An Email Told Us to Watch this Story Closely.... #truecrime #crimejunkie | Forensic Files

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 Shawn'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 and flowers [music]
while the Chicago Fire Department launched the Steuart family fund to raise money for Shawn. 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 Jenna Mel on this case.
>> Wait, like just off of this email 2 years ago or was there like something else that kind of like piqu your
interest? Something happened? >> Nothing else. just 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 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

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Brief Summary

A tragic fire kills Summer and her children, revealing hidden family tensions and community support.

Key points

Community Support for Shawn. After the loss, the community rallied around Shawn with support and memorials.
A Mysterious Email. A tipster suggests there might be more to the tragic fire than meets the eye.
Summer's Secret Plans. Summer was planning to leave her husband the day before the fire.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Someone in the Chicago area was emailing me.

A mysterious tip about the case.

0:46WatchFeb 15, 2026

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