00:00:00
There's what makes the headlines, and then there's what's sitting in the police file. We covered a case last
00:00:06
month that could have been case closed before we got our hands on it. But, the more our team dug, the more questions we
00:00:13
had. So, let me catch you up. Walter Sean Stewart was a Chicago firefighter, and on March 7th, 2023, he was on duty
00:00:19
when his house caught fire. Inside were his wife, their three kids, and their dog, Mabel. They all died as a result of
00:00:26
the fire. Investigators called it undetermined and non-criminal, chalking it up to a tragic accident. Case closed.
00:00:32
But, then someone emailed me this case, and we wanted to dive deeper. So, we filed a FOIA request to dig into the
00:00:39
evidence and to check the husband's alibi. And we didn't stop at just one request because a critical video that we
00:00:45
asked for was blurred out. No timestamps, no dates. So, we kept pushing until we got the information we
00:00:52
needed. The file also shows something that never made the headlines. Two smoke alarm batteries on the floor near the
00:00:59
kitchen. Not logged as evidence, not tested, and the agency investigating the fire is the one that Sean works for.
00:01:05
Without a FOIA request, you hear tragic house fire. But, as Crime Junkies, we start asking different questions. Why
00:01:12
was the case closed so quickly? Why weren't phone records pulled? Why weren't those batteries documented? If
00:01:18
we hadn't filed that FOIA request, this family's story could have been ended as an accident. Public records belong to
00:01:24
the public, but if no one asks for them, no one sees what's inside. And that's why we make those requests.