. That's when I put our reporter Jen Amel. on this case. Wait, like just off of. this email 2 years ago, or was there. like something else that kind of like. peaked your interest, something. happened? Nothing else. Just this email. >> And then this feeling that I had. So, I. asked Jen, like, go talk to Summer's. family, pull some records, tell me if.

there is a there there. See if you can. find any indication that we should keep. digging. I mean, maybe this is totally off base. And you want to know the first thing she. came back to me with? It turns out. Summer was planning on taking the kids. and leaving her firefighter husband, Shawn, >> [music]. >> on March 8th. But she never got the chance because the. day before she was set to leave, a fire. broke out in her home that killed them. all. So, as you can imagine, we kept.

digging. And you will not believe what. we found. Whenever there's a controversial trial, do you ever wonder, >> [music]. >> did the jury get it right? I'm Brandy Churchwell, and this is. [music] the 13th Juror podcast, where we. break down real court cases and put you. in the juror's seat. All right, jury. entering courtroom. When the gavel [music] falls, the jury's. decision may be final, but the debate is. far from over.

Listen to 13th Juror [music] wherever. you get your podcasts. We, the jury, find as follows as the. count. All the stories about this tragedy in. the local papers painted Shawn as the. grieving husband and father who had. suffered an unexpected [music]. and monumental loss. And yes, that might. have been true, but what the stories all. left out was the tumultuous relationship.

between Shawn and Summer and the years. of alleged abuse that she and their kids. suffered at his hands. And I don't know. why because it's not something that. Summer hid. I mean, she told most of her. loved ones about this and we have the. receipts. I'm talking pages upon pages. of Summer's texts to her friends and her. sister. Pictures of on her and the kids. allegedly from Shawn and videos that. Summer took that paint a concerning. picture. The earliest video her sister.

shared with us comes from 2013, 10 years. before her death. Tell me all about how I'll never, ever, ever. ever hurt me again. And this time I'm. going to video tape it. That way. when he does. he'll be able to watch this. That's not really fair. But I guess I've done enough damage to. you, so I understand. I love you, baby.

And. I'm really sorry for everything I've. done to you. I'm really sorry that. I've. done so much. to hurt you. I love you so much. He loves me so much. You hear that? And he's sorry. Look at this. He's even a little grin on. his face. It's cuz he likes being on video. You're mean. See? You're mean. >> He's smiling now.

>> No, [ __ ] cuz you're making jokes. >> Very serious subject matter, but he's. like, "I love being on video.". Please. He's trying everything he can to not. smile. See? >> [laughter]. >> Shut up. You're mean. You're making me laugh. It's not fair. Three seconds before this video, he was. laying down with tears in his eyes. telling me how he's never going to hurt. me again. And I'd heard it so many times before. that I thought to myself, I wish I could. video tape this. Oh, wait. I can.

Please stop making a joke out of it. All right. I love you. >> [clears throat]. >> I love you so much. I'm really I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything. I'm sorry. about. You know, like. I. I supposed to be like the nice guy. I wasn't supposed to break your heart. I. wasn't supposed to make you.

feel all this pain and distrust. I'm sorry for lying to you. I love you and I don't want you to. have to worry every time. you know, when you have to think. is he lying? Is he telling me the truth? I don't want you to think like that. I never wanted that.

I'm sorry. I'm. I love you. I love your face. I love. being with you. I love you. What's that? What's that? What?

I wanted this to be more serious. I love. you. Why are you smiling over. I'm all smiley face. >> Cuz that was the most insincere thing. that I've ever seen. And every time. I feel like. I'm believing you all over again, I'm. going to watch this video. I don't know if she ever showed him that. video again, >> [music]. >> or what they each thought looking back.

on it. But the cycle of abuse is. textbook. Violence, apology, violence. again. And the kids don't seem to have. been spared. I mean, here is one video. that Summer took of their daughter. Autumn. It was filmed on September 14th, 2021, when Autumn was only seven. Tell. me what happened, what you told me. earlier, okay? That you were sitting on. the bed. and. Tell me what happened, okay? First, papa uh.

So, he was talking to you and I was on the. phone, right? He [snorts] was talking to. you on the phone. and uh. I started making some loud sounds like I. couldn't hear it. and then he and then I standing I. sitting on I then and then I. made some louder sounds and then I sat. down and then he he took my neck and. pushed it down onto the bed.

and it. >> And you fell. back onto the bed? And it and I told papa that it hurted. And. now my neck is sore and weak. After that incident, 3 months later in. December 2021, Summer secretly recorded. a fight between her and Shawn that she. sent to her friend Chloe. Now, you can't.

see much in the video. She sets the. phone down, but Summer's sister. identifies Shawn as the second voice. Now, the only parts I cut from this one. are some silences at the beginning and. then this brief moment where the two. seem to leave the room where the phone. is and you can't really make out what it. is they're saying until they come back. in. [music] And I want to give just a. quick warning, I am not going to censor. this video clip cuz I think it is. important that you get the full picture. unfiltered. Did you take the car keys?

It doesn't matter. You did, didn't you? You took my car keys to keep me from. leaving after all of that, didn't you? You don't have to be. I know. You know what I want. The thing is. You don't want to ever want to You don't. ever want to like work on [ __ ] You just. want to Shawn, treat me like [ __ ]. >> stop yelling at me. You've been yelling. at me for over an hour. I'm shaking. It's not my It's not an hour. I'm.

shaking. Please stop. Yeah. I didn't hit you though. It's probably. better than I can tell you how I feel. hands around my face and squeezed and. wouldn't let me go. I was more than willing to do you a. favor until you did all of that to me. No, no, no. Can't do you a favor, Shawn. It's such a hard thing. You're going to. give me alcohol and you're going to give. me food. I'm not lying. And you can you. can I can do all these things for me and.

you can you can wake up and take care of. the kids and I can sleep and you can. even offer this to take care of the kids. some more and then I'm just going to say. no. No, cuz You have been yelling at me. and scaring me. You pushed our daughter. You won't leave me alone and now you. want me to do you a favor. Yes. Because it's not fair. >> my daughter's outside crying because I. can't have her in the house near you. right now.

What's your problem? That is my problem. >> What's your problem, buddy? Why do you. have to be mean to me? Does it make you. feel good? You push my buttons and get. this going. You get to this point. Do. you like [ __ ] you want me to be here? YOU WANT ME TO [ __ ] BE HERE? DOES IT. FEEL GOOD? DOES it feel good when you do. this? When you like when you [ __ ]. [ __ ] do this and you KNOW I CAN'T. [ __ ] DO ANYTHING EXCEPT GET MAD about. it. I can't talk to you about anything.

No, you haven't. You're the problem. I. am you begging you to leave me alone. You always make fun of me. You're like a. bully. YOU'RE A LITTLE [ __ ]. [clears throat] YOU THINK YOU'RE so. [ __ ] cool. It's so funny to make fun of me AND MAKE. ME FEEL LIKE [ __ ]. I WANT YOU TO PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE. I'M. [ __ ] DEPRESSED. DO YOU CARE? You. don't care. YOU JUST KEEP [ __ ] WITH. ME. YOU THINK IT'S OKAY. YOU THINK IT'S OKAY? WHY DON'T YOU [ __ ] STOP?

HEY SEAN. YEAH, SEAN. YOU'RE A PIECE OF. YOU'RE A PIECE of [ __ ] Let me just [ __ ]. with you a little more. You [ __ ] take. this and that and this. Let me know. Sean. That one sucks. That one sucks, too. You suck. AND WHO'S CALLING IT? YOU. BECAUSE YOU CAN'T BE NICE. I'm. going to go. I'm going to go. Something. I need you to a favor before you go. That's what's causing this. No, you know what? That's what's causing. this.

It's not causing this. You're freaking. out because you see I'm not going to get. you your pot. You're having a severe meltdown. I'm. asking you so many times to leave me. alone. I tell you I'm shaky. I tell you. our daughter's outside in the cold. freezing because she's too terrified to. be inside with you and you can't even go. in your room and shut the door for a few. minutes. You're just going to keep yelling at me. How do you think you're going to bully. me into doing this? Just No, I'm just so. tired. And I know you're not going to. [ __ ] get it. You see a minute. I can.

be [ __ ] by myself all alone again. And all I was trying to do is HAVE A. GOOD DAY. SEAN, >> [laughter]. >> PLEASE GO IN YOUR ROOM FOR A MINUTE. AUTUMN'S STILL watching you. All I. wanted to have a good day, but. you [ __ ] [ __ ] it up. Okay, yes, I. know. I'm the [ __ ] [ __ ] I've heard. it a million times. I hate it when you. keep [ __ ] with me. I hate when you tell her to stop me. I. don't care about you. You're beautiful. This is not about that. You're. Now Autumn's going to start crying.

Please. >> [laughter]. >> This and more was par for the course. Summer told her friends and noted on. official court documents that Sean would. put his hands around her neck or cover. her nose and mouth with his hand. And in. that video of Autumn, you have her. saying dad went after her neck, too. >> Mhm. Now, we don't know if Summer asked. Autumn to say those things in the video. about her dad squeezing her neck, and we.

can't ask. But this behavior, even if it. was just against Summer, is deeply. concerning. I mean, he may have said he. was sorry, that it would never happen. again. We asked Sean about all three. videos directly and the abuse. allegations Summer made to her friends, but he wouldn't comment. He also didn't. comment on if he'd ever been physically. violent with the kids. But we obtained. police records showing that Summer. called the cops on him in January of. 2022. She told police that Sean pinned.

her against the wall and shook her head. from side to side. So, Sean was. arrested, charged with domestic battery, [music] and then in March 2022, Summer. got a protective order against him. And. I assume all of this is public record? Like, where was this in the police. files? Yeah, so the arrest and domestic. battery charge is public record. Police. knew about it, and Shawn even referenced. it in their first interview. He told. detectives that he was living in the. little coach house behind the main house.

because of the whole protective order. thing. But, remember, police didn't talk to her. family or anything, or at least they. didn't include that in the reports that. we have. >> But, you still know this man is charged. with abusing her. And she's gotten an. open case against him, and she's just. about to leave him when she and her kids. suddenly die. Which is why I assume they. worked so hard to establish his alibi. But, two little points of clarity. Number one, it's unclear if Shawn knew.

that she was actually going to be. leaving for good. So, a lot of the. people knew that she was going to be. spending the evening of March 7th. packing up [music] for a trip that her. and the kids were going to go on on the. 8th. >> Mhm. She told a few friends and family, including Shawn, that this was just like. a temporary thing though, that she was. just going to care for a good friend in. Oregon who'd gotten diagnosed with. cancer. And that part was true. Her. friend's name was Chloe Boyle. And. Summer had like booked Airbnbs along the. route to Oregon. She even wrote her.

kids' school saying that they would be. away for 3 weeks due to a family. emergency. >> Mhm. But, it was after Summer died that. Chloe reached out to her family to tell. them the full plan. That Summer was. coming to help, sure, yes, but she did. not think Summer intended to go home. She wasn't making the trip just because. she was a good friend. She said that. Summer had been planning this for. months. She had gotten her tax return. She'd gotten some cash. She was going to. take the kids and leave Shawn and move. in with her. So, that's thing one. Number two, yes, she had an active case.

against him, but guess what? Those charges all got. dropped after the fire in March 2023. So, none of this answers the logistical. questions we had earlier. Like, not how. did this fire get started, but the why? I mean, was it an accident? Purposeful? I mean, this is timing that literal. research says should not be ignored. >> Right. And yet, this case is a closed.

case. The city of Chicago couldn't tell. us how the fire started. So, we hired our own arson expert to take a. look and tell us what he sees. His name. is Dale Risen of Risen Fire Consultants. This guy's investigated over 1,200 fires. in his career, so he knows what he's. talking about. And right away, when Dale. looked at the photos of the kitchen, he. says that it is pretty obvious what. likely caused this fire. He's not super.

interested in the water cooler or its. extension cord going into the wall. outlet. He hones right in on that pot. sitting on the stove, [music] the one. still standing upright on the back. burner. Dale said that he can't be. certain without doing any tests, but. based on his experience, that pot shows. signs of a greasy or oily substance. So, he thinks that whatever was in this pot. was heated to a boil that bubbled over. the side. And when it reached a flash.

point, it then caught the ceiling on. fire and spread into the [music] attic. from there, emitting toxic levels of. black smoke throughout the house. >> they test for that? They could, but. there's nothing in the report saying. they did. So, we can't be 100% sure. that's what happened. But based on. everything he's seen, past and present, and looking at these scene pictures, which we do have, Dale is pretty sure. that there was oil in that pot. How long.

would it have needed to heat up before. it caught fire? Well, quicker than you'd. think. So, Dale said that it it depends. on what type of oil it was and like how. much was in the pot. Something like new. canola oil could flash in a matter of me. 10 minutes and if it was reused oil, it'd be even quicker. So, when you put. this in terms of a timeline, just like. reorient us, the 911 call about the fire comes at. 9:09 p.m. >> Mhm. Based on the conditions, they believe.

that the fire started some 20 to 30. minutes before that call, tops. Then, say it was this oil scenario, you need. 10 minutes for that. Someone starts heating the oil around. 8:30-ish, maybe. And I think this. scenario rules out an accident because. of something like Ezra did. He might. accidentally play with the knobs, but. he's not filling a pot with oil. Like, that's just not happening. And I don't. think it's something that just gets left. out on the stove.

>> I mean, I know some people might leave. it out if they're like very into deep. frying things. I mean, you deep fry. things, but you don't leave a pot of oil. out, right? >> of smells. Like, you don't want that. out. >> Yeah, and I don't think Summer. specifically would leave something like. that out knowing that Ezra played with. the knobs. You mean, you never know, but we actually asked Summer's mom, Maria, about this and she told us that. Summer wasn't into deep frying. She was. pretty adamant about cooking healthy for. her kids. And she even remembers giving. Summer an air fryer as a housewarming.

gift. I have an air fryer, like so much. easier, so much cleaner. I don't use. anything else. >> yeah. >> Yeah. All that to say, it is a scenario where she put oil on. the stove is still not impossible, though. And. that's like a cooking situation. So, what time was dinner? She's got little. kids. I don't personally see her. whipping up a labor-intensive, like. deep-fried meal for them. at 8:30. That's, in my opinion, like. bedtime range for little kids. >> Yeah, and when you think about it,

they're all in their respective sleeping. areas when the fire happens anyway, right? Like, to me, if this is an. accident where she was going to make. something and then like fell asleep and. forgot about it, then maybe it was like. just something for herself, a late-night. [music] snack. But, we kind of played. this scenario out with Dale like. suggesting that, and that's when he. pointed to something else from the scene. photos in Summer's bedroom. He said, "There is what looks to be a recently. made sandwich on her bedside table.".

Which is like right there, you can see. it clear as day when you look at the. photos. And I know that's not exactly. evidence, but it's like But it's very. curious. >> Yeah. So, if she wasn't making something to eat, why would there be a pot of hot oil on. the stove? Uh well, we asked Dale that, and he's like, "Well, listen, as. someone who knows about fires, if you wanted to make a fire look like. an accident, a pot of oil is one of the. best ways to do it.

You just set the oil on high heat and. walk away. If no one is around to catch. the blaze right away, or the smoke. detectors don't alert people in the. house loud enough or fast enough, it's. over before you know it. Though, that is. assuming you have working smoke. detectors in your house, which we assumed the Day-Stewart house. would have, right? >> Yeah, Shawn's a literal fireman. Well, >> [music]. >> we were shocked with what we found.

Something that continued to nag our. reporter Jen and me is how the family. died of smoke inhalation before they. could get out of the house. I mean, this. wasn't a huge house. Even if the kids. had been put to bed before the fire. started around 8:30, 8:40, how hadn't. the smoke alarms woken anyone up? Well, the first answer is that there may not.

have been enough. According to Shawn in. a court affidavit, there were two smoke. detectors in the house. One on the. second floor in the hallway and a second. one in the hallway right by the kitchen. And he also had one carbon monoxide. detector in his basement. All of these. were the brand Kidde. And let me read. you this from the CFD response report. It reads, quote, "Smoke detectors were. observed and heard alerting in the. structure during suppression and the. investigation, particularly sounding on.

the second floor." End quote. But there's something up with all of. this, especially with the smoke detector. on the first floor. You see, after the. fires, Shawn sued Kidde, the. manufacturer of the smoke alarms and the. CO detector. He alleges that the smoke. alarms didn't alert at all. The report. said they heard an alarm noise. >> Right. I mean, they even call out the. one upstairs. So, I don't know how that.

plays into his allegations. But he. basically says that his family was. sleeping and they should have woken up, but the alarms failed. Now, maybe we're. all saying the same thing, kind of. It's. very possible that the alarms didn't go. off soon enough to wake them. And this. is actually a very real issue and should. be a huge takeaway from this episode for. everyone listening. There are actually. two different kinds of smoke alarms. You have photoelectric and ionization. only. Now, luckily, turns out we have.

our own in-house expert on this, our. director of reporting, Courtney Stewart. She did this whole exposé for her former. newspaper on smoke alarms. >> Oh. Basically, the deal is ionization. only smoke alarms detect fires with. flames, but they do not detect. smoldering fires, which ends up causing. so many unnecessary deaths. You need the photoelectric ones for. that. [music] Kidde has been the subject. of a recent class action lawsuit for.

advertising smoke alarms that don't. alert early enough during smoldering. fires. So, you guys go home, check your. smoke alarms. This could save your life. Yeah. So, Shawn is saying there are two. smoke alarms that just didn't go off or. didn't go off early enough or whatever. Report says they hear at least one. upstairs by the time they're there. And. we can see the one that is upstairs in. the scene photos that we have. Where I. get really tripped up is this second.

one, the one by the kitchen where there. actually would have been the biggest. blaze. Even if these were ionization. only detectors, it should have detected. it. It should have recognized the. flames. But, the question is. was there actually one there? We can't. see any evidence of it. I mean, we have. photos of that area of the ceiling where. it should be, but it's pretty like. soot-covered and fire-damaged in that. hallway. But, Dayall, the fire expert, said that he would still expect to see.

some kind of like circular impression or. melted plastic. >> of evidence that it had been there. >> Yeah, he expects to see that in the. photos. Know what he did point to, though? Two AA Kidde branded batteries found. laying on the floor. near the kitchen. Shut up. Yeah, the. fire department didn't take any photos. of these. They were only in photos taken. after CFD went through. So, either by. police investigators who came through.

after or maybe by an insurance company. >> Mhm. Now, one of the batteries was laying in. the first floor hallway, and then the. other one was in the first floor. bathroom. And they're not just any. batteries, right? They're for sure Kidde. brand. >> Clear as day. You can see Kidde written. on the side. Okay. If there was a detector there, could. they have just fallen out when the alarm. itself like melted? Like maybe that's. why no one heard the lower level the.

main level alarm go off? >> is what I'm saying. So, we even asked. that. Dale said that the batteries. wouldn't just fall out like that. Like. if the fire was hot enough to melt the. plastic of the smoke alarm, then it was. also hot enough to melt the batteries. And the batteries just look like they. have been like sitting there. There's. just there's like a layer of black soot, but they're not even like charred. They've just been through a fire, which. means. someone took them out. I mean, that at. least seems very possible. Because we. reached out to Kida's attorney, and they. said that experts from Kida and from the.

Chicago Fire Department did. investigations and determined that the. smoke alarms were operating properly. But their lawsuit with Shawn is still. pending, so we didn't get much more from. them. But the real question, I think, [music]. is if someone took those batteries out, when, and who would have done that? And. let me answer that rhetorical question. for you, because I have played this out. a million ways in my head. Like scenario. one, someone like Summer took them out.

for some innocuous reason and never got. around to replacing them. Or someone. took them out because they didn't want. the alarm to go off, because they didn't. want just the house to burn. They wanted. the people inside of the house to die. If it is scenario number two, I think. there are three options. One, Summer. herself did this. Two, someone yet to be identified is. responsible. Or three, it was Shawn. And let me walk you.

through each theory and what works and. what doesn't work. In theory number one, Summer herself did this. Dale said that. we have to consider what arson. investigators call filicide by fire, meaning you kill your children by fire. And as horrible as it is to even suggest. maybe Summer was the one who set it. She. was the one who was home at the time. Maybe on the cusp of leaving and. starting over. Like it could have seemed. insurmountable. But also so did staying. I mean she was.

clearly going through a hard time, especially in the last like week or so. leading up to her death. She I had to. tell you this, but she had a bad fall. like a week before the fire. She hurt. her hip and her knee because she like. slipped in the basement or something. There was actually this like ongoing. water leak and she texted her friend. Chloe and another friend that Shawn's. dad had given them money to fix this. Shawn ended up spending that money on. weed instead. So like again, like not a good. situation. And then 3 days before the. fire, she sent one of her friends a text.

that said, quote, "A few things have. been going on with me that have just. made me want to let people know that I'm. thinking about them." Now what. specifically those things are or were, we'll never know. And all of those things I just. mentioned, like all the things she had. going on were probably compounded by her. drinking, which her sister Sarah. confirmed to us that she struggled with. And we know that her alcohol levels were. super high that night. Maybe she just couldn't take it anymore.

and broke and thought that this was the. only way out. Every version of Summer. being responsible for this, accident or. otherwise, is kind of predicated on the. idea that she was drunk. But what if that wasn't the case? I mean. she it had to have been drunk because. her BAC was I mean it was off the. charts. >> yes, she had a high BAC. There was a lot. of alcohol that got into her system.

I think what I'm saying is like. what if she hadn't been drinking all. night? Okay, walk me through that then. Okay, so when When were trying to like. build a timeline of Summer's last. movements, we actually found a friend of. hers who may have been one of the last. people to have had contact with her. before she died. And I don't know what she told us, it. threw me for a bit of a loop. So this. woman's name is Cleo, and she says that.

she spoke to Summer on Facebook. Messenger, like on a Facebook Messenger. call specifically, about an hour and a. half before the fire likely started. >> Oh. Well, at that time, Cleo said that. Summer sounded totally normal to her, like not giving signs or not not. inebriated at all, which like. take with a grain of salt because maybe. Summer was just really good at hiding it. or Cleo just didn't notice, right? But. in this call, Summer also told her about. going to Oregon in the morning, which.

was the first time that Cleo was hearing. about this plan. So she was like. surprised. >> But that shows that she's still planning. on leaving like 90 minutes before this. fire starts. Right. Summer even promised. to call her from the road tomorrow. Now. that was the only standout thing in this. call. Nothing else was like out of the. ordinary. Summer seemed good. They hung. up. She expected to hear from her the. next day. Except a half hour later, which would. have been 8:00 8:30, right about the.

time the fire would have started, Cleo. told us that a Facebook message popped. up from Summer, and it read, "Can you call me back?". And Cleo thought it was weird, like we. just spoke. >> And kind of for a long time. >> And it's not like Summer tried calling. her back before sending that message. She just wanted Cleo to call her for. some reason. But Cleo couldn't right. then. She said, "Listen, I'm at work, so. like I'll give you a call back in like. 10 when I get off." And true to her. word, Cleo did call back in 10 minutes,

but Summer didn't answer. Cleo waited. another 10 minutes, tried again, no. answer. So that's when Cleo fired off a. message like be safe. And Cleo thinks. that at the time she was calling back. the fire had probably already started. Okay, so. 7:30 to 8-ish, she's still fully. planning the trip to Oregon. Mhm. Her. friend talks to her, says she doesn't. seem drunk. And right about the time the. fire started.

or is believed to be started, Summer. sends this message to her friend that. says, "Hey, call me." Yeah, and like I. don't think it makes much sense. No. So, okay. One thing at a time. How did Summer get so drunk, like so. quickly? From like this call Zero to. Yeah. Especially thinking that like And. not in like. >> Cleo isn't also saying like, "I heard. her drinking. She was sipping. something." Like none of that is coming. up. Or like like Yeah, and listen, there. is the option that she was drunk, but. just like good at Like this was just.

like her her baseline. >> Yeah, her baseline. Like her sister. Sarah said that her tolerance was. probably pretty high from like years of. drinking on and off. But she also said that Summer wouldn't. get that drunk with the kids around. Like she And that she said she had. enough experience to know her limit. But. here's the thing, we looked at Summer's. medical record and we found out that she. was also prescribed a stimulant for. weight loss, which is believed to mess. with your ability to tell how. intoxicated you are. So, I don't know, maybe she'd been drinking all night like.

building up to the level that she was at. when the fire started. Which by the way, we don't actually know that level. exactly. We only know her level when her. blood is taken at the hospital hours. later. So it might have actually been. even higher. >> number that we have from the hospital is. actually in the middle of coming down. >> Yeah, but if she hadn't been drinking. like all night then like then there's Is. there a world where she started drinking. like right after Cleo called her or like. a little bit before? >> Mhm. And if you do the calculations.

there, if like all of this was in like a. truncated time to reach a BAC of .312. and thinking that Summer's drinking like. whiskey, which was her drink of choice, she would have had to have about 10 full. shots in an hour. So, she basically. would have had to hang up with Cleo, just like knock them back one after the. other. [clears throat] And I don't know, it's it seems like not that she couldn't. have even like hidden it or whatever, but a little bit of like a different. state of mind. >> cuz she's like planning this trip. She's. talking to Cleo while she's doing it. >> know. Now, I want to give you the big.

caveat to all of this. Cleo did not show. us evidence of these calls or messages. directly. She just told us about them. Now, she also told Summer's mom, Maria, about like this exact same information. just a week or two after the fire back. in like March of 2023. So, like the. information, it's actually just coming. forward for us. It came forward back. then. It's the same info. But, we like wanted to corroborate it, right? So, we asked to see the messages. on Facebook ourselves, but she said. she'd been locked out of her account. She couldn't provide them. So, our.

reporter, Jenna Bell, put her in contact. with someone at Meta who might have been. able to help unlock the account. I know. that Cleo took some steps to do that, but then she just stopped responding to. us. Okay. Can't we get verification from Summer's. side of things? Like this was through. Facebook, so what about Summer's. Facebook? >> So, Amber, that's Summer's. sister-in-law, she says that by the time. they like learned of this, Summer's. Facebook had been put into legacy. status, which happens after someone.

dies, and then no one can access the. messages. I mean, police probably could subpoena. it if they wanted to dig deeper. So, if this is this interaction is true, like what do you think that the call me. back message meant? I mean, first there. is a world where it means nothing, and. the timing is just wildly unfortunate. Maybe she forgot to tell her something, right? If it's a scenario where this is. like purposeful at the hands of Summer,

maybe she's like reaching out for help. to like the last person she spoke with. If it was done by someone else, maybe. Summer was looking for help in a way. that didn't seem to someone else that. she was like looking for help, right? Like the way that like you get out of a. bad day, like hey. >> me by this time or whatever. >> like get me out of this. It's like make. up an emergency or whatever. >> Mhm. Which brings me to theory number. two. Was. >> this someone else? Was someone else. there? Maybe someone came over and.

Summer felt unsafe or annoyed or. something. Like not enough to call. police, but enough to be like girl, call. me so I can have an excuse to make this. person leave. The problem with this. theory is that the lack of investigation. makes this almost impossible to prove or. disprove at this point. Based on what. I've been able to see, there was no. canvas of the neighborhood to look for. security footage that might show someone. coming or going from Summer's house. before the fire started. That same. footage would also show if no one did,

which would help a lot, too. >> Right, the footage regardless what it. shows would would be some answer. >> But we got nothing. They never collected. any phone records. They never mapped out. a timeline of her evening. Oh, and you. know what I would have loved if they had. done? Collected and tested the Kidde. batteries for fingerprints. Like You know what? Forget collecting. test. The city didn't even document. these in their report. We And we asked. Dale, like could these have yielded. anything, right? Or like if we had them, like what would they even mean? >> Yeah, maybe that's why they didn't.

Maybe the fire would have damaged. everything. >> Yeah. No. Dale said that if there was a. fingerprint left on the batteries that. the smoke would have actually preserved. the fingerprint. So, a fingerprint is. left because we secrete oils and the. smoke would have like coated those oils. >> have given you So, we have potentially, yeah, lost a crucial piece of evidence. here. And if it wasn't summer, I mean. the suspect pool is. endless cuz they didn't really dig into. her life or the neighborhood. Like it it.

could be. anyone. This is Chicago. This isn't a. tiny town. This could be anyone. >> anyone. But they barely looked at one. someone. And statistically, this one someone. posed the biggest threat to her as she. was about to leave. So that brings me to theory number. three. Sean. But Sean's on duty when the fire. started. And even if it was this like. boiling pot of oil that you can set and.

leave and walk away from before it. starts, he is at work all day before the. fire starts. Yes. But. You know Crime Junkie life rule number. 13. Always go a layer deeper. >> Right. But don't think that's an easy task. because after. months of back and forth with lawyers, we came this close to filing a lawsuit. against the Chicago Police Department. for refusing to release the records we. requested. I mean it got so bad I.

started to wonder what they were so. afraid we might see. Which of course. only made me push that much harder to. break through the red and blue line. Sean told detectives when he was. interviewed back in 2023 that on March. 7th he left for work at quarter to 6:00. in the morning arriving for his shift at. the firehouse at about 6:00 a.m. He said. that he was assigned as the cook for the. firehouse that day. So he left the. station at 8:00 a.m. to go to a grocery.

store called Jerry's Fruit and Garden. and then to another place called Tony's, both in a village named Niles. And how. far are these grocery stores from the. house? They're like 10 miles apart in. total. Like pretty far in the opposite. direction from his house. >> Okay. But Sean never specifies when he gets. back to the firehouse. And surely the detectives got a firm. time for when others saw Shawn get back. to the firehouse. >> the only work that they did was. confirming his alibi. Nope. All the.

other firefighters say something to the. effect of like Shawn got back a short. time later. So, he says he spends the. rest of the day cooking and doing drills. with his crew until he hears this call. come over the radio about the fire at. 9:00 p.m. The battalion chief and all of. the firefighters on duty that day back. up Shawn's story. And each statement is. almost identical. Same beats, same. times. It's actually not surprising though. So, Dale said that if firefighters have to. give statements, they basically just.

like read off the call log and make sure. everyone's saying the same thing. The. detective says in his notes that he. collected surveillance video from one of. the grocery stores that aligns with what. everyone is saying. The footage was from. Jerry's Fruit and Garden and his report. says that the footage shows Shawn the. morning of the fire going into the store. at 8:29 a.m. and then leaving with. groceries at 8:47 a.m. Now, this video. wasn't included with our initial records. request. And we wanted to see it for ourselves. because like honestly the thing that we.

were looking at is like the tiniest typo. in this account would have huge. consequences. If we're talking a.m. this is no big. deal, right? But if God forbid someone. got it wrong and he went shopping at. around 8:30 p.m. It would change. everything. >> why we had to be sure. Especially when. Summer's mom Maria told us something. wild. She said that after the fire she. got a lawyer to potentially pursue a. wrongful death suit against Shawn. She.

ended up dropping it just out of like. sheer emotional exhaustion, but she told. us that her lawyer spoke to an insurance. investigator and was told that Shawn. went to a different grocery store in the. evening. What? Yeah, and knowing how. important that is, Maria asked the lead. CPD investigator, who's like, "Oh, no, no, no, no, it was the morning." So, then she goes back, followed up with her. lawyer, and the lawyer doubled down. He's like, "No, this was the evening.". Now, we tried to reach this lawyer for.

comment or to like get this story from. the horse's mouth, right? But he didn't. return our calls or messages. So, we made getting this video and. seeing it for ourselves like our whole. mission. [laughter]. Our reporter Jen Foia'd the Chicago. police for this video, and then waited, and then waited. And like, by law, they're supposed to. respond within a specific time frame. >> Yeah. So, when they were like more than a. month delinquent, she looped in our. legal counsel, and we contacted CPD and.

were like, "Hey, like, what's the deal, guys? Like, are you going to give us. this video or what?" And they're like, "Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure. Here you go.". And Britt, they sent us three videos. that were completely blurred out. Like, I mean, you couldn't see the date, you. couldn't see the timestamp, you couldn't. tell what grocery store this was, like. time, date, like or critically, who was. in the video. So, we went back and forth three times, and each time they would like send us. the video again with like fewer things.

blurred. But even after like version two. or three, we were like still getting. videos where the person that they say is. Shawn was blurred. And CPD were like, "Oh, you know, we're doing this because. we're concerned about the person, like. the person in the video, their right to. privacy." And we're like, "No, yeah, for. sure, but like CPD already named Shawn. in the police report that you made. public to us, so". we had to like ask for an official. review by the office of the Illinois. Attorney General. And then, fourth.

time's a charm, I guess. Nearly 5 months. into our legal back and forth, We won. We got the videos totally unredacted. And I don't know, I was convinced there. was going to be some big bombshell on. it. But it shows exactly what the police. report said. There is a person in a. Chicago fire uniform who looks a lot. like Shawn in the grocery store on March. 7th, 2023 in the morning. And even if. the timestamp was wrong for whatever. reason, I mean, you can clearly see.

daylight coming through the windows. So, I have no idea why it was so. difficult to get this video unredacted. It's either the red tape that burns a. hole through our tax dollars or maybe. they were afraid that it would shine an. even bigger light on the fact that the. rules weren't being followed. And what could that imply? Apparently, leaving a post is actually against CFD's. mandate unless there is an emergency. callout. I mean, it is black and white. But a fellow Chicago firefighter told.

police, as documented in their reports, that it was totally normal for a person. on cook duty to leave the station, go. buy groceries. So, the question is like, are they covering for him or are they. just like way too loose with the rules. over at CFD? The same can be asked about. this whole investigation and why CFD and. CPD even had it in the first place. I. mean, this when you think about it, like. take a step back, for them to be. investigating this is a huge conflict of. interest. >> Oh. Yeah. According to Illinois' own.

policy, the city of Chicago should have. called in a state fire marshal to do. this investigation right away because it. checked not one, not two, but three. boxes on the response criteria. The fire. involved a death or serious injury, check. >> Mhm. Local authorities can't determine. the cause or origin of the fire, check. Or would otherwise be a conflict of. interest for the local agency. investigating. Big check. Big check. John was an active Chicago firefighter.

I mean, you don't have to be a stickler. for the rules to see how a fire. department might have trouble remaining. unbiased when investigating one of their. own. So, there should have been some. independent agency in charge here. Dale. says it should have been either the. Illinois fire marshal or the ATF, which. is like a federal bureau that sometimes. investigates arson cases. >> But none of that happened. No. The only. investigations that were done here were. by the city fire and police. And we. reached out to CFD and asked them why. this didn't happen, and they had no. comment. I'm sorry. To me, it's still a.

conflict of interest across the board. And on like with the protection order, like they drove him to this place where. he's not even supposed to be, right? Well, so okay, quickly with the. protection order. So, when he got. arrested back in 2022 and she got the. order against him, right? So, yeah, they. they know about it. They're driving him. there. There was an internal affairs. investigation on Sean. That inquiry was like completely closed. before all of this. And when they like. looked into it, his department, they. basically said they agree that his. conduct and all that like was wasn't a.

good look for CFD. But it doesn't say that any disciplinary. action was taken. And to go back to your. thing about conflict, I still think. there's a conflict of interest, but I. don't think like this is an example of. it cuz the protection order that they. knew about, and it's the only one, that. allowed Sean to be on the property. whenever he wanted unless he was. intoxicated, which he just came from. work, he's not. >> him the whole time, right? >> Right. So, it wasn't a violation or. anything for the chief to drive him. there the night of the fire. >> Okay. And he was also allowed contact.

with Summer as long as it wasn't. unlawful. So, he's allowed to be there, he's allowed. to show up. I mean, technically he's. even allowed to give Summer CPR, which. he did. >> I kind of forgot that happened. >> Yeah, so not not a violation of the. order, but it like I don't know, it. might be an ethical issue, right? I. mean, especially like when you think. about contamination and like he's the. husband. We asked CFD if they like knew like. officially knew about the protection. order and what they thought of it and.

they said no comment. Oh, but get this. Speaking of Shawn giving Summer CPR, Dale looked at Summer's autopsy and. found that she had a fractured sternum. and four broken ribs and he says, "That's not right if you're doing CPR. correctly.". >> Mhm. It is a possible sign of excessive. force. Now, Shawn is a trained EMT. He. knew how to do CPR correctly. >> Yeah. Now, Dale said, "Maybe the emotion. of the situation might have gotten to.

him. Maybe he didn't realize how hard he. was pushing on her chest or maybe it was. something more.". Okay, but to believe both of these. agencies are protecting a guy with an. active order of protection against him. for abusing his wife, that's a stretch, right? It happened. before. We found an October 2020 article. from CBS News Chicago about a Chicago. firefighter who left his station and.

according to him, accidentally ran over. his wife and killed her. And then his. crew lied about him leaving and then. someone changed the time card illegally. to cover it up. >> What? Yeah, and get this. CBS reporter. Dana Kozlov, who broke this story, confirmed with us that the firefighter. who ran over his wife worked at Engine. 91. And Shawn actually worked at that. same firehouse before. It's not the one. he was at the day of the fire. That was. Engine 119. But according to the.

internal affairs report, Engine 91 is. where he was working back in January of. 2022. Now, we tried to get confirmation. from Chicago Fire on whether he was. fully transferred to another engine. station whatever or if he was just like. visiting that station for duty on that. day, but the personnel records that we. asked for are still pending. So, all of. that to say is there is a precedent for. the most wild theory here. And though we. can't prove that someone else was.

involved in the fire, I think I've. proven today that this needs another. investigation. >> Oh, definitely. >> An agency without conflict should step. in and use subpoena power to get phone. records. I mean, we know there were a. number of insurance investigations done. There needs to be some subpoena power to. get that data. I mean, I would want to. know if Shon and Summer spoke that day. on the phone. Or what Summer was doing. on her phone the day of the fire. I. would want to know if there's video. footage from [music] the neighborhood or.

the fire station itself. All of this. could be answered and put to bed with a. proper police investigation. We reached. out to the Chicago Police Department and. Cook County State's Attorney's Office. for comment and as of this recording, both agencies have not replied. And of. course, we tried to ask Shon himself. what he has to say about all of this. And though he had no comment on some. other things earlier, he did write. something back that I'm going to have. you read, Brett. He wrote back, quote,

"I don't want to interview. Personally, I don't think it would help. change the minds of the people accusing. me. I do hope that they find closure. If. opening up the case and reinvestigating. gives them that opportunity, then it is. worth it. I miss my family every day. I regret. I think about things that could have. done differently. I cry a lot. This whole situation is bad. I wish I. had the power to change it. I can't.

though. All I can do is to keep working on. myself.". We put all the hard questions to Shon in. an email. We asked if he ever abused his. wife or his children, where he was the. evening of March 7th, and just like. point-blank asked him if he set the fire. or asked someone else to set the fire, and he declined to address any of those. Instead, he said, quote, "If someone. keeps picking at a wound, will it ever. heal?". As of this recording, Walter Sean.

Stewart has not been implicated in any. misconduct or charged with any crime in. the deaths of Summer Day or his. children. Last we heard, Sean is on extended leave. from the Chicago Fire Department. We. were told hundreds of thousands of. dollars were raised for him by the fire. department before Summer's family asked. them to shut down the online donations, which they did. Now, we weren't able to. get an exact figure, but Summer's. sister-in-law told us that CFD raised. almost half a million dollars. Although, we can't confirm the money actually made. it to Sean.

We also don't know if Sean received any. insurance claim payouts. As of now, Sean. still owns the home on Rutherford. Avenue. No matter what actually happened. the night of the fire, this family. deserved more. Summer, who was a great friend and who. loved her kids so much. Autumn, who had. a zillion stuffed animals and called. them all her babies. Ezra, who really liked to look at leaves. in the park. And Emery, who was just a. little bubbly baby boy.

They all deserved more from the people. who are supposed to protect and serve. Their dad included. It breaks my heart. that just as Summer was about to do the. hardest thing imaginable, to leave the. man she claimed abused her, her house, her life, and her children's lives, their futures, all went up in smoke. We. asked [music] Maria, Summer's mom, if. she had any final words that she wanted. us to close out this episode with. And this is what she wrote to us. God saw everything, and God can read the. heart.

I believe I will see Summer and the kids. again in the resurrection, >> [music]. >> and they will be alive and safe and. healthy then. But in the meantime, I. miss them so much, too much. There are. days when I cannot function, [music]. when I don't even leave my apartment. There are days when I just cry on and. off through the day. It is said that time heals all wounds. That is not true. The more time that goes by, the more I. miss them. If you have any information about the. deaths of Summer Day, Autumn Day.

Stewart, Ezra Day Stewart, and Emery Day. Stewart, please contact us. tips@audiochuck.com. You can find all the source material for. this episode on our website. crimejunkie.com. >> And you can follow us on Instagram at. crimejunkiepodcast. We'll be back next. week with a brand new episode.