Update in Venus Stewart Case: Husband Charged with Murder

The case of a missing Michigan woman has turned into a homicide investigation, and on Wednesday prosecutors announced that they have officially charged Venus Stewart's estranged husband with her murder. The 32-year-old mother was last seen in the early morning hours of April 26th when she went to retrieve the mail in front of her parent's home in Colon Township.

Doug Stewart is accused of driving overnight to Michigan, luring Venus outside, abducting and killing her and then disposing of her body. CBS affiliate WWMT said that the final break in the case came when investigators located a man named Richard Spencer, who has admitted to impersonating Douglas Stewart in Virginia in an attempt to give him an alibi. Several other pieces of evidence have linked Stewart to the crime, including tire marks left behind at the scene that appeared to match those on his truck. A neighbor also told police that at about 7 a.m. on the day Venus disappeared, she spotted a “light gray colored” pickup truck with four doors parked in a field near her residence and that a white male was “crouched behind” the vehicle. Five minutes later, the truck was gone, according to a search warrant affidavit.

Douglas Stewart faces one count of open murder, and one count of conspiracy to commit murder.


Source:
WWMT Newschannel 3. Updated: Douglas Stewart charged with murder. June 23, 2010.