#1. This investigation (in Michigan) is being done by the Michigan State Police because the area where this abduction occurred is in unincorporated Colon Township this is actually great for the victim. This is good because the MSP is very professionial and very thorough and they are not small town Barney Fife LE. They have their own superb forensics facilities and they have solved many, many tough cases. I'm confident they are doing all they can to find any evidence at this point. The problem is...they aren't coming up with much of anything yet unless something breaks soon. It will have been 2 weeks tomorrow. Aside from involving the FBI, it's in the right people's hands though.
We don't know what they're coming up with. The only thing that Lt. Mike Risko has said is that Venus was abducted, vs. leaving on her own, and that Doug has lawyered up, is being non-cooperative, and that his alibi "checks out...for now." They haven't told us ANYTHING else. We don't know what evidence they have AT ALL. All we know is that they found general tread pattern agreement in Doug's vehicle and the imprint at the scene. And we only learned that because the media were able to get their hands on the search warrant request.
thinkaboutthis said:
#2. Ok, I get the fact that many of you are previous victims of spousal abuse because several of you point it out in your posts. I hate that you had to go through that and it certainly does happen, but it does seem to cloud your ability to be objective about some of the points that are being made. I'm guessing that your experiences have given you some good instincts that go off when you "hear" that certain aspects are involved in a case and I'm sure that more often than not, serves you well. The only issue I have is that this is all based on one side of the story from the victim's family and not on any real evidence at this point. So call me skeptical.
How utterly condescending. Ever thought that those of us who have been through abuse bring our experience to the table, but are also able to maintain objectivity as we read the facts of this case? Those of us who have suffered domestic violence are no less objective than anyone else at this forum. We are every bit as able to consider and process the facts as anyone else here is. No one at WS has a "tabula rasa;" everyone has experiences that form who they are, how they think, how they see things. Just because some of us have been through domestic violence and are able to see the red flags doesn't mean that we instantly side with the victim. Please don't condescend to us as if somehow we lost part of our rationality because we were once in abusive marriages.
thinkaboutthis said:
If anyone other than DS is found to be responsible for this, are you going to feel horrible that you never fully considered the inconsistencies and questions that are being raised?
I can't speak for anyone else, but I have considered the inconsistencies. I've also utilized Occam's Razor.
thinkaboutthis said:
#3. My philosophy is this. If 95% of the people here are ready to hang the guy based solely on what was told to LE by the victim's family and what they heard on NG, what harm can it do to look for things that may point to him "NOT" being the one who did it? It's in no way an endorsement for DS. But shouldn't someone be looking the opposite direction? Whoever did it obviously needs to be held accountable. There are major hiccups with this case as it stands. That cannot be disputed.
My opinions are not grounded solely in what the family have said. My opinions are grounded in my reading ALL sources, considering ALL facts, and coming to my conclusion.
As far as "hiccups," care to elaborate? How can there be "hiccups" when we don't even have all of the facts yet?
When I hear a lieutenant with the MSP state that, yes, Doug has an alibi "for now," and in the second breath say that "there are no other persons of interest in the abduction of Venus but Doug Stewart," then I think a little reading between the lines is in order. MSP is holding its cards close. But, even though a man who was seen near Adams Lake has been sought, MSP continues to say that Doug is the sole person of interest in this case.
thinkaboutthis said:
#4. I asked about DS filing for divorce twice...and I really really wanted to put on the very end of that post..."and yes, I'm expecting a few of you to come back with (The Divorce IS the Control) or (He's a serial divorce abuser, jerk) and out of respect for those who have been abused, I refrained. But sure enough, it came right out that the crazy psycho must have filed for all these divorces to keep her from leaving...money being no object he kept his control over her, free to do what he...do you see what I am saying? That's not logical thinking.
There are several people in this post that get it, who can step back from this and look at it objectively, and not be offended by people posing questions that don't line up with their own opinions of the case. Put aside anything that may have happened in their own life and look at the facts and what makes sense and what doesn't. I applaud those posters.
Cool. Thanks for the applause. Everyone has life's experiences that color their vision. Objectivity is a fickle ghost.
thinkaboutthis said:
DS could turn out to be a cold blooded wife killer. He may be every bit the monster VS made him out to be. But at this point, VS family are the only ones releasing all the info to the media and the LE. The cops have admittedly not much to work with. The cops did say they investigated VS allegations made in February and did not have sufficient evidence to find DS commited a crime at all. Yes she is the one missing. Yes it very heartbreaking and tragic if someone took her. It would be even more tragic if someone on here could have helped figure out this mystery but was too biased to offer substantive info.
These children, when they are older, I'm sure would say that they would have wanted EVERY question asked, EVERY witness questioned, and EVERY scenario worked through to find out how, why, and who did this to their Mommy. And if DS didn't do this, oh man, those grandparents are going to have a hard time getting any family court to allow them to see those grandbabies after this.
Hopefully she is in a motel hiding out somewhere. Otherwise, this is going to be tragic no matter how it ends.
I THINK, THEREFORE I AM
LMFAO. Yeah, she took her daughters away from her husband, won custody, and a week later decided to leave her kids and go hide out in a hotel. And you're criticizing others' logic in these threads?
Here's what I find most exasperating about your lengthy post. You have no problem patting yourself on the back for your logic and objectivity, as if you and only a few other posters in this thread are "rational and objective," yet I'm certain that those other posters that you see as logical and objective are the two or three who seem certain that the victim's personality/character is the reason for her disappearance. You think that those of us who have been through domestic violence in marriages are unable to objectively process facts, when EVERY PERSON HERE has a past that influences the questions they ask, the facts they believe, the way they process the history of the players in this case. NO ONE is immune from subjective reasoning. No one.
I feel no shame for my status as a domestic abuse SURVIVOR. However, just to be clear, it gives me insight into actions by people in cases that are marred by domestic violence, but it doesn't cripple my ability to process the facts just as objectively as ANYONE ELSE in this case.
