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You are now listening to True Murder The most shocking killers in true crime history and the authors that have written about them Gasey, Bundy, Dahmer, The Nightstalker DTK. Every week another fascinating author talking about the most shocking and infamous killers in true crime history. True Murder with your host journalist and author Dan Zupanski, Good.
Evening, nobody means no crime, which makes this the perfect murder. Doug Stewart even has an ironclad alibi. He's been seen hundreds of miles away when his lovely wife, Venus vanishes. What better plan could any murderer hope for? But Doug's forgotten one thing, the power of a mother's love. Venus's mother believes her daughter's husband lured her outside. They fought, he won. Venus's mother wants her daughter back, dead or alive.
Never Forgive, Never Forget tells the true story of a woman whose fear of her husband seems to turn out to be justified. It's also the story of a mother's quest to win the return of her child, her best friend, even if it's only to bury her. The Disappearance of Venus Stewart is a shocking true crime story that rocked southwest Michigan and eventually the nation. Hundreds of volunteers spent thousands of days searching for the mother of two young girls.
The police and her mother were sure Venus's husband killed her, but he was in Newport News, Virginia when the crime was committed in Michigan. The neighbor's song uses credit cards and even paid on his account at his lawyer's office. And it wasn't just a day that Venus disappeared that her husband was seen in Newport News. He was spot at the next day too. How can anyone be in two places at one time. Here's something else. No corpse, that's right, The police don't have a body. How can
investigators even be sure Venus is dead? Her mother had to wait more than eight long years before finding out what happened to her child. A community rose up to stand by Teresa Macombe and her mission to learn the truth, and after searching for Venus hundreds of times, they stood by Teres at the very end. Never Forgive, Never Forget, a shocking true crime story, is a hard hitting tale of a mother's undying devotion and love for her child and two police officers refusal to give up. It's a
story that you will never forget. This scripting book will also leave you with a question, if you were Venus's mother, did you ever forgive? The book that we're featuring this evening is never forgive, Never forget, a shocking true crime story with my special guest, journalist and author Rod Cackley. Welcome back to the program, and thank you again for this interview, Rod Cackley.
Hie Dan, thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
Welcome back and congratulations on this extraordinary Thank you.
It is quite a tale, isn't it.
Yes, it is. Let's get to the introductions right away with Venus Stuart, her husband Douglas Harry Stuart, and this is twenty and ten. But previously you write about their marriage when he had married Venus in two thousand and two, and their life in Schoolcraft, Michigan, not far from her parents home. Tell us about their marriage, their children and their parents, Teres and Larry McComb, and how Venus ends
up living with them. Tell us about the court petitions and their marriage and the background on Venus and Douglas Stuart.
Okay, Douglas, as you said, Douglas. Doug married Venus in two thousand and two and they settled down in Schoolcraft, Michigan. They had a home not far from her parents' home. Two daughters, Brooks who was born in two thousand and four and Rachel, who followed her older sister in two thousand. Now the Stuart's marriage cheetered on the edge of a nasty divorce. In two thousand and seven, Venus accused Doug of being violent. In court three times, she petitioned for
protection three times. She pleaded for help. In fact, the last time, on the last petition, she scrawled the world help h ELP at the bottom of the petition in big bold, frantic letters with the number two pencil. When that failed, that's when she left Doug and went to girls and went to her parents' home. The mccomb's home, the home of Larry McComb and Therees MacComb, not far away in Colon Township, southwest Michigan, by the way, is a very made up of small towns, a very rural area.
Everyone knows everyone. It's just a typical small town existence there. For Venus and her kids. At her parents' home.
Now we talked about the court petitions and now she was fearing for her own safety. But she had also made an allegation regarding the dogs three and five years old.
Yeah, she accused Doug of molesting one of the girls. No other way to put it. She really made a lot of allegations against Doug. Now, Doug is kind of the all American guy, though he's an ex marine, a lot of friends, everybody loves this guy. But Venus is saying there's a whole lot that they don't know, including a charge of molestation.
Now, he's familiar with the area even though in laws lived there, but he had prior worked in the area, so he's familiar with the area. And then you take us to April twenty fifth, twenty ten. What is Douglas Stewart doing and where is he on that day?
Right now, Douglas Harry Stewart in this story is driving north through Ohio. He's on the Ohio Turnpike. He's in a silver Dodge Ram pickup truck. It's been a tough drive. He's been behind the wheel for almost ten hours straight and he still has two hours to go at least. That's how he feels. Now, now you have to look at this from Doug's point of view, I guess he feels She's on a mission. And remember he's an next Marine, so his life is all about mission centric. He needs
to complete this mission. He is out to right or wrong, not just one wrong in his mind, but a lot of wrongs. He thinks that Venus has been lying about him. She's been telling everybody who's violent that she fears for her safety. She even has gone to the coups to try to get them to get him away from her, away from her and the children. That's what really bothers Doug the most is the daughter losing the girls. She has no right at all. He believes Venus has no
right at all to do what she's doing. So he's on the Ohio Turnpike. It's late at night, he's been driving for ten hours, has another couple of hours to go. Finally he pulls off at an Egbood and there he sees a Walmart store. Now he goes into the Walmart store and he gets some supplies because again, he has this mission. He knows what he's going to do, or at least what he wants to do. So he goes into the walmart. He picks out a turp, dirty pair of work gloves, a new baseball cap, and a shovel.
Then he pulls out his credit card and uses the credit card as a register to purchase those items, takes them all back to his truck, gets back in the truck, back on the turnpike, and he's headed into Southwest Michigan.
At that walmart, what's noted mayme I little jumping ahead, But what's noted at that time was that he also had an unusual request along with the things that he purchased. What was that unusual request for?
He wanted to get line. He was looking for line, and what do you use line for? Anybody who watches, you know, a gangster movie knows that's the way you want to get rid of the body, to make the body disappear. So he really has everything he needs to make the body disappear.
You take us to April twenty six, twenty ten, and the beautiful Venus Rose Stewart, this mother of two small children. He's just in their pajamas and slippers. It's not too cooled out, But tell us what she's expecting that day, why she's even outside.
Yeah, it's April twenty sixth April in southwest Michigan at one of those times when you really never know what temperatures, what the weather's going to bring. You might start your day in pajamas and slippers and then have to put on a heavier coat at the end of the day, or it might be reversed. She's going out in the early morning. It's there might be a little light snow coming. She's going out to get a package that she thinks
might be coming today. As a matter of fact, she's expecting it because of delivery driver called to make sure he had the correct address and directions. And at this point, Venus and her kids are living with her parents, so she could use some good news. She's really looking forward to getting this package. She walks out by herself to the mailbox. Again, this is a rural setting, so she's walking really to the street on the road in front of the house to see if the package is there.
When she goes out towards this mailbox, which is at the edge of the property, it's not right attached to the home, she spots a truck that she's very familiar with.
Yeah, she sees the silver Dodge Ram. It looks like Doug's truck. She's really you know. She has said before too that in one of those restraining orders, she wrote, I'm tired of living in constant fear, and I'm afraid of what this is doing to my children. I'm scared to death, and every day I live in constant fear, and I'm constantly looking over my shoulder wondering when he will appear again. Well, then she looks over to the side and sees that silver pickup truck. It looks just
like Doug's truck. She knows the vehicle, she knows who's driving it, and even the worse Venus knows why it's parked in front of her parents' home. Suddenly, the quiet of the early morning, the dew on the grass, and the privacy offered by this rural neighborhood isn't as reassuring as it once was. She glances to the right, to the left, and back over her shoulder. None of the neighbors can see her, and worse, Venus knows none of them will hear her, no matter how loudly she screams.
Instead of the mailman with a package, Doug is waiting for her, her estranged husband, and she runs, He chases her, grabs her. She fights with every ounce of muscle, every fiber of her soul. Venus is battling for herself, for her kids, for everything. But she can't hold out. She just isn't strong enough. Doug is an ex marine. He pulls her into the truck. There he grabs her by the back of the next wheezing her car out of artery.
Hard like advice until she loses consciousness. Her last thought, Please Lord, referring to her girls, Please Lord keep them safe.
Now you take us quickly to a person named Colleen Bateman. And she works in an attorney's office and in Newport News, Virginia. And you say, Newport News is the city of about one hundred and eighty thousand, so it's a big place in comparison to Colon, Michigan. Certainly, what does she observe that day?
And note, yeah, she looks up. A man is walking into the attorney's office where she works. A beautiful day in Newport News, Virginia. Now this is where Doug has made his home after they split up, after he and Benus split out. It's a beautiful day and she looks up and there's a man coming into the office. She thinks it's Doug. Looks just like Doug, but he's not
saying much. Actually, the guy says nothing at all. He just gives her a slight smile and hands Colleen an envelope with the name Doug Stewart written on the front. That's not unusual, Doug is a client. Colleen returns to smile, opens the envelope and inside there's one hundred dollar bill. She has no Doug that well, but she's seen him in the office before, and she tells her boss that a client is waiting him. Showing up, though unannounced, isn't
all that surprising either. Doug's making a payment. This is what he does to pay off the attorney now, and all clients do this, but Doug is doing this. But she looks at Doug again after checking out that one hundred dollar bill, and she sees the man who's wearing green cargo pants, a hooded sweatshirt, and Aviator sunglasses. He's also a little bit smaller than she remembers Doug, and Colleen thinks to herself that Doug never wore clothes like
that when he came into the office. Cargo pants and hoodie would actually be very out of terature for him. Doug's always nicely dressed to see office casual I guess that's how you would put it. And he always walked with a military bearing. I mean military people when they make their career in the military, they do have a different way of life walking and holding themselves than the civilians do. This guy with the envelope, he's dressed in a cargo pants and a hoodie, and he's smaller than Doug.
He's slouching, and he's not looking anyone directly in the eye. He gives her the Colleen the envelope with one hundred in it, and he walks out. He leaves quickly. That's that. Colleen knows something's wrong. She thinks to herself, as couldn't have been Doug. The door closes and she watches the man scurry away on the sidewalk outside the office. But if it's not Doug, who is it? Who could it possibly be? And why would Doug give this guy an
envelope with one hundred dollars inside as a payment? Who pays a professional bill with cash? This just isn't right, She's thinking, couldn't have been Doug, Colleen thinks. But if not Doug, who and why did he come here today of all days with one hundred dollars bill in an envelope? Well, Colleen decides that she must be wrong. You know, Doug walks out. Maybe that is Doug and she's just seeing
saying very anoptical illusion or whatever. Then this guy walks out of the attorney's office, hops in his car, drives a few blocks away to a shopping mall. Of there, she goes into a several stores, makes some purchases, putting them on his credit cards, Doug Stuart's credit cards. If he's not Dun Stuart, he's taking his life and his credit cards and his driver's license too that he shows his ID when he uses the credit cards. So it's got to be Doug, right, But Venus saw Doug that
same day outside her parents home in Colon, Michigan. So how could it be Doug? In Newport News, Virginia.
Let's get back to Larry McComb and Teres McComb. He's at home and he's usually sleeping at seven thirty in the morning, but he hears the kids making a lot of noise the girl's making a lot of noise, and he wonders where Venus is because he would she would be taking care of the children at that time. So he wakes and looks around and can't find Venus.
Yeah, you know, and this is he's not in the best mood. He's a grandfather who just got woken up by the grandkids, and he, you know, he knows Venus would have kept the kids quiet for him, So he knows something's up right away. He goes into the kitchen. Venus isn't there. Well, maybe she threw a lot laundry in the washing machine, the washer dryer in her bedroom or downstairs. So Larry goes there. Neither the washer nor the dryer is running, and there's still no sign of Venus.
Now Larry's getting scared because he and his wife Teres, they know, I mean, Venus has been talking to them about her relationship with Doug, about his violence, and about her accusation of molestation. So Larry, like any father would be, is getting scared to death. Right now, still no sign of Venus, and Larry's scared. Damn you, Doug. Larry thinks Venus was finally able to get a personal protection under
from a judge who listened and believed. But what good would a piece of paper do to protect his little girl against an X marine, a warrior like Doug Stewart. And now Larry hates to admit it, but it looks like the worst has happened. See, not only is Venus missing, but her keys, her purse, her phone, and her children are still in the house. And on top of that, the front door is open. But Venus is nowhere to be seen. So Larry goes to the phone and calls
the cops. Michigan State Police troop by the name of Aaron Steinsma, twelve year veteran of the MSPs, the first to arrive on the scene. And now Aaron, the Trooper Steinsma is going to be an important player in this story down the line too. Theresa is awake by now Venus's mother, Larry's wife. She's hysterical, she's crying, She's nearly screaming. He took her, he took her, he took her, she tells Trooper Stein'sma. Larry tells the trooper Teresa's talking about Doug.
They've been having problems, Larry explains, as Tom Lee is a father Ken who fears the worst has happened to his child. Well, now, Saint Joseph County Sheriff's deputies arrive on the scene and together with the state trooper Steensma, they don't waste a minute. They're out looking for venus in the yard and in the in the area around around the home.
Now, what do Aaron Steinsma and does state the troopers find there? You mentioned you write that there was a plastic rapper. What was the plastic rapper for? And what other evidence can they determine from the limited amount of evidence that they find at this crime. I'm seen by the mailbox.
They found evidence of a violent struggle by the mailbox. The ground is torn up. There are large gounges and heel marks on the lawn, like you might leave if someone was dragging you and you were resisting. The trooper spot's a woman's footprint on the propane gas tank in the front yard, like you would if you were being held and you put your foot up against the tank to try to force yourself free. The torn um sections of grass and it looks like somebody was trying to
break a more muscular person's pull. The police designed and it indicates a wild encounter between two combatants. So then the troopers and the sheriff's luckies fan out and then plastic grapher they found. That's a plastic cover for an all purpose turf, one of the brands that Walmart sells.
Yeah, they find police find a neighbor who saw the truck with the other state's plates parked in an empty lot next to the Macomb property. So this Doug Stewart becomes their primary suspect, doesn't he right?
Right?
And another witness police that he was stopped by a man who was soaking wet asking for a cigarette. Wow, Now Doug Stewart is their primary suspect. Trooper's leading the investigation, and they know where he lives. I mean, the Macombs know where Doug is set up shop after they split with the Venus, So they tell him about Newport News, Virginia. Immediately, the Michigan officers and the Saint Joseph County officers call their colleagues in Newport News, Virginia and now you've got
and then so they're tracking. Then they realize that Doug must have come up after the witness saw the truck. They realized he must have driven up on the turnpike. So they're talking to not onli Virginia police, but Ohio police and others in Michigan. Everybody now is an all points bulletin looking for Doug Stewart and that silver Dodge Ram pickup truck and of course Venus Stewart. They're still holding out hope that they're going to find her alive.
Absolutely, you take us to April twenty eight, twenty ten, and now back in Newport News, neighbors and friends that know Doug knowes something is a miss, especially a person named James Weaver. What does James Weaver specifically observe from Doug and what does Doug have to say about Venus? Because by this time these neighbors have heard this is a big story that Venus is missing.
Right, Venus is missing. Now, Doug has always talked about Venus, and every neighbor who will spend a moment with him, anybody who will listen, we'll hear the story from Doug about how evil Venus is according to him. Now, this day is a warm day, or remember we're in Virginia. It's kind of day where you know, you open a pack of cigarettes, and you're going to start sweating. Okay, it's warm, it's kind of human. So everybody's in shorts
and t shirts. And this neighbor, James, that you mentioned. James, he can't help noticing there are bruises and deep red scratches on Doug's neck, on his forearms, and even on his thighs. James has to wonder, what's this guy been doing. Now the apartment complex has heard that Venus is missing. She ran away with the girls through her parents somewhere in Michigan. Everybody knows that, and now she's gone again.
This time it's different. The news reports that have aired in Newport News, Virginia say Venus vanished from her parents' front yard. So when Doug talks about his strange wife, everyone's listening a bit closer now to the latest rant about Venus. It's not like anybody suspects him of anything yet. Still, James isn't the only one who notices Doug looks like he's been in a fight. They've all seen Doug around the complex every day. No way he could have been
in Michigan. They saw him around the complex the day that Venus vanished. The neighbors all agree on that except for the apartment complex as assistant manager Catherine Rock because Doug asked her just the other day about the complex and surveillance camera, wondering if somebody could get their hands on the system's videotapes, and Catherine's wondering why would Doug want to know that her suspicions are aroused, and not only that, Doug isn't the only one who wants to
save the complexes tapes. Catherine knows that police are suspicious of Doug two they've been talking to her about Doug asking her about those tapes, and she thinks that they've even been talking to him.
Introduce Ricky Spencer. Now, he's twenty one years old and he had got together and met Doug through his Xbox play online. Tell us about this relationship and how it developed, and who Ricky Spencer is and what's he thinking when he hears the news.
Yeah, Ricky is kind of like the beta to Doug's elfha male personality. They got together in early April twenty ten during Ricky's spring break from school, and he Doug tells Ricky they're more than best friends. Doug has really taken over this guy. And finally, you know they play games together, you know they hang out together, and Doug has told him the stories about Venus. He says, I don't know what I would do if she hurt those little girls. I might go on a rampage. He says,
would you head? Finally, he pops the question to Ricky Stewart. He said, would you help me kill Venus? You won't have to pull a trigger or even get your hands Bloody, Doug, you sure is, Ricky. All you have to do is pretend to be me. And before Ricky can say no, Doug as it's going to be simple. You move into my apartment while I'm up in Michigan, Get into my closet. Were are my clothes, Go to my attorney's office, go shopping with my credit cards. It all seems like such
an idle brain. Ricky can't say no, and as a matter of fact, he's never said no to Doug about anything. The only challenging task now or Ricky will be calling Doug's parents in Michigan pretending to be Doug. It'll be the perfect alibi. Doug assures Ricky, you do all of this and I'll drive up to Michigan. To take care of business. Nothing can go wrong.
There was one thing that he didn't take care of, you right, and that was something he did every day. Tell us what he forgot to do that one day.
He forgot to call the McComb family home to talk to his kids, the girls, the daughters. Ever since Venus was awarded custody a Doug's called Larry and Terteres McComb every day asking to speak with his daughters every day without fail, never missed a day except for one day, and that was the day that Venus vanished. He also made the mistake of using his credit card at a Walmart off the Ohio. Hard to be in two places
at once, and the people at Walmart, remember Doug. He bought gloves, a shovel of tarp, and a baseball bat. And as we said earlier, he also asked them if they had any line something that can be used to compose a body in mass DNA.
Tell us about these phones that were purchased as well.
Yeah, they also bought He also bought two Walmart track phones burners if you will that he or whoever could toss Doug uses one of the phones to call Venus, pretending to be a delivery man bringing a package to her parents home. That was when he grabbed her. He also uses that phone to call the second burner that he bought, a call that police discovered was made you a location in Virginia near Doug's home in Newport News. Next, detectives access Doug's personal phone records and guess who he's
been calling quite often before Venus disappeared. None other than Ricky Spencer.
Right, So that.
Leads police to Ricky Spencer's door, doesn't it right?
Right? Exactly? And Ricky's getting nervous. He knows something's going on since day one, and now he's getting very nervous. In May thirty one, twenty ten, that's when they show up at his door or they're getting closer to the door.
Michigan State Police Lieutenant Michael Riskos has investigators in Newport News. Now, I believe Doug Stewart was not in Virginia when Venus disappeared, and they have new evidence Doug was not inside his lawyer's office, in the shopping mall or anyplace else in Newport News on April twenty five or April twenty six. So Ricky's he's learning all this, and Ricky's getting very nervous because he knows he's the guy who was pretending to be.
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supporting foundational health. Great news Ritual is offering my listeners ten percent off during your first three months visit ritual dot com slash murder to start ritual or add essential for women eighteen plus to your description today. Now, Rod, we had this essential person crucial to this case, Ricky Spencer, fell into the investigator's laps. They know that he has been impersonating or they believe they've talked to those women
at the lawyer's office. They realize that he certainly seems to be the person impersonating Doug Stewart and doing some things on his behalf to provide for an alibi. So how do they approach him, what do they offer him? And what does he have to say to these investigators.
So what we've got now dan is Ricky. They picked Ricky up and he's in a police interrogation room and he's talking to a couple of Michigan State Police detectives, Chuck Christiansen and Shane Kreger. He's trying to look relaxed in calm, but it's easy to see he's anything but at ease with these two police officers. He's scared to death. Ricky knows his future hangs in the balance if he doesn't help the detectives. Ricky knows he'll probably be imprisoned
for the rest of his life. But one of the officers says, you're free to leave at any time, but he doesn't leave. He looks at from one detective to another. Droger says, there are two types of scenarios we're looking at here, and this is why we need your help. So he again, they're playing Ricky okay, he wants to help them, and he said, or they're saying that he can help them, And so this is where you know,
they know that Ricky wants to help them. They know Ricky wants to get out of here, and so they're going to offer him basically a plea deal if he starts talking and he tells him the whole story.
He tells him the whole story. But what's important is that at first it's you have this altercation or connection between the investigator and Ricky Spencer, and he has this realization instantly because of the question they asked. They asked, did you know that he was going to kill his wife? And then he went on to tell them everything as you said, including that how did he know that he had killed Venus? How did he know that Doug Stewart had killed his wife? Is also what he told him, how was that?
Did he knowed? It was very you know, he said he called and said it's done. I've killed her. That's it, it's done. That's what he said. Ricky tells the detectives. That's how he knew Venus was dead. It's all Ricky had to hear. I asked him if it was worth it, and Doug said he did it to protect his kids and give them a future. Then he said he'd call me back because he had the barrier Venus we mean, And so I said, hey, you know, I'm talking and I'll call you back. I've got a barrier. And that
was that. So he told Ricky the whole story.
There was also a search of the vehicles and what they waited for results from the lab. But it looked like there was blood in the truck itself and also in Doug's other vehicle, right.
Right in his car. Yeah, they looked. What they had was blood in both of the cars and the vehicles, the truck and the and the car. And so there they've got, you know, they've got evidence, and they have Ricky's story. But again the question is where is Venus. They still have no proof that Venus is dead even and they've talked to Doug. He's, you know, as nervous as Ricky was. Doug is a rock. He's still telling police he has no idea what happened to Venus. She's
my wife. I love her, Doug tells anyone who asks, including the police. And the fact is there's still a missing This is still a missing person case at this point. It is not a murder case and it's not consider to be a homicide, and if it was, it would be a murder investigation going on without a body. And the thing is, nobody's using Venus's credit card, no one has seen her. What a few tips that are coming into the police are going nowhere. Volunteers now you remember,
hundreds of people in Colon Township have been searching. Volunteers are searching for Venus or her body, and they still have not found any evidence of the body.
Now, you talk about the preliminary to make sure that there is enough evidence to go to trial. And at that hearing, Ricky Spencer appears, takes the witness stand and outlines how he and Doug conspired to kill Venus, and he talks about the entire story in that hearing, itself, so there certainly is enough information to take this to trial.
Tell us how they proceed, and as you say, they're still searching because ideally they'd like to have they would really like to have the body of Venus Stewart before this trial commences. But regardless, they're going to go ahead. So two things are happening at the same time.
Right right for the body, they're looking for any evidence that Venus is either alive or dead. No one can answer either question at this point, but they've taken it to trial, and in June they do to the judge decides there is enough evidence to prosecute Doug Stewart. So July first, twenty ten, Lear McComb yell is her father, yells from the witness stand when he's asked to point
out Doug Stewart. He yells, Hi, Doug murdered anyone lately. Now, if the courtroom wasn't tense before that outburst, it's ready to explode now. I mean, this is just like this courtroom is a powder keg. And when he says that that like lights the fuse and the judge, Judge Middleton, Judge Jeff Middleton makes it clear that contemptive court is a crime, and he's not going to put up with
any outbursts like that. Again, prosecutors will present evidence they hope will lead the judge to rule the Doug should face trial on the charges. Now, this is this is the prelimit in July tenth and Ricky gets on the stand and tells the whole story about the video games and whatnot. And you know, they're still searching, and Doug is in jail. He's being held without bond, as is common in Michigan when you're facing a first degree murder charge. He spent Christmas in New Year's behind bars in the
county jail, waiting for the trial to begin. Finally, February twenty one, twenty eleven, the trial begins, and the whole case of the defense is no body has been found. The prosecution can't prove that Venus Stewart is dead, so how can they prove be under reasonable doubt that Doug Stewart killed his wife, Vina Stewart.
You say this story goes nationals very very interesting and unique aspects of it, but also that you say that Teres and Larry and the family brother Dustin attend these hearings. What is the deal for Ricky Spencer and how does Teresa and Larry and the family feel about this?
They hate the deal. The Macomb family absolutely hates the deal. That Ricky gets off with a year in jail, not prison, not state prison, but a county jail and time served as well. So he gets off really with a heck of a deal. And they are very upset about this. As far as they are concerned, Ricky Spencer did as much to kill their daughter Venus as did Doug.
Now, Doug has some talented attorneys, Jeffrey and Cumberland Schroeder. And again you say that their big argument, their main argument was that no one's even certain that Venus was even dead, so they trot that out. But they have to contend with Doug's fingerprints on that tart wrapper and
what the prosecutor McDonough says is basically overwhelming evidence. Give us a little bit of the overwhelming evidence, including the receipt that was found in the truck for the tarp and the shovel and all of the things used to bury Venus.
Yeah, and you know the tarp wrapper with Doug's fingerprints on it. His defense attorney contends they should not surprise anybody. They admit that Doug bought the tarp at the walnut off the Ohio Turnpike, but they reminded Jerry the tarp was what they call a movable object. Doug's his fingerprints were found nowhere else on the Macomb property. That fingerprint proves he held the tart packaging. His attorney, Jeffrey Shuter, said, that doesn't necessarily mean that he was there at drift
would drive. It only proves that the tart packaging he held that at one point was there, so you know he touched the tart packaging. But it's movable. It could
have come from anywhere. They're saying it doesn't prove he was there, However, the jury, or mcdonahue told the prosecutor told the jury in his closing statement, the evidence and testimony from the police task force proves beyond a reasonable doubt that not only was Venus murdered, but that only one person could be responsible for her death, and that was Doug Stewart, he argued. The prosecutor argued it was
illogical to believe that Venus is still alive. However, he couldn't prove that he was dead.
So the jury deliberates for four hours only, which is an education not good for the defendant. What is the verdict?
The vertice is guilty, guilty of murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder. As you said, it was a four hour deliberation, so you know this is going to be bad for him. Doug took the verdict stoically. There's barely a flicker of emotion on Doug's face as the guilty verdicts are read. Now he's going to prison for the rest of his life, unless, as attorneys win on appeal. There's no question about that. But still the question remains.
Where is Venus Stewart outside the courtroom to Reese and Venus's older brother, Dustin are surrounded by reporters. Venus was an awesome person, Teres says, I just told Venus sees some of what's going on. Dustin replies, So she does, Mom, she does.
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Now they in the sentencing. Now the family that has endured this horrible trial and the testimony and hearing the details of this murder conspiracy, these people now get to make their impact statements. And also on that sentencing day, Doug Stewart makes a statement. So tell us about Doug Stewart's statement, the gist of it. And you say there wasn't a dry eye in that court room that day with those impact statements.
Yeah, Doug says I'm innocent. Doug is not admitting that he's guilty. He says, I did not do these crimes. All I have to say is I am innocent. I asked the police to continue to look for my wife if not for me, my children. They need to know what happened to their mother. Then, the convicted killer says quietly, expression listens. Venus's family gets their chance to talk, and no one wants to miss a word of that. Even after all this stuff, Venus's brother, Dustin says, I do
forgive Doug for what he has done. Could it be true that Dustin has found forgiveness in his heart for the man who killed his sister? The answer is yes. But Dustin also has a request. He asks Doug to please reveal where Venus's body is buried. It's not too late to do the right thing, Dustin says. Doug sits quietly through that if Doug is to maintain his claim of innocence, how could he help find the body of the woman he didn't murder. Finally Doug Judge Stutsman passes
the sentence as expected. Doug will spend the rest of his life in prison. Later, outside the courtroom, Teres tells reporters she knows her daughter's dead and knows who killed her. There is no doubt in my mind, there, says. Nobody else would harm her. Everybody loves her, but she doesn't understand why Doug can't confess to the murder, or why he did not confess to the murder. Everyone knows he did it. She says, why can't he tell us where he left the dead body of his wife, my daughter, Venus.
I don't understand how he can't be thinking about that. I know she's out there somewhere buried. I hope Doug would tell us, but I don't think he wants to give up that power. For him to do this greatly hurts me. Dustin says, I don't know what I or my family has done to Doug to deserve this. Terse and Dustin then told reporters they planned to hold a memorial service for Venus in eight days, on April twenty six,
which will be the first anniversary of her disappearance. Teres also says she wants a funeral for Venus even if there are no remains to bear it. Just because her body isn't here doesn't mean she's not here, Teresa says, and Dustin stresses that the search for Venus will continue. Nothing, he says, will stop our family and the people that love us and care for us from finding her.
In that continued search, You right about July nine, twenty eleven. It looks like a promising development in the case. Potentially a small game hunter in southeastern Kalamazoo County in this Fulton State game area. He was checking the photos on his trail camera and it looked like it might be a human body. So he called nine one one and then it was a five person task team from Kalamazoo County Sheriff's office met up with the Michigan State Police
detectives and they went there with a dog. What was the results.
They know there's no help for finding her alive. They're looking for the body right now, so they bring a dog train to find dead bodies cadavers. They found nothing. There was no evidence of a body, there no evidence of a tarp there. So it was it was just another dead end. They found nothing. Well, Doug is in jail saying again that he did or in prison rather saying again that he did not kill his wife. They didn't find a scramp of evidence out there. Yeah, you're right.
That Dateline NBC was going to do a ninety minute story about the case in a few days, and people were authorities were hopeful that there would be some leads fresh leads as a result. But on July eleventh, twenty eleven, the Kalamazoo Gazette receives a letter with someone claiming that they have intimate knowledge about this Venus's disappearance. Who is this letter from? Who do they find?
Yeah, the letter is from none other than Doug Stewart. He writes to the Kalamazoo Gazette saying that he knows who murdered Venus. So he knows. He says that Venus is dead, and now he says he knows who murdered her. And guess who he fingers for this right, Ricky Spencer. Ricky Spencer, he fingers in him. Okay, Doug writes, I did not kill my wife, nor did I conspire to kill her. I haven't forever do love my wife. Ricky's testimony, he writes, and was completely false. Knowing this, I truly
believe he must know where my wife currently is. If Ricky is allowed to serve a one year cap, you will forever hide the truth that Venus or family, my children and I so desperately need. But I come to you as a desperate husband and father of two beautiful little girls that need their mother. Please encourage and convince Ricky to tell you where my wife.
Is, and the story continues with another strange twist. October fourth, twenty twelve, Teresa McCollum is flying to Los Angeles to be on the Doctor Phil Show along with the famed psychic named John Edward. It would seem that she would try anything to be able to locate her daughter's body and cooperate with someone like Doctor Phil on this John Edward, how does this turn out?
But terribly? It just it is, It just goes terribly. You know, she wrote before the interview, she said, I'm desperate to find her body and have closure. This is about a desperate mother, That's what this is. And she's willing to do anything to find Venus's body. Well, the TV show goes terribly. You know. She's figuring that if John Edwards, the psyche, can't find Venus's body, then no one will. But the Doctor Phil show for her turns
out to be a complete waste of time. Doctor Phil adds that she says that he Teresa has an addiction. Teresa's obception, obsession with Venus's murder and the fact that her daughter's body was still missing, lying somewhere lost and alone. She needs to let it go. Doctor Phil says they also have another psychic on the show, and Collette Baron Reid. They all pile on and criticize Teres for her quest to find Venus. They all say that she's they need to give up on this, to let it go, and Teresa can't.
She will not, She's not so determined to give up. Until November one, twenty sixteen, you write that Teresa and the family hire a private investigator, but now lead us all the way to September fourth, twenty and seventeen. Doug is sitting in state prison. Finally there seems to be that he wants to cooperate and does he or does he have to say?
He does? But you know who? He confesses to Channel three WWMTTV, which is channel three in Calama Zoo. He talks to a reporter and he says that yes, I killed Venus. He makes his confession on camera. He says, you remember everything, I remember the smells, everything, Doug says of killing his wife, I think about it every single second and now the world knows. But still he refuses to tell us where Venus is buried, or to tell
Teresa or anyone else where. Venus is buried around Christmas time though, and maybe it's Christmas time that got to him. And there was a rumor too that he was given a Nintendo machine as a deal, a Nintendo video game as a deal, but I wasn't really able to confirm this, so I left that out of the story. But somehow he decides he's ready to talk. He's ready to lead
police to Venus's body. October twenty second, twenty eighteen. We've got Chuck Christiansen, the Michigan State Police first Lieutenant and MSP Sergeant Todd Peterson. They I've always been They've been working on this case too, on their own time, pretty much, trying to find the answers to where is Venus. Well, now, Doug says he will lead them, and he leads them off into the woods. The trio drives down a muddy two track path and there see they're not totally sure
that Doug is telling the truth. He might just be an inmate who looks at this as a chance to get out in the fresh air for a right out of his jail cell. Okay, but they drive down. He leads them down a muddy wet two track path cut through the middle of the woods by farmers trucks near south forty second East View Avenue, and they're about twenty miles southeast of Kalabazoo, now twelve miles north of the
Mancomb family home. When Doug tells the troopers to stay, they're close now, Doug remembers eight years away or eight years ago this happened. He starts walking through the woods through the mud. He says, though they shouldn't find have any problem finding the grave. He dug only a shallow pit for his wife's dead body, and he set three tree stumps on the site so if he could see it again, kind of like a makeshift grave marker, if
he needed to go back there. He tells the troopers, even though he was shoveling dirt on her dead body, he didn't want to forget rear he buried Venus. Well, they do find the grave site, and they do, only two of the three stumps are left. But so this is three thousand, one hundred and one days after the
search began for Venus. They find Venus Stewart's remains when they're taken to Western Michigan University School of medicine and there other remains are identified and they will be released to Venus's family in a few weeks.
They also find the tarp, don't they right?
They did find the tarp as well. They found the tarp near the place where Doug said he buried the body, and the MSP says it does match the turf that Doug waltha dain for a Venus was murdered. It feels good in their hope was always just to give her a proper burial and provide some comfort to the family. Lieutenant Christensen says, the criminal case was done. There's nothing more that was going to happen, but we felt we needed to do this to finally close out this case.
Now, Teres and the family, the brother Dustin got to hear that her body was finally found and that the grant her daughters would have a place to mourn as Teres had described it. But Larry Macomb didn't get to see this. Tell us what happened with Larry Macomb.
Yeah, Larry McComb died of cancer on July ninth, twenty seventeen, So he went to his grave not knowing for sure what had happened to his daughter Venus.
And you say too that he spent his last year searching for Venus's body.
Right, right, Yeah, he spent the last year searching for the body. And he was sixty one when he died. And Teresa today, as the story goes, when they're laying Venus to rest next to Larry, she feels better. Means a lot, Teres says, because I can go take care of her stone and everything. Venus already had her stone, but when she wasn't there, it didn't you know, what did it mean? So she wanted to have her daughter's remains buried there. You've got to go on, she says.
She you know now, you know, Teresa for the past year has been faced with getting out of bed every day knowing that her husband is dead and not knowing actually what happened to her daughter. You know, you've got to get it together. You keep it together. Teres says. You've got to take care of the girls and make their life happy. And that's what Venus wants. Venus wants those girls who live a normal life like everyone else does. I'm just glad I have the girls because they filled
my life a lot. In December fifteenth, twenty eighteen Venus was finally laid the rest in a great side service at Leon de Cemetery next to Laray mccomb's body, about two miles from her.
Home, and Doug Stewart remains in prison.
Yep, Bug Stewart remains in prison. He'll be for the rest of his life.
I want to thank you very much Rod Cackley for coming on and talking about your Never Forgive, Never Forget a Shocking true crime story.
For those that might.
Want to take a look other than do you have a website or do any social media other than Amazon page, we can find all of your work right Yeah.
Amazon is a good way to go on. This book is available where every books are sold, and you can always go to my website at Rodcacklei dot com or Facebook. I have a Facebook page as well, but Rodcaklei dot com is probably the best way to go.
Thank you so much, Rod Cackley, Never Forgive, Never Forget a Shocking true crime story. It's been a fascinating interview. Thank you so much. You have a great evening. Good night,