Found Deceased MI - Venus Stewart, 32, Colon, 28 April 2010 - # 6 *D. Stewart guilty*

[Kimberlyd125]

I've thought from early on that he had someone in Michigan help him (someone manipulated by the "we'll never see the kids again" BS--family, in other words), but that he did it himself.

I totally agree with this. I think he did it with help.

 

[pufnstuf]

Two dates and times that'd very useful to know, and that you'd think a decent journalist would've scared up by now, are:

(1) when was Venus last known to be out and about in the local community in Michigan? Was she/her family churchgoers maybe?

(2) At what time on the day of 'Venus' disappearance" can Doug positively be confirmed to be in Virginia? Late morning? Early afternoon? Evening? Late night? Not necessarily talking about alibi witnesses, but just out and about witnesses, maybe someone in his apartment building saw him around that Monday afternoon (or whatever, whenever)

1) Venus was baptized at her brother's church before she moved to Virginia.

2) Nothing of his "alibi" has been released to the public.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

That's the point; their statement was worded in such a way that (IMO) they were repeating what they were told, not that they actually listened to it.

Ok, I got ya.

 

[pufnstuf]

That's the point; their statement was worded in such a way that (IMO) they were repeating what they were told, not that they actually listened to it.

According to records filed in Newport News Circuit Court, Venus Stewart had her divorce lawyer's paralegal listen and transcribe an audio recording in which Douglas Stewart told her that one option he had in dealing with her was to "get his father's .357."

http://articles.dailypress.com/2010...s-stewart-michigan-home-michigan-state-police

I don't know what kind of logical convolutions one would have to make to interpret that to mean anything but that Venus let her lawyer's paralegal listen to a recording of Doug saying that he would get his father's gun to deal with her.

I'd guess that he was stupid enough to leave that on her voicemail on her cell phone. He had won the legal battles in the past, and for the first time he wasn't winning, and it angered him to no end. But that's just my opinion.

 

[Calliope]

If he had one brain cell working that night, no.
But, IMO they won't need to with all the other evidence that is pileing up.

JMO

They can have all the evidence in the world, but it doesn't make a bit of difference if they cannot place him at the scene of her abduction OR prove that he had someone else take her.

 

[cluciano63]

****I don't want this thread to get closed down as lots of stuff might happen soon**** so I hope no one is getting hostile here

 

[Calliope]

****I don't want this thread to get closed down as lots of stuff might happen soon**** so I hope no one is getting hostile here

Goodness no. Everyone is being polite to each other, even if they disagree on points. That's what makes it a good discussion, IMO.

 

[pufnstuf]

If he had one brain cell working that night, no.
But, IMO they won't need to with all the other evidence that is pileing up.

JMO

I think they will be able to, and that they already have.

They are on him like white on rice, and they wouldn't do this without very good evidence that he was at the very least involved in her disappearance.

For them to have a search warrant to search the parents' property, there had to be probable cause. In my opinion, that means that the evidence is accumulating against him instead of excluding him as a suspect.

 

[Calliope]

I think they will be able to, and that they already have.

They are on him like white on rice, and they wouldn't do this without very good evidence that he was at the very least involved in her disappearance.

For them to have a search warrant to search the parents' property, there had to be probable cause. In my opinion, that means that the evidence is accumulating against him instead of excluding him as a suspect.

If he went to all the trouble to set himself up with a "solid" alibi, I don't see him using family or close friends to help him abduct VS. IMO, it would be an acquaintance neither family would know. I guess... I don't have a criminal mind; not sure how you'd go about hiring a hit man =\

 

[pufnstuf]

If he went to all the trouble to set himself up with a "solid" alibi, I don't see him using family or close friends to help him abduct VS. IMO, it would be an acquaintance neither family would know. I guess... I don't have a criminal mind; not sure how you'd go about hiring a hit man =\

All we know about his alibi is that Risko said that it "appears to check out, for now."

Then, later on, Risko said that they were going to go back and look at his alibi again..."leave no stone unturned."

And since that, not a word about the alibi. I don't blame that on Risko... I blame it on the several reporters who interviewed him over the past few days whose mind it never crossed to ask one of the most important questions that should have been asked:

"How is Doug's alibi holding up?"

 

[cj1132]

Just a few comments --

Having lived out in the country in a small town, I can guarantee that it would be so easy to abduct someone without being seen. It's totally different from living in a city and hours could go by without anyone driving by. I cannot emphasize enough how easy it would be.

Regarding the children, it's best to be overly cautious as to their safety. There are just too many cases where LE didn't consider the possibility that a child was in danger and that child is now deceased.

If I truly felt my children or grandchildren were in danger, I would do whatever I felt was necessary to keep them safe.

I think MSP have seen a lot and know if something doesn't look right. I highly doubt that DS would have been considered a POI just based on Venus's parents. There has to be more -- things we don't know. If anything, I think LE is more hesitant to call someone a POI, even if he or she should be.

 

[pufnstuf]

May 11 is the last time I can find that MSP Risko was quoted saying anything about Doug's alibi.

 

[cluciano63]

While I agree that LE would not call him a POI just based on her parents' words...they DID name as POI almost at once, even though they knew he lived in another state. I don't recall that happening so quickly before this case. So really, they had to have been basing this on what they were told, at that point in the case...IMO

 

[pufnstuf]

While I agree that LE would not call him a POI just based on her parents' words...they DID name as POI almost at once, even though they knew he lived in another state. I don't recall that happening so quickly before this case. So really, they had to have been basing this on what they were told, at that point in the case...IMO

The order of protection probably weighed heavily in MSP's decision to immediately consider him a POI, too. Plus the fact that they weren't able to contact him until late on the night that she disappeared.

 

[Natal]

This one...sorry the word was disappearance...not abduction.
But, MSP has called this an abduction all along.

Either way, they found evidence in VA, OH, and MI linking DS to the disappearance of VS.

The relevant bit was "“We did find some evidence that we believe related to the disappearance of Venus.”

They didn't say "is related" or "is directly connected". They have not made a link, that is what you are doing. They didn't say what the evidence was either, it could be anything, something damning or something unrelated. We don't know.

 

[Natal]

No, but evidence has been found in OH linking DS to the dissapearance of VS so I would assume they are talking about the Wal-Mart in Ohio where the items were purchased.

JMO

No, the Ohio stuff doesn't link him to anything. It could if they can show that he bought it and that those items were used in the alleged crime, but to do that they would need to find both VS and the items in question, otherwise there is no link. Remember, the Ohio reciept was from the previous day.

 

[Natal]

Ok, but the evidence they found was in his parent's home. RIGHT?
You can play the wording however you would like.
Does not change the fact the MSP found the evidence in his parents home, in his apartment, in Ohio, in his vehicles......
Who had access to all those places???????

Found what evidence in the parents home? And is it even related to the alleged crime? Apparently the only reason they got the search warrant for the parent's home was because he was staying there. That suggests to me that probable cause for the property itself was weak (otherwise they would have searched there weeks ago), and they were essentially on a fishing expedition (because he was living there at the time).

No evidence was found in his home as far as we know. They took most of the computer/video related recording devices they found but oddly they didn't take telephonic equipment. There has been no suggestion that anything was found on those items.

Nothing has been found in Ohio as far as we know.

The only evidence from the vehicles that might be related to something is the reciept, but, since the reciept is from the Sunday, not the Monday, it doesn't prove involvement or place him at the scene. All of the other stuff taken is the sort of trash you might expect to find in a vehicle. There were two apparent blood stains, but they were in different vehicles. He wouldn't have been using both vehicles so at least one of those stains cannot be related. And in any case, they must have those assay results back by now, it doesn't take that long to do that analysis. What is interesting about the vehicle searchs is what they didnt take, namely dirt, tire impressions and the other things specified in the warrant. Why not? Other than gathering any loose objects in the vehicles, the evidence collected was extremely cursory. If they were serious about using the vehicle to place him at the scene the sparse evidence collected on executing the warrants and the apparent foot dragging in doing a proper analysis of the vehicle appears very strange.

I don't know what compelling evidence you see, perhaps they have some and they are not telling us, but based on what has been disclosed to us so far it is not reasonable to conclude that such evidence exists as yet.

 

[Natal]

I sure wish I knew if live scent dogs (using the scent of DS) were worked at the sightings of the 'mystery man' and the site of the probable abduction of VS - if positive trails were run, these results would go in the 'damning' category!

I don't think the mystery man had anything to do with this.

 

[pufnstuf]

The relevant bit was "“We did find some evidence that we believe related to the disappearance of Venus.”

They didn't say "is related" or "is directly connected". They have not made a link, that is what you are doing. They didn't say what the evidence was either, it could be anything, something damning or something unrelated. We don't know.

It cannot be unrelated. It has to be within the scope of the search warrant.

 

[thesaint]

The relevant bit was "“We did find some evidence that we believe related to the disappearance of Venus.”

They didn't say "is related" or "is directly connected". They have not made a link, that is what you are doing. They didn't say what the evidence was either, it could be anything, something damning or something unrelated. We don't know.

Exactly. The MSP weren't going to roll up on DS's parents house, search it high and low and leave empty-handed; maybe they found actual evidence. If they did they aren't acting on it (so far).

And if they didn't, the police, in order to avoid the egg-on-face of a search that turns up nothing important, aren't above grabbing a few potentially useful-in-an-abduction items (rope, shovels, whatever) claiming they "believed" those items "to be related" for the benefit of the media and then returning them at a later date.

Hopefully if they did find some good evidence, they arrest Doug. Tomorrow in court would be a good time.