Found Deceased MI - Venus Stewart, 32, Colon, 28 April 2010 - # 4 *D. Stewart guilty*

In domestic violence, there's also a form of violence that leaves no outward marks. Psychological trauma to the victim is as bad as the outward injuries. If the husband says, "I'm going to kill you while you're sleeping," then how does the wife prove that to LE? It's her word, and officers usually won't arrest someone on another's word.

"If you leave me, I'll hunt you down and kill you." "Who's gonna believe you? All I have to do is tell them that you're crazy and off your meds." "I'll take the kids so far away from you that you'll never see them again, and I'd like to see you try to file for custody when you haven't got a penny to your name."

All forms of psychological terrorism within a marriage, the only remedy against which is to take the kids, get the hell out of dodge, and then file for an order of protection (and in my opinion, invest in Ruger).

Venus did what she should have done. I'm sure that courts often hear, "He/She said he/she would kill me if I left." In this case, it looks to be true.

What else could she have done, though? You can't live your life in a cage. You can't keep your kids in a prison. Whether Doug got her on April 26th or later, he would have eventually gotten her. I hope to god the courts NOW see through him, take Venus's words as the truth, and don't let him anywhere near those precious girls.

Amster said:

We know one side of the story in this case. Statistics say the ex is most likely responsible for Venus being gone....but, it is possible that something else happened besides Doug snatching her. Is there some way to discuss other scenarios without offending those who have been victims of DV? I respect everyone here and feel uncomfortable bringing up anything that doesn't point in the direction of Doug being an abuser.

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Hi Amster! You're right, there is always a possibility that something else happened and all I meant in my post was that for myself, I believe the odds are that what it seems like happened is most likely (given what little we do know) what did happen, sadly. I wish that I could entertain other scenarios, as the outcome could possibly be more positive.

That said, absent a video or eye witness, no one can say for sure...
Please know, that you absolutely don't/won't make me feel uncomfortable or offend me by discussing something else happening to Venus! TY very much for even thinking about that though..that's nice :hug:!

I would like to address a few things that have been said previously.

Regarding someone hiding near the woodpile and how he would not be seen -- Do you look all around you every time you leave your house? Also, living in a rural area is totally different from living in a bigger city. Having lived in a rural area in the past, I can tell you that it would be very easy to abduct someone because there aren't that many people around that would notice something unusual.

I know that some people are bothered about people bringing up situations of domestic violence known personally to them, either having experienced it or knowing someone that has. That's the real world, sad but true. There is no cookie cutter pattern for domestic violence but there are certain elements that are present in every single case.

About six months ago, I started getting involved in the missing and unidentified threads. Even though I feel I am knowledgable about DV, I can tell you that I was shocked at the number of women that go missing when they are in the process of divorce or after an argument with a husband or boyfriend. I hope that not every one of these women were victims and some of them escaped.

I do not think that every woman that goes missing is a victim of a husband or boyfriend. There are active cases right now that I do not think that person is the perp and there are other cases where I think he is.

I don't know what the law is in Michigan or Virginia, but in some states, when a DV call is made to the police, one party will be charged and will go to jail.

If someone wants to present other theories, I am more than willing to listen and weigh them. However, please remember that Venus is the one that is missing and she loved her children very much and would not willingly leave them.

pufnstuf said:

Read the bottom of that article:

The St. Joseph County prosecutor says Venus likely completed a diversion course for the first domestic violence offense, and then had her record cleared, which is why court records for that are no longer public. For the second offense she paid about $200 in costs and fines.

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Hi Puf, my last post I made to you was deleted by a moderator who claimed that I was not presenting "facts", when I merely stated the fact that venus Stewart was arrested for domestic violence, a "fact" that you are repeating now. I would appreciate it if my posts were not deleted simply because someone only wants part of the story posted and not the full story using facts. Thank you.

I want Venus found and want justice for her should she be the victim of wrongdoing. To get from point A to point B we need to know everything about the case, not just the parts the media portray, or the parts that make us feel warm and fuzzy inside and thinking we are doing the right thing. That is important so if we are faced with a similar situation again we can learn from this case.

So...does anyone know what crime Doug was accusing Venus' father of when she filed for a restraining order? Venus mentioned it, not Doug, and I can't find any reference to it in the media anywhere.

The points that I find suspicious in this case is the location of the WalMart used, Venus' point of disappearance and the fact that she was asked to make out a will just days before her disappearance. That is all a little too tidy.

Frank Black said:

Hi Puf, my last post I made to you was deleted by a moderator who claimed that I was not presenting "facts", when I merely stated the fact that venus Stewart was arrested for domestic violence, a "fact" that you are repeating now. I would appreciate it if my posts were not deleted simply because someone only wants part of the story posted and not the full story using facts. Thank you.

I want Venus found and want justice for her should she be the victim of wrongdoing. To get from point A to point B we need to know everything about the case, not just the parts the media portray, or the parts that make us feel warm and fuzzy inside and thinking we are doing the right thing. That is important so if we are faced with a similar situation again we can learn from this case.

So...does anyone know what crime Doug was accusing Venus' father of when she filed for a restraining order? Venus mentioned it, not Doug, and I can't find any reference to it in the media anywhere.

The points that I find suspicious in this case is the location of the WalMart used, Venus' point of disappearance and the fact that she was asked to make out a will just days before her disappearance. That is all a little too tidy.

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bbm

Other than Ohio, has the exact location been released?
Who asked her to make the will?

PickieChickie said:

We have discussed a lot of possible scenarios in this case. But, because of the truck matching the description of the truck Doug had access to, which belonged to Venus, being seeb in the area during the time she was abducted, the tarp cover found on the ground near the gravel was disturbed and the slipper print found on the propane tank, and because the tire casts appear to match the tread on the truck Venus left in Doug's possession when she left, and because there was a receipt found in the truck dated the day before Venus disappeared which indicated someone who had the ability to access the cab of that truck purchased a shovel, hat, gloves and a tarp, there aren't really many other possibilities other than Doug kidnapped Venus or hired or conspired with someone to do so who he gave the truck to use and who drove it to where Venus was living with her parents and grabbed her!

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While all evidence obviously points towards him, do you find it all a little bit too easy? He was a Marine at one point, would have been meticulous toward detail. This just seems sloppy. A receipt with the items purchased, left in his truck, just screams here I am come and get me. Seems too convenient to me. jmo

RubyRed said:

While all evidence obviously points towards him, do you find it all a little bit too easy? He was a Marine at one point, would have been meticulous toward detail. This just seems sloppy. A receipt with the items purchased left in his truck, just screams here I am come and get me. Seems too convenient to me. jmo

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People who are in panic mode often don't think clearly. For all we know he could have been on a manic high or under the influence of methamphetamine. It was probably dark when he parked the truck a few blocks away and he just overlooked that receipt.

Did they say the receipt was lying on the seat in open view or did it slip down between the seat and the door, etc.? With all of the things seized in the search warrant, it kind of sounds like the interior of the truck was messy.

Perhaps Venus wasn't the tidiest person and because of all the clutter, he didn't see it?

Pufnstuf post from previous thread

Here's what we've been waiting for!

SEARCH WARRANTS!



Search warrant on Doug's person 5/5/10, gathered fingerprints, buccal swab, and palm prints.

Search warrant for Doug's apartment 5/5/10 looking for:

Grey t shirt, brown slip-on shoes, tarp, pajama bottoms, documents supporting Douglas Stewart was in, or en-route from, Michigan at the time in question, computer, audio cassette tapes, and any evidence related to the abduction of Venus.

Items seized:

Orange Dell computer, laptop
Black compaq computer, laptop
Logitech and sandisk thumbdrives
roll of duct tape
busch garden 2-year 2-park pass
2 sony video disks
roll of brown packing tape
2 RCA digital voice recorders

Dodge Search Warrant 4/30/10, items seized, evidence gathered:

Apparent blood from driver's front interior side door, above door handle
Seven swabs of truck bed
Swab of steering wheel
11 pieces of chewing gum from ashtray
celophane wrapper from ashtray
left and right glove from front passenger floorboard
Powerade bottle, front passenger floorboard
McDonalds cup/lid, front pass floorbrd
Ten piece McD's chicken box front pass flrboard.
Pr. Black brahma shoes, front pass floorboard
poly rope, twine from truck bed
Mastercard Debit card from pass seat
Walmart receipt - gloves hat tarp shovel - front pass floorbrd.
2 trident gum packages, driver side pouch
Numerous lint tapes taken from vehicle
Receipt - center console - Mercury Sable
Misc papers - front seat - Mercury Sable
Garmin GPS - mercury sable

Mercury search warrant, 5/5/10, items, evidence seized:

Apparent blood stain, red/brown/ swab from rear floor
Lint tape on various spots in the car

Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - MI MI - Venus Rose Stewart, 32, Colon, 28 April 2010 - ABDUCTED - #2

Frank Black said:

Hi Puf, my last post I made to you was deleted by a moderator who claimed that I was not presenting "facts", when I merely stated the fact that venus Stewart was arrested for domestic violence, a "fact" that you are repeating now. I would appreciate it if my posts were not deleted simply because someone only wants part of the story posted and not the full story using facts. Thank you.

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I'm not a moderator. Don't know why you addressed this to me. The moderators can be contacted by clicking their names at the bottom right of the page of each forum.

I will say, though, that this board advocates for victims of crimes. I don't think that anyone would delete a post simply because someone says that the victim had been arrested for DV a couple years ago. I think it's when outlandish theories, ignoring the multitude of other facts, are spun to try to smear the victim and her family that the moderators might jump in. Just my opinion.

Frank Black said:

I want Venus found and want justice for her should she be the victim of wrongdoing. To get from point A to point B we need to know everything about the case, not just the parts the media portray, or the parts that make us feel warm and fuzzy inside and thinking we are doing the right thing. That is important so if we are faced with a similar situation again we can learn from this case.

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Sure... I agree. I find nothing "warm and fuzzy" about a missing mother whose husband is the sole person of interest in her disappearance. For some reason, I guess some people are uncomfortable with the most obvious conclusion arising from the facts that have been presented in this case--that Doug Stewart abducted and most likely killed Venus.

Frank Black said:

So...does anyone know what crime Doug was accusing Venus' father of when she filed for a restraining order? Venus mentioned it, not Doug, and I can't find any reference to it in the media anywhere.

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I've done a background check on Mr. McComb, and I know that another member of WS has done an even more in-depth BGC. Mr. McComb has no criminal history.

Frank Black said:

The points that I find suspicious in this case is the location of the WalMart used, Venus' point of disappearance and the fact that she was asked to make out a will just days before her disappearance. That is all a little too tidy.

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A woman fears for her life, writes a will (she was not asked to do so, she did so on her own), obtains custody of her children as well as a protective order against her estranged husband. And she comes up missing and is more than likely dead. Call it "a little too tidy" if you want, but women are killed every day by their estranged husbands.

PickieChickie said:

People who are in panic mode often don't think clearly. For all we know he could have been on a manic high or under the influence of methamphetamine. It was probably dark when he parked the truck a few blocks away and he just overlooked that receipt.

Did they say the receipt was lying on the seat in open view or did it slip down between the seat and the door, etc.? With all of the things seized in the search warrant, it kind of sounds like the interior of the truck was messy.

Perhaps Venus wasn't the tidiest person and because of all the clutter, he didn't see it?

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bbm

Front passenger floorboard.

Amster said:

We know one side of the story in this case. Statistics say the ex is most likely responsible for Venus being gone....but, it is possible that something else happened besides Doug snatching her. Is there some way to discuss other scenarios without offending those who have been victims of DV? I respect everyone here and feel uncomfortable bringing up anything that doesn't point in the direction of Doug being an abuser.

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bbm

I like to read everyone's opinion and theories. The facts seem to be leading in one direction, however we do not know 100% what happened.

RubyRed said:

While all evidence obviously points towards him, do you find it all a little bit too easy? He was a Marine at one point, would have been meticulous toward detail. This just seems sloppy. A receipt with the items purchased, left in his truck, just screams here I am come and get me. Seems too convenient to me. jmo

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I think that he went into a rage after he received the temp custody papers in the mail, and he started planning it then...probably received the papers Thursday or Friday...and he let his rage overpower him. By the time he got back to VA after he had done the deed and calmed down, police were calling him, and looking for his truck and car, and he just never had time to go back and clean out the truck. If I had been him, I'd have figured that I was being surveilled 24/7 after I got back to VA, even though he may not have been watched that closely. Probably paranoia that he was being watched immediately from the moment he got back, and he didn't want to chance going to the vehicles and being seen cleaning them out.

pufnstuf said:

I'm not a moderator. Don't know why you addressed this to me.

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I was just letting you know that I responded to your post but it was deleted. I wasn't addressing per the erroneous moderator action, since you repeated what I had said days ago and your post wasn't deleted.

pufnstuf said:

The moderators can be contacted by clicking their names at the bottom right of the page of each forum.

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I know how the board functions and how to contact a moderator should I find the need to do so, thanks.

pufnstuf said:

I will say, though, that this board advocates for victims of crimes. I don't think that anyone would delete a post simply because someone says that the victim had been arrested for DV a couple years ago. I think it's when outlandish theories, ignoring the multitude of other facts, are spun to try to smear the victim and her family that the moderators might jump in. Just my opinion.

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That's fine, but it has not been established yet that any crime occurred. Venus is missing, but she hasn't been found yet. There is no evidence that she was harmed at her parent's house either. No blood. No torn clothing. No screams for help. But I will side with you at this point that she probably is the victim of wrongdoing pending evidence it is actually true.

pufnstuf said:

Sure... I agree. I find nothing "warm and fuzzy" about a missing mother whose husband is the sole person of interest in her disappearance. For some reason, I guess some people are uncomfortable with the most obvious conclusion arising from the facts that have been presented in this case--that Doug Stewart abducted and most likely killed Venus.

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Of course Doug is the sole person of interest. That is the way it works. But I will withhold judgement that Doug did it until all of the evidence is in. I say that because the police would already have him in jail if they thought there was any solid connection connecting him to the crime.

pufnstuf said:

I've done a background check on Mr. McComb, and I know that another member of WS has done an even more in-depth BGC. Mr. McComb has no criminal history.

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OK, but that doesn't answer my question. What crime was Doug accusing him of when Venus acknowledged that a discussion of said crime occurred between her and Doug prior to her disappearance from the father's house?

pufnstuf said:

A woman fears for her life, writes a will (she was not asked to do so, she did so on her own), obtains custody of her children as well as a protective order against her estranged husband. And she comes up missing and is more than likely dead. Call it "a little too tidy" if you want, but women are killed every day by their estranged husbands.

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I agree with you that women are killed often by their estranged husbands, as husbands are killed all the time by the women that they marry too. Domestic violence isn't a male-only crime.

Why didn't Venus fill out the will the many other times that her and Doug were having problems? Why was it only important for her to do so when she went to Michigan?

Was she, in fact, the author of the will? That needs to be checked out.

The story has changed as well in terms of her being abducted by the mailbox outside the home. The family is now saying that they cannot be certain she was abducted walking to the mailbox. That means they have absolutely no idea how she disappeared and was abducted and are just speculating about it. But now everyone following the case thinks she was abducted walking out to the mailbox because that is how the media reports it, and still reports it.

I brought this point up too when the case first broke. I asked myself how could the father possibly know what happened to Venus, when he was in bed sleeping? Either he was sleeping or he was not sleeping. If he wasn't sleeping and knew that she went to the mailbox, that means he either is a potential witness to what happened or he was inside the house and didn't hear her call for help, in which case he would probably feel guilty for having it happen right under his nose. But he can't say he was sleeping and know definitively what happened to her.

You can agree to that, can't you?

Frank Black said:

I was just letting you know that I responded to your post but it was deleted. I wasn't addressing per the erroneous moderator action, since you repeated what I had said days ago and your post wasn't deleted.



I know how the board functions and how to contact a moderator should I find the need to do so, thanks.



That's fine, but it has not been established yet that any crime occurred. Venus is missing, but she hasn't been found yet. There is no evidence that she was harmed at her parent's house either. No blood. No torn clothing. No screams for help. But I will side with you at this point that she probably is the victim of wrongdoing pending evidence it is actually true.



Of course Doug is the sole person of interest. That is the way it works. But I will withhold judgement that Doug did it until all of the evidence is in. I say that because the police would already have him in jail if they thought there was any solid connection connecting him to the crime.



OK, but that doesn't answer my question. What crime was Doug accusing him of when Venus acknowledged that a discussion of said crime occurred between her and Doug prior to her disappearance from the father's house?



I agree with you that women are killed often by their estranged husbands, as husbands are killed all the time by the women that they marry too. Domestic violence isn't a male-only crime.

Why didn't Venus fill out the will the many other times that her and Doug were having problems? Why was it only important for her to do so when she went to Michigan?

Was she, in fact, the author of the will? That needs to be checked out.

The story has changed as well in terms of her being abducted by the mailbox outside the home. The family is now saying that they cannot be certain she was abducted walking to the mailbox. That means they have absolutely no idea how she disappeared and was abducted and are just speculating about it. But now everyone following the case thinks she was abducted walking out to the mailbox because that is how the media reports it, and still reports it.

I brought this point up too when the case first broke. I asked myself how could the father possibly know what happened to Venus, when he was in bed sleeping? Either he was sleeping or he was not sleeping. If he wasn't sleeping and knew that she went to the mailbox, that means he either is a potential witness to what happened or he was inside the house and didn't hear her call for help, in which case he would probably feel guilty for having it happen right under his nose. But he can't say he was sleeping and know definitively what happened to her.

You can agree to that, can't you?

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bbm

She told her mother earlier she was going to mail a letter, I think they just put two and two to-gether, along with scuffle marks in driveway, slipper print on propane tank and the one daughter saying she went outside.

Can you point me in the direction of where it says they are not certain she was abducted going to the mailbox. Thanks

I find it interesting this case has been thrown into the media as the mother who disappeared wearing pajamas. If the father was asleep, how would anyone know Venus was wearing pajamas?

RubyRed said:

Can you point me in the direction of where it says they are not certain she was abducted going to the mailbox. Thanks

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http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/sw_mich/MSP-Colon-Twp-woman-possibly-abducted

In the video linked at this webpage, the police officer says the last person who saw Venus Stewart alive was the mother at 6 AM.

No one knows if she was abducted at the mailbox, but it makes for something the media can talk about I guess.

PickieChickie said:

I find it interesting this case has been thrown into the media as the mother who disappeared wearing pajamas. If the father was asleep, how would anyone know Venus was wearing pajamas?

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Probably the pajamas she was last seen wearing cannot be accounted for. Therefore she was still wearing them when abducted.

The statistics--from the American Bar Association website:

• Approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually in the United States.
  
• Intimate partner violence made up 20% of all nonfatal violent crime experienced by women in 2001. Intimate partners committed 3% of the nonfatal violence against men.
  
• In 2000, 1,247 women and 440 men were killed by an intimate partner. In recent years, an intimate partner killed approximately 33% of female murder victims and 4% of male murder victims.
  
• According to the U.S. Department of Justice, between 1998 and 2002:

• According to the Stalking Resource Center:

• In a study done between 1994 and 1998 in ten U.S. cities (Baltimore, Houston, Texas, Kansas City (KS), Kansas City (MO), Los Angeles, New York, Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington, St. Petersburg/Tampa, and Wichita):

• Fifty-six percent of women who experience any partner violence are diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. Twenty-nine percent of all women who attempt suicide were battered, 37% of battered women have symptoms of depression, 46% have symptoms of anxiety disorder, and 45% experience post-traumatic stress disorder.
  
• Ninety-two percent of women who were physically abused by their partners did not discuss these incidents with their physicians; 57% did not discuss the incidents with anyone. Additionally, in four different studies of survivors of abuse, 70% to 81% of the patients studied reported that they would like their healthcare providers to ask them privately about intimate partner violence.
  
• Fear of reprisal by the perpetrator made up 19% of the reasons females did not report their victimization to the police. About 1 in 10 male victims and fewer than 1 in 10 female victims said they did not report the crime to the police because they did not want to get the offender in trouble with the law.

MUCH MUCH MORE: http://new.abanet.org/domesticviolence/Pages/Statistics.aspx

RubyRed said:

Probably the pajamas she was last seen wearing cannot be accounted for. Therefore she was still wearing them when abducted.

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PickieChickie said:

:bedtime:I'll bet you're right! You are so smart! Lol! :bedtime:​

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LOL, PickieChickie. We need to laugh sometimes.