328. Finding Venus Stewart - The Xbox Murder

On this episode, Garrett and Payton dive into the case of Venus Stewart, a young mother whose disappearance exposes a twisted trail of lies, revenge, and a secret no one saw coming. Links: Netflix Video Every Monday @11am PST, 12pm MST, 2pm EST 1pm CST https://www.netflix.com/murderwithmyhusband Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/murderwithmyhusband NEW MERCH LINK: https://mwmhshop.com Discount Codes: https://mailchi.mp/c6f48670aeac/oh-no-media-discount-codes Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/themwmh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/murderwithmyhusband/ Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@murderwithmyhusband Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/into-the-dark/id1662304327 Listen on spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/36SDVKB2MEWpFGVs9kRgQ7?si=f5224c9fd99542a7 Sources: WWMT.com - https://wwmt.com/news/local/disappearance-and-murder-of-venus-stewart-a-timeline 13NowNews.com - https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/newport-news-man-leads-police-to-suspected-remains-of-missing-wife/291-607107428 SturgisJournal.com - https://www.sturgisjournal.com/story/news/crime/2018/10/23/venus-stewart-s-remains-found/9460647007/ Oxygen.com - https://www.oxygen.com/crime-time/michigan-inmate-douglas-stewart-gets-xbox-prison-showing-authorities-where-buried-wife-venus-stewarts-body CBSNews.com - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/estranged-husband-gets-life-in-prison-for-mich-murder-of-venus-stewart/ Detroit Free Press - https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/television/2019/01/21/dateline-nbc-doug-stewart-murder-venus-stewart-michigan/2617683002/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z114101e1184xxv114101d--46--b--46--&gca-ft=181&gca-ds=sophi NBCNews.com - https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/video/finding-venus-part-8-92467781619 MLive.com - https://www.mlive.com/news/g66l-2019/01/ce148b38d79275/how-murdered-mother-venus-stewarts-body-was-finally-found-8-years-later.html ABCNews.com - https://abcnews.com/US/convicted-murderer-requests-xbox-leading-police-wifes-body/story?id=58716056 Fox17Online.com - https://www.fox17online.com/2018/10/22/body-of-venus-stewart-found-more-than-8-years-after-disappearance CaseLawFindLaw.com - https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-6th-circuit/2078566.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  You know that feeling when too many things fall through the cracks? Monday.com was built for that gap. The AI work platform where people and agents work side by side to deliver more together. Create your first Monday agent today at Monday.com.

• 0:15Payton Moreland?

  You're listening to an Ono Media Podcast. Hey everyone, welcome back to the podcast. This is Murder with My Husband. I'm Payton Moreland.

• 0:22Garrett Moreland?

  And I'm Garrett Moreland.

• 0:23Payton Moreland?

  And he's the husband.

• 0:24Garrett Moreland?

  And I'm the husband.

• 0:25Payton Moreland?

  Well, if you don't follow us on social media, you missed a very big announcement, but we are here to tell you guys now. And the announcement is that I'm-

• 0:38Garrett Moreland?

  We are retiring.

• 0:40Payton Moreland?

  The announcement is that I'm pregnant.

• 0:44Garrett Moreland?

  Peyton is pregnant with my child.

• 0:47Payton Moreland?

  If you've been watching on Netflix or maybe even listening, you can hear the change in my voice. But uh,

• 0:54Payton Moreland?

  but if you've been watching on Netflix, you definitely have probably seen the changes in my body. I'm inflamed, I'm swollen, I'm gaining weight, but I'm happy and I'm pregnant. And I've been sick, so that's why I've been looking like that. Some of you definitely caught on, but uh, yeah, we're so excited.

• 1:14Garrett Moreland?

  We are, we're, hi, hi. We're both, sorry, Daisy hasn't seen me all day and I got home and went straight to recording and she is very excited to see me. We are,

• 1:27Garrett Moreland?

  we're extremely excited. We're both very excited. We're both very busy. We're both very excited.

• 1:32Payton Moreland?

  Yeah, it feels like I'm so happy to finally be able to tell everyone because, you know, you guys are a huge part of our lives and this has been a big part of our lives. So it's nice to just have everyone clued in. We don't have to hide anything anymore. And if you did see the announcement on social media, thank you for making such a fun thing, fun for us that day. It was so fun to be able to celebrate with all of you. And yeah, thank you so much for your support and your understanding and we love you.

• 2:00Garrett Moreland?

  And pretty soon we're gonna have a baby.

• 2:03Payton Moreland?

  Yeah, would you say that's your 10 seconds?

• 2:05Garrett Moreland?

  Probably. I mean, we're- We're having a baby. We're having an actual human baby. Daisy's our baby, though. But we're having another baby.

• 2:13Payton Moreland?

  Yeah, we're our second, our second baby.

• 2:15Garrett Moreland?

  And we're excited and it's going to come fast and it's going to be crazy and we're going to have to figure out how to run a bagel shop and and do our recordings and it'll be interesting.

• 2:27Payton Moreland?

  I think we got it.

• 2:28Garrett Moreland?

  We got it.

• 2:29Payton Moreland?

  We always got it.

• 2:29Garrett Moreland?

  Anyways, that's the news. That's the big announcement. Is that was that anticlimactic?

• 2:35Payton Moreland?

  No.

• 2:35Garrett Moreland?

  No?

• 2:36Payton Moreland?

  No.

• 2:36Garrett Moreland?

  Very hyped up? Very good.

• 2:37Payton Moreland?

  Very hyped up.

• 2:39Garrett Moreland?

  Thank you for listening. Thank you for supporting. On that note, let's hop into today's case.

• 2:44Payton Moreland?

  Our sources for this episode are W W M T dot com, thirteen now news dot com, Sturgis Journal dot com, oxygen dot com, CBS News dot com, Detroit Free Press, NBC News dot com, M live dot com, ABC News, Fox seventeen online dot com, and case law fine law dot com. Now, today I have an ethics question for you. When it comes to dealing with suspects or even convicted felons, should bribery be something that's considered when looking for answers? And I'm not talking about making a deal for a lighter sentence. I'm talking about something tangible, a benefit, a comfort, something that makes life a little bit better in exchange for information.

• 3:30Payton Moreland?

  If if you really believe this information could bring closure to a family, if it could finally end a devastating chapter in a heartbreaking story, should we abandon our morals and ethics just a little and let bribery have a seat at the table?

• 3:45Garrett Moreland?

  Yes.

• 3:46Payton Moreland?

  Because not all is fair when it comes to crime and consequences. Sometimes people play dirty. So the thing I want you to sit with today is when it comes to justice, is bribery a line that should never be crossed? Or is it a tool we should be trying to utilize more often? Now today I'm taking you to an area of rural Michigan called Colon Township. And there we are meeting a 32-year-old mother of two named Venus Stewart. Now Venus grew up in this quaint little country area with her dad Larry and her mother Therese.

• 4:28Payton Moreland?

  She was born on August 4th, 1977 as Venus Rose McComb. And her mom worshipped her like the tiny little goddess that she imagined her to be, which was how she even got the name Venus to begin with. Venus's parents said, growing up, she was always sweet, kind and trusting type. But as she grew up, that naivety kind of became one of her faults. Therese, her mother, clearly remembered Venus coming home one day crushing over this boy that she had just met. And she later told her parents that the reason she found him so interesting because he was in the mafia. Now it turns out he was just working at the local McDonald's and he wanted to seem a little cooler.

• 5:12Garrett Moreland?

  Hey, the local McDonald's probably feels like the mafia sometimes.

• 5:16Payton Moreland?

  But apparently.

• 5:17Garrett Moreland?

  Love McDonald's.

• 5:18Payton Moreland?

  This might have been a pretty formative experience for Venus because after high school, she chose a field of study that would require her to be more vigilant, sharp-witted and guarded than ever. She actually went on to study criminal justice, hoping to one day become a police officer.

• 5:35Garrett Moreland?

  Okay.

• 5:36Payton Moreland?

  However, once she realized she would probably have to carry a gun and she absolutely hated guns, she decided to find another path. And in the meantime, life offered her up a pretty charming distraction. Okay. One by the name of Doug Stewart. Now she's graduated, she's figuring out what to do with her life and she meets Doug. Venus's friend from work thought it would be good to set her brother up with Venus. She knew Venus liked a guy in uniform and her brother Doug was a Marine. So on their first date, they went out to a movie and on their third date, four days later, they got married.

• 6:15Garrett Moreland?

  Oh.

• 6:16Payton Moreland?

  Now Venus's parents didn't seem thrilled about this.

• 6:19Garrett Moreland?

  Four days.

• 6:20Payton Moreland?

  For obvious reasons.

• 6:22Garrett Moreland?

  It's crazy.

• 6:23Payton Moreland?

  And neither did Venus's older brother Dustin, but I mean, they were adults. They made the choice. So everyone makes the most of it and they welcomed Doug into their family. But a year into the marriage, there was a bit of a hiccup. Venus didn't like the idea of Doug being deployed, moving around the world for his job. And she had this feeling something terrible was going to happen if he stayed in the military. So Doug ends up leaving the Marines in 2003 for Venus and together they settled into a quieter life and began building their family. They moved to Schoolcraft, Michigan. This is about a half hour away from where Venus grew up. Both of them take modest jobs. Venus is a

• 7:05Payton Moreland?

  bank teller and Doug as a waiter at Applebee's. And then in 2004, they have their first daughter and a second girl comes along two years later in 2006. And becoming a mom, Venus wanted to devote everything to her girls, but a stay at home mom wasn't really in the cards at this stage for their family. She was actually the breadwinner for the family.

• 7:30Garrett Moreland?

  Okay.

• 7:31Payton Moreland?

  She made more money than Doug. So the couple decided he would actually take on the role of the stay at home parent while Venus went to work. But this ends up leading to a pretty bad habit for Doug because as he's staying home, watching the girls, raising the girls, he's not really watching them. He starts playing video games to the point where it takes precedent over a lot of other things in their life. So instead of looking for a new job when it was time for him to go back to work because the girls got old enough, Doug spent those hours playing Xbox and losing himself in the virtual world. And over time, this takes a toll on their marriage. Venus begins to feel lonely like

• 8:13Payton Moreland?

  she was the one doing everything as the parent and the wife. And that led to cracks and the cracks became fights and then talks of separation and divorce. But.

• 8:25Payton Moreland?

  We don't quite make it there because around 2009, it seems like things were finally looking up. They had decided for a fresh start. They're like, let's move to a new location. Maybe it'll help our marriage. Bring a renewed sense of adventure. So Venus pitched places like Williamsburg, Virginia and Orlando or Miami, Florida. Mainly because she loved amusement parks. She wanted to be somewhere close to them. And this way they could take their kids there pretty regularly, just have a little place to escape on the day to day. So they ended up in a town called Newport News, Virginia, and this was just 18 miles away from an amusement park called Bush Gardens.

• 9:07Garrett Moreland?

  Ooh, I've never been. Have you been to Bush Gardens? You have?

• 9:09Payton Moreland?

  Yep.

• 9:11Garrett Moreland?

  Wait, really?

• 9:11Payton Moreland?

  Yeah.

• 9:13Garrett Moreland?

  When?

• 9:14Payton Moreland?

  In high school.

• 9:15Garrett Moreland?

  Oh, I've never been.

• 9:16Payton Moreland?

  It was like on one of our trips to Florida or something. So after moving to an apartment there, Doug actually finds a job as a truck driver. And according to him, things were starting to mend between the couple. Venus had found religion, something that was very important to her brother Dustin. He'd actually been trying to get her to go to church for a while. So that same year in 2009, 30 year old Venus even got baptized for the first time. So they've moved, things are exciting. But months after settling in, it seemed like things were starting to return to their old ways. Venus was no longer happy and decided it was once again time to take a break from Doug.

• 9:57Payton Moreland?

  And in an effort to do that, she actually moved back in with her parents around February of 2010, bringing their two girls who were almost six and four with her. She figured the 700 miles between her and her husband would be enough space to figure out their next steps. But just two months later, in April of 2010, That future became very unclear.

• 10:25Garrett Moreland?

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• 10:48Payton Moreland?

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• 11:19Garrett Moreland?

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• 11:41Payton Moreland?

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• 12:25Payton Moreland?

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• 13:11Payton Moreland?

  By April 26th, Venus was finding some peace back in Colon, Michigan. She had gotten a job at a local grocery store. The girls really seemed to be enjoying this time being around their grandparents. But that morning around 8 a.m., Venus's dad wakes up to just a lot of noise coming from the front living room. It's the little girls. They're yelling. They're playing loudly. Now, this is weird because Venus's dad Larry is a truck driver. Now, so was her husband in his second job, but this is her dad. He's a truck driver who works really long hours. So he gets home late and then sleeps in. And Venus usually does a good job of keeping the kids quiet so they don't wake grandpa up. Only that morning, doesn't seem to be the case.

• 13:56Payton Moreland?

  So Larry gets up and he goes out to the living room to tell the girls to stop making noise. He's going to reprimand his grandkids. But when he gets to the living room, he realizes that Venus, his daughter, isn't there. Just her daughters are. And they say, oh, mom went out to get the mail and she hasn't come back. Now, this is a little worrisome to Grandpa Larry. There's no reason why Venus would wander outside in her pajamas for the mail and not come back to get her kids. So he ends up calling his wife, Teresa. And she goes, well, the last time I saw Venus was around 6 a.m. When I left for work to her restaurant job that morning. But she hadn't heard from her since.

• 14:39Payton Moreland?

  And as far as she knew, Venus didn't have any plans for that day. So once Larry sees that Venus's keys and purse are still in the house and her car is still parked in the driveway, but she's been gone and she's not answering her cellphone. That's when they decide to call 911.

• 15:00Speaker 03

  She's just not there? Yeah. Is there a vehicle missing or anything? No.

• 15:06Payton Moreland?

  Now, it doesn't take long for Michigan State Police to arrive at the McCombe house. And one of the first things Larry, grandpa, shows them is this part of the yard that seems suspicious. So according to him, there's limestone gravel from the driveway, basically all over the sidewalk, kind of like someone had kicked it up, like it looked disturbed. And there are these bare spots in the driveway that expose the dirt. And he tells police, does it not look like someone was like kicking their feet in a struggle, like pushing hard enough to like move the rock enough to see the dirt? Now, a lot of times in these cases, we see police say, you know, you gotta wait 24 to 48 hours.

• 15:47Payton Moreland?

  Um, but in this case, it's not even a part of the conversation because when the police respond, they can just tell from the circumstances that something happened.

• 15:56Speaker 03

  Something's going on?

• 15:56Payton Moreland?

  Yeah, they're like, we don't think this mother just wandered off willingly in the morning, leaving her kids there. Something clearly happened. So they keep scouring the perimeter of the house and they find a couple other things that stand out. They find Venus's pink hair tie and in the backyard of the home, they find some plastic wrapping from a tarp. Now, this is something the family didn't own and they don't know where it came from, which is why it stands out to police. So they take it in as evidence and they continue to search for 32-year-old missing mother Venus. But with no use from her cell phone or credit cards, as time goes on, they start thinking this might not be a missing person's case

• 16:40Payton Moreland?

  and we might be looking at like a homicide. Now, naturally, the first thing they hear from the parents when they're like, Kate, tell us everything we can know about Venus. They say, well, she's in the middle of a separation from her husband. And interestingly enough, just a week before her disappearance, Venus had apparently won custody of their two daughters. So when police hear this, it's a huge red flag for obvious reasons. And it's also why her family immediately tells police that they suspect Doug is involved. In fact, when police arrived at the home, they noticed her mom, Therese, just saying over and over again, he took her, he took her.

• 17:22Speaker 03

  What?

• 17:23Payton Moreland?

  Talking about

• 17:24Garrett Moreland?

  Okay.

• 17:24Payton Moreland?

  The husband, yeah.

• 17:25Garrett Moreland?

  Okay.

• 17:26Payton Moreland?

  Which might have been partly based on the strange prediction Venus herself had the day before she went missing. So this is the complete day before. According to her dad, Venus told him she had a feeling that Doug was going to come harm her. And he's like, what are you talking about? And she's like, I don't know. I just feel it deep inside my bones.

• 17:50Garrett Moreland?

  Okay.

• 17:51Payton Moreland?

  And now the next morning she's missing.

• 17:54Garrett Moreland?

  Which I agree with. I'm sure it's a feeling, but there's, there had to have been some conversation or something that also sparked this to an extent.

• 18:01Payton Moreland?

  Well, here's the thing. Apparently Venus had gotten an order of protection from Doug two months back in February when she left the home, but that wasn't the first time. When the couple first decided to file for divorce back in 2008 and since then, Venus had filed for a bunch of protection orders, but never followed through with any of them, obviously, or the divorce. But this time appeared to be the final straw for Venus because now she had disclosed to friends and family that she believed Doug had been molesting one of their daughters.

• 18:36Garrett Moreland?

  Okay. Wow.

• 18:37Payton Moreland?

  So.

• 18:38Garrett Moreland?

  Okay.

• 18:39Payton Moreland?

  As they're like giving all this information to police, he does seem like a suspect, but the question on everyone's mind was, was Doug actually capable of kidnapping and murdering his almost ex-wife?

• 18:52Garrett Moreland?

  You know what's crazy is that the stat on it, um, I know is pretty high. I don't know. I don't know the exact percentage, but like 70% of or 80% of kids that are sexually abused, it's, it's usually somebody within the family.

• 19:08Payton Moreland?

  Yeah, someone they know.

• 19:09Garrett Moreland?

  Like that's, that's so sad. It's crazy.

• 19:14Payton Moreland?

  So Venus's family is still holding out hope that maybe Venus is alive, that Doug had just taken her hostage, was trying to manipulate the situation, trying to win her back, maybe. However, the police weren't as optimistic. Almost immediately, they initiated a search for Venus, checking the miles of countryside around her parents' home. And they started desperately trying to get in touch with Doug Stewart. So remember, Doug is 700 miles away, apparently, in Newport News, Virginia, at the time that Venus goes missing. And while the family is calling him continuously on the day Venus goes missing, there's no answer until detectives finally reach him that night.

• 19:59Payton Moreland?

  And so he answers and they're like, hey, do you know where your wife is? And he's like, no, I've been in Virginia all day. I haven't left the state and I can prove it. He told police about a couple of errands he ran that day, including one to his lawyer's office that morning at 9:30 a.m., which would have only been about an hour after Venus disappeared. This obviously would make it not possible for him to have done both. He said he stopped in to drop off a payment for his custody dispute. And while his lawyer wasn't there, the two secretaries were, and they could vouch for him. So the local FBI actually calls and follows up on that. And sure enough, these two women are like, yeah, he came in and dropped off a payment. We have it right here.

• 20:45Payton Moreland?

  Plus, when they checked the surveillance footage from his apartment building, it shows that his car is in the garage most of the day. So now police are second guessing the husband theory. If he really was all the way in Virginia with a solid alibi, does that mean something else random happened to her? Well, not far from the McCombs' house is a lake. And the police get a couple of leads over the next few days about it. A few locals call in to say, hey, we've noticed this strange character lurking around the lake. Around the time Venus disappeared, maybe they're connected. And then another tip comes in. Saying two witnesses saw him there again.

• 21:26Garrett Moreland?

  What the freak?

• 21:27Payton Moreland?

  For Venus disappeared. So police are like, hey, we've had a couple tips about this strange guy and then she goes missing. We'll look into it. So they end up dredging that lake over the next few days, but they don't find anything. Like they don't find a body. They don't find any clues. Instead, family and search parties continue looking for 32 year old Venus. Throughout the area with helicopters and search dogs. You know who isn't at the search though, or who hasn't even like?

• 21:56Garrett Moreland?

  I know.

• 21:56Payton Moreland?

  Come down to check on his girls with their mother missing Doug Stewart. But at the same time, he has no problem giving a media interview saying he's very concerned.

• 22:08Garrett Moreland?

  Oh my gosh.

• 22:09Payton Moreland?

  Despite the issues in their marriage, he still loves her. So the more police talk to Doug. The more confused they're getting about the situation and honestly, his alibi. Which is why Michigan police actually team up with local detectives in Newport News. They're like, listen. We know he, he has an alibi. We've kind of looked into it, but can like, we still feel like that he might be involved. So. A few days after her disappearance, they knock on Doug's door and they're like, hey, we have a warrant to search your house. Basically they're hoping to find any sign that Venus has been back at the apartment with him, clothes, toiletries, devices, anything. But instead they walk away with some of Doug's computers and no trace of Venus.

• 22:52Payton Moreland?

  But they're not done because the warrant also allows them to search Doug's truck. And it's in the truck that things start to go sideways. Now, when police open Doug's truck. They find that it is a total mess. There's old food on the floor. There's trash everywhere, crumpled up papers and receipts. But one of the receipts really stood out. It was from Walmart. And Garrett, can you just guess what's on this receipt in the truck?

• 23:20Garrett Moreland?

  Yes, I will. Ready?

• 23:21Payton Moreland?

  Everyone else will too. Go ahead.

• 23:23Garrett Moreland?

  Shovel.

• 23:23Payton Moreland?

  Yep.

• 23:24Garrett Moreland?

  Rope.

• 23:25Payton Moreland?

  Hmm, no.

• 23:26Garrett Moreland?

  Duck tape.

• 23:28Payton Moreland?

  No.

• 23:29Garrett Moreland?

  Tape, tarp.

• 23:30Payton Moreland?

  Yes.

• 23:32Garrett Moreland?

  Bleach, cleaning supplies.

• 23:33Payton Moreland?

  Gloves.

• 23:33Garrett Moreland?

  Gloves.

• 23:34Payton Moreland?

  Hat.

• 23:34Garrett Moreland?

  Hat, a hat?

• 23:35Payton Moreland?

  Yes.

• 23:37Garrett Moreland?

  That's it.

• 23:37Payton Moreland?

  Now, if you remember, there was something out of place at the McCombs' house.

• 23:43Garrett Moreland?

  It was kind of fun.

• 23:44Payton Moreland?

  Plastic wrapping for a tarp in the backyard.

• 23:47Garrett Moreland?

  Yes.

• 23:47Payton Moreland?

  But they're like, we have no idea where this came from. Well, now that they see this receipt and see that Doug bought the same exact size and brand as the one they found in the backyard, they're like, we're looking into this. But the Walmart was down in Vanwerth, Ohio. This is about two hours southeast from where Venus was living, which is strange. And the police weren't able to make out the date on the receipt because it had been crumpled. So a few detectives called down to that Walmart. They're like, hey, we just need to ask about this purchase. And they tell them when it was made. April 25th, that was the day before Venus disappeared from her family home.

• 24:29Payton Moreland?

  And they also asked the Walmart if they have security footage from the time of the purchase. And Walmart's like, yeah, here you go. They happily send it over. And sure enough, there's a video of Doug Stewart shopping there around that time. One employee also said they remembered him because of the strange outfit he had on. Apparently, he was wearing this Hawaiian shirt with totally mismatched swim shorts.

• 24:52Garrett Moreland?

  Okay.

• 24:52Payton Moreland?

  So she was like.

• 24:53Garrett Moreland?

  I can like picture in my head exactly what he's wearing.

• 24:55Payton Moreland?

  She's like, he's buying a kill kit, you know, minus the rope and tape. And just wearing the weirdest outfit. So it stuck out. So at this point, they pretty much are like, what are the chances that he has this receipt? We have him on footage and then this tarp is found there. And he's also the ex-husband that everyone is pointing the finger at. Yet, something is screaming inside of these detectives, saying, we are still missing something. Because Doug still had a really solid alibi for the day she went missing. People saw him in Virginia. So investigators wonder, is it possible that Doug was working with someone else to kidnap his wife? Like, did he buy all the tools and then hire a hitman to kidnap and kill his wife?

• 25:40Payton Moreland?

  There has to be something else going on. So they don't charge Doug yet. First, they're going to circle back to the alibi. So if you recall, Doug claimed he went to his lawyer's office on the day of Venus's disappearance around 9:30 a.m. to pay them for their representation in the child custody case. The secretaries, when police called, they were like, yep, he was here. But detectives are wondering, could they have like lied? Made some sort of arrangement, lied about the time, do they know him? Or was it someone other than Doug who came in and made that payment that day, but said his name was Doug? I mean, it's not like he actually spoke to his own lawyer, just the secretaries. Well, when they asked the secretaries to describe Doug, they're like, he was wearing a baseball hat

• 26:25Payton Moreland?

  with a hoodie over it and he had on big aviator sunglasses. And police are like, so you didn't actually even see his like real face or his hair or anything? And when they asked the women, okay, well, are you positive it was Doug Stewart? Like who he was claiming to be, are you sure? And they're like, no, we can't really be positive. They had never met him before that day, so they really had nothing to compare him to. They had no reason to believe this guy wasn't who he said he was. So now police are thinking option two is more likely that someone had come in and made the payment for Doug to secure his alibi while he was kidnapping his wife. Question was who?

• 27:06Garrett Moreland?

  All right, guys, we're jumping into an ad and it is the one and only Skims.

• 27:11Payton Moreland?

  We love Skims and I'm so excited I get to talk to you about their loungewear and pajamas. If you follow me on Instagram, I just posted, but I did get one of their sleep sets. That's like a deep burgundy color. So cute, so rich, so soft. And then I also got a fleece set that's like this chocolate brown. So freaking cute. I love a good matching set and I love Skims. Again, the sleep set I got is a soft lounge sleep set. I always get asked like what exactly it is.

• 27:52Payton Moreland?

  So yes, the soft lounge sleep set, it has the perfect weight, the perfect stretch. The fabric will not irritate your skin. Honestly, I recommend SKIMS to everyone due to just the quality and the comfort that it brings. So go check out their cotton fleece sets or their sleep sets right now.

• 28:12Garrett Moreland?

  Shop Peyton's favorite loungewear and pajamas at SKIMS.com. After you place your order, be sure to let them know we sent you. Select podcast in the survey and be sure to select our show in the dropdown menu that follows.

• 28:25Payton Moreland?

  Guys, I'm not sure if I have talked about this, but I have been put on an extremely restrictive diet while being pregnant and you know what has helped me so much? Hungry Root, I know, I know, you knew that was coming. It is so nice to be able to still shop, but get on and put in my preferences, put exactly what I'm looking for. Pick out recipes that fit my dietary restrictions. I love Hungry Root. We've actually been using them since like, I think 2022 was when I first started using them. That was before they were even a sponsor of the show. Okay. If you've never checked it out, you're interested in online grocery delivery that has quality products.

• 29:09Payton Moreland?

  I'm talking healthier alternatives. They're very transparent with what is in the ingredients. You can trust that what you're getting from Hungry Root is top notch. It completely changes the way of shopping and also for me has really helped ease my mind when it comes to this new diet. So you're going to love Hungry Root as much as I do. For a limited time, you can get 40% off your first order. Plus get a free item in every box for life. Go to hungryroot.com/husband and use code HUSBAND for that, you guys. That is hungryroot.com/husband code HUSBAND to get 40% off your first box and a free item of your choice for life. So they decide to get a warrant for Doug's phone records.

• 29:53Payton Moreland?

  And they find that just a few days before Venus went missing, Doug had started chatting a lot with a brand new number. And then the day before Venus disappeared, Doug's phone was actually turned off for most of the day, which is so interesting because you know. Back in the day, it was like, oh, your cell phone's gonna get you in trouble. It's gonna show that you murdered people. So people killers started turning their phone off.

• 30:16Garrett Moreland?

  But now it's more of a red flag.

• 30:17Payton Moreland?

  But now it's more like, why was your phone off for 24 hours?

• 30:21Garrett Moreland?

  What are you doing, turning your phone off?

• 30:22Payton Moreland?

  Yes. So it's almost, it's almost backfired and become like a, well, they turned their phone off. Who, who does that nowadays? So it turns off and it doesn't turn back on until the following evening. And after that, the calls to that mysterious number start coming in and out again. Well, detectives easily trace the unknown number back to a small town in Delaware called Bear. And they find that this number belongs to a 20-year-old college kid.

• 30:51Garrett Moreland?

  What?

• 30:52Payton Moreland?

  Who still lives with his parents. A kid named Ricky Spencer.

• 30:57Garrett Moreland?

  Well, he's gonna crack super fast.

• 31:00Payton Moreland?

  So police are like, oh, okay, who is Ricky? That's what they want to know. He has no criminal history, no arrest reports. His dad is a successful vet with his own clinic. He's got what seems to be a pretty loving, stable home, and he lives 250 miles away from Doug Stewart. So how do they even know each other? Why are they calling each other? Well, on June 21st, 2010, police stopped by the Spencer household unannounced. To find out, shockingly, Ricky's not what they were expecting. He's clean cut, he's polite. Police are like, okay, this is why we're here. Tell us about yourself. And he shares one thing in common with Doug. Video games.

• 31:44Garrett Moreland?

  Okay.

• 31:45Payton Moreland?

  That's how he got acquainted with Doug. According to him, the two met through Xbox Live. They had been playing and communicating together for about a year and a half. Ricky said they didn't meet in person until fairly recently. It was actually April 1st, 2010, when Doug invited Ricky down to stay at his place over Ricky's spring break. It's like, hey, college kid, come stay with me for spring break. So Ricky went down for about a week. Yeah, for about a week to hang out. And he was like, it was fun. Doug showed me an awesome time. They played video games. They went to Busch Gardens. They had nice dinners. And 38-year-old Doug even tried to take him to some clubs, but Ricky couldn't get in. Cause he's not 21 yet. So police, when he says-

• 32:29Garrett Moreland?

  This whole thing is extremely strange, by the way.

• 32:32Payton Moreland?

  Well, when he, when he says it to police, police literally say to him like, Ricky, this is weird. Like, this is creepy.

• 32:38Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah, who does this?

• 32:40Payton Moreland?

  And Ricky somewhat agrees with them. He's like, he, he's nice. He is a little awkward. I think he's just lonely. Like, I think he's just lonely. He told me the story about his wife, that his wife had recently gone missing. She was always playing weird pranks and things on him and, you know, she's just missing now and that was that. But Ricky tells the police after that visit, he didn't see Doug in person again. That was the last time. Only the police know that's a lie. On April 25th, the day before Venus went missing, Ricky's phone was in Delaware. Ricky was too young to turn it off.

• 33:16Garrett Moreland?

  Ricky, Ricky.

• 33:17Payton Moreland?

  He didn't turn it off, okay?

• 33:19Garrett Moreland?

  He's involved, yep.

• 33:21Payton Moreland?

  And on the 26th, it pinged a tower just north of Doug's place in Newport News. And when police bring Ricky down to the station for questioning, they confront him. They're like, you said you hadn't seen him, but we know you were there. They tell him Doug is a suspect in his wife's disappearance and murder. And if Ricky doesn't start talking, he will be too. And like Garrett said, Ricky opens up. He's like, okay, okay, okay. I helped Doug with his plan. Doug had confessed to him that he was gonna kill his wife and he needed help covering it up. And young Ricky agreed.

• 33:53Garrett Moreland?

  Ricky, what the?

• 33:55Payton Moreland?

  Apparently, this is all he had to do. Doug asked Ricky Spencer to dress up in his clothes and go to his attorney's office on April 26th to hand over a payment. And then he had Ricky use his credit card at the movies and a fast food restaurant to further solidify his alibi. He's like, that's it. That, that's, you know, I was just there to create an alibi. And then after that, Ricky drove down and met Doug near Bethesda, Maryland, and gave Doug his clothes and credit cards back to him. Ricky said when they initially talked, he, he didn't think Doug was actually gonna kill his wife. He was like, but I like Doug, so I just wanted to help a friend. Mainly because Doug had told Ricky that Venus was abusing their daughters.

• 34:37Payton Moreland?

  And that their lives were in danger unless Doug stepped in to save them from their mom. So 20-year-old Ricky Spencer is arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit manslaughter. And on June 22nd, 2010, the day after police first spoke with Ricky, Doug is arrested too. And they're like, hey, your little buddy.

• 34:57Garrett Moreland?

  Confess.

• 34:58Payton Moreland?

  Confess. He's charged with first degree premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit first degree premeditated murder. And meanwhile, a few more pieces are falling into place. For example, that tarp wrapper that was found in the McCombs backyard after Venus disappeared, they had taken it and fingerprinted it. And sure enough, one of the prints matched Doug Stewart. There's also a neighbor of Doug's who lives in the same apartment complex as him. And he comes forward to say about three or four days after Venus went missing, he had a conversation with Doug who complained to him about how awful Venus was. But meanwhile, Doug was covered with scratches and bruises all over his neck, arms and legs. So it's not looking good for Doug.

• 35:41Payton Moreland?

  Ricky, on the other hand, enters a no contest plea and agrees to be the star witness for the prosecution in Doug's trial. And in exchange, he's only going to get a sentence of one year in county jail for being the alibi. But Doug, he keeps insisting he had nothing to do with his wife's death. And he maintains that along with a not guilty plea when it comes time for his trial in February of 2011. Now during Ricky's testimony at this trial, he told the jury about the plan Doug had laid out before him, how in addition to pretending to be him, Doug told him how he was going to commit the crime. According to Ricky, Doug had said he planned to choke Venus and bury her in a spot he had already picked out.

• 36:26Payton Moreland?

  And after three weeks of testimony, Doug was convicted on all charges and he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

• 36:32Garrett Moreland?

  Okay, well, that was easy.

• 36:33Payton Moreland?

  It was a win. It was a win for the prosecution considering there's one giant piece of evidence still missing.

• 36:39Garrett Moreland?

  The body.

• 36:40Payton Moreland?

  Venus.

• 36:40Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah.

• 36:41Payton Moreland?

  During the sentencing hearing, Venus's family begged Doug. They're like, please just tell us, tell us where she's buried. But Doug's like, I can't. I didn't kill her.

• 36:49Garrett Moreland?

  My gosh, I can't.

• 36:52Garrett Moreland?

  See, this is where I think that this is where we should torture people. I don't know how else to say it. I don't know how to say it.

• 37:00Payton Moreland?

  Yeah, it's not really fair.

• 37:01Garrett Moreland?

  That's not fair. It's just not fair.

• 37:03Payton Moreland?

  So he said, quote, "All I have to say is I'm innocent. I did not do these crimes. I ask police to continue looking for my wife. If not for me, for my children, they need to know what happened to their mother." Now, after being sent to prison, Doug even wrote a letter to the prosecution and local media about what he believed happened. He said, "I think my friend Ricky Spencer, who had never met my wife,

• 37:26Garrett Moreland?

  Oh my.

• 37:27Payton Moreland?

  Killed my wife, and he knew where the body was." In fact, in July of 2011, right after his sentencing hearing, Doug gives an interview to Dateline NBC to basically reiterate his innocence. And in it, he says he loved his wife and that all of Ricky's testimony against him on the stand was a lie. But the decision had been made. Doug's in jail for life. Over the years, he appeals. But meanwhile, officers visit Doug annually to see if he's changed his mind. They're like, can you please give us a location? Maybe offer some peace to your growing daughters or, you know, her family. It doesn't seem to be the case. Searches are still happening. Tips are still coming in. Over two dozen psychics, contact authorities, but none of it goes anywhere.

• 38:11Payton Moreland?

  And during that time, the family,

• 38:13Garrett Moreland?

  Psychics.

• 38:13Payton Moreland?

  The family even hires a private investigator to try to look and see if there's any clues as to where her body could be. And they also start the Venus Foundation. It's a nonprofit dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence.

• 38:26Garrett Moreland?

  Thanks. So they really still can't find her body?

• 38:29Payton Moreland?

  Well, here's the thing. Time goes on, and apparently, things start changing for Doug in prison. He starts dropping subtle hints in conversations with other inmates, like, "Well, if I had killed my wife," that sort of thing.

• 38:45Garrett Moreland?

  Why? I wonder why they do that? Because I feel like this isn't...

• 38:49Payton Moreland?

  It's gotta be like bragging.

• 38:50Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah, it's gotta be some support, some form of bragging because it's not just this case. I feel like it happens, like it happens in a lot of cases where.

• 38:59Payton Moreland?

  I also think their social structure is just different in prison.

• 39:02Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah.

• 39:03Payton Moreland?

  You know what I mean? So he's testing the waters and then he tries to bargain with authorities. He's like, listen, I'll offer up what I know. I'll tell you what I've been withholding under a few conditions. He wants to be able to go to his parents' funerals when they die, but more importantly, he wants an Xbox in prison so he can play video games. Said, I'll tell you where she's buried if you get me an Xbox. At the beginning of the episode, you said, yes.

• 39:28Garrett Moreland?

  I just feel like there'd be a way easier way to get an Xbox. I mean, I say, yeah, give him the Xbox.

• 39:33Payton Moreland?

  For the body?

• 39:34Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah, it's a freaking Xbox.

• 39:36Payton Moreland?

  Well, if he starts talking to Ricky again.

• 39:38Garrett Moreland?

  He's in prison. They can play Xbox in prison?

• 39:42Payton Moreland?

  I don't think so.

• 39:43Garrett Moreland?

  Then why does he want an Xbox?

• 39:44Payton Moreland?

  I'll tell you what, they have TikTok though. Have you seen those inmates TikToks?

• 39:48Garrett Moreland?

  Now I'm even more confused. Okay.

• 39:49Payton Moreland?

  So the authorities are like, absolutely no way are you getting to leave for your parents' funerals, but we'll get you an Xbox if you tell us where Venus is buried. And that's pretty much all it took. After that, Doug agrees to an exclusive interview with News Channel 3 and admits, fine, I am the one who abducted, murdered and buried Venus Stewart. Here's what he said happened. While playing video games, he started talking to an online friend, Ricky, about his issues with his wife and that friend joke, maybe you should just kill her to solve his problems. Doug said, quote, what started out as a fantasy slowly turned into planning. In fact, Doug had actually attempted to murder his wife before that April day. Apparently there was another time when he was driving down to Michigan and he got pulled over on his way there.

• 40:31Payton Moreland?

  So instead of continuing his plan, because there goes his alibi, he decided to go back to Virginia.

• 40:36Garrett Moreland?

  Okay.

• 40:37Payton Moreland?

  He coordinated with Ricky Spencer and then tried again. He drove down to Michigan, hid outside the McCombs' house, called the home saying he was from USPS and had a package. Venus walked down to the mailbox, Doug was hiding nearby. He jumped out and ambushed her. So her, her little girls were right. She had gone to get the mail and never came back.

• 40:56Garrett Moreland?

  So sad, by the way, this is absolutely horrible.

• 40:59Payton Moreland?

  He choked her, she fell unconscious. He drove to another location and there, when she woke up, they had a conversation. During that Venus mentioned something that set him off. And he said he killed her. He carried her into the woods, buried her. So on October 22nd, 2018, this is 3,000 days of proclaiming his innocence.

• 41:20Payton Moreland?

  He then just randomly leads them to the site of her buried body, all for an Xbox. It was in a wooded area about 15 miles away from the house. It was a place that Doug knew. He had actually previously cut wood on the owner's property in the past. And Doug knew exactly where on that property to go, even eight years later. He left two tree stumps marking Venus's grave. And Venus's family felt he showed zero remorse during all of this. He led police there, stone faced, no emotion, like it was just another day. And by 8:00 PM that night, officers cleared the area and had recovered Venus's body. That same day also happened to be the birthday of one of Venus and Doug's daughters.

• 42:03Payton Moreland?

  Venus's dad Larry, the person who actually first realized she was missing, died before her body was recovered. He never got to lay her to rest. But at least her daughters, who are now in their twenties, have a place to visit their mother. She was finally buried on December 15th, 2018, next to her father. And it turns out Doug will get to spend the rest of the days with the one thing he loved most in this world. An Xbox. Though the prison does have some rules, no internet connection, meaning he can't talk to anyone, so he's not talking to Ricky.

• 42:35Garrett Moreland?

  Bro, I'd get so bored not having an Xbox and playing with other people.

• 42:39Payton Moreland?

  Wait, and get this, he's a grown man, right?

• 42:41Garrett Moreland?

  I mean, the internet.

• 42:41Payton Moreland?

  Like late, like he's, he's grown.

• 42:45Payton Moreland?

  He only has 30 minutes a day to play. Which to me is just like, you're 12, you're 12, you're literally 12, like your parents.

• 42:52Garrett Moreland?

  Embarrassment, dude.

• 42:53Payton Moreland?

  Like your parents are like only 30 minutes on the Xbox today.

• 42:56Garrett Moreland?

  So embarrassing. What an absolute loser. Like what a, I hope you're listening to this because you're a loser.

• 43:02Payton Moreland?

  But without that little bit of bribery or incentive for the Xbox, whatever you want to call it. It's possible that the ending to Venus's story would still be a mystery today and they would have never found her body. And that is the murder of Venus Stewart.

• 43:16Garrett Moreland?

  This is so sad. I mean, I feel so bad for those daughters, for those kids. My apologies and hard out to them. It's just absolutely awful that their dad killed their mom.

• 43:24Payton Moreland?

  It's devastating.

• 43:25Garrett Moreland?

  They don't have a dad and they don't have a mom. Like just horrible.

• 43:29Payton Moreland?

  Thank you guys so much for listening to today's episode and we will see you next time with another one. I love it.

• 43:36Garrett Moreland?

  I hate it.

• 43:36Payton Moreland?

  Goodbye.

• 43:46Speaker 00

  Great meeting. Who took notes? Anyone?

• 43:50Speaker 04

  With Monday NoteTaker, the meeting ends and the plan already exists. Action items, owners, deadlines. Go to monday.com, the AI workspace platform.