hi, mom. this woman had gone out to get the mail and disappeared in her pyjamas the case was never closed. it was consuming all of us. the individual was wearing a baseball cap, hoodie with the hood pulled up and large mirrored sunglasses. oh, my gosh, did this really happen? i m like, no, dude, i can t do this. there was a scream. a drop of blood came from her nose. it was like a game. he was a part of this game. we re done with the games. it needs to stop. it needed to stop. michigan snow blankets field and woodland with silent beauty, sometimes encasing ugly secrets hidden beneath, never meant to be disturbed until finally they re revealed and all is made clear. i know a lot of people say, you wanted to find her. yeah, i wanted to find her, but then it was going to become so real to me that maybe you don t want to find yeah, yeah. start with the mother of two who vanished as she stepped outside her door to pick up mail. she wasn t there, and
okay, did he say why? to hide her? to hide? or to get rid of her. lieutenant christiansen called detective scott back in michigan. they d broken it. he s our guy. and mike s reaction was something to the effect of holy cow. reporter: mike scott, who d preached patience with the prosecutor before, immediately dispatched officers to apprehend doug stewart. trooper aaron steensma was part of the team that tailed him to this convenience store. we just walked in and said, douglas stewart, you re under arrest, and he turned around and placed the hand cuffs on him. were you surprised? absolutely. absolutely. i thought it was a mistake, and i d get an apology. reporter: doug had told police from the beginning he thought venus skipped out on him and his kids, after his arrest, he said it again to detective scott. i got very upset. i told him, i said, i ve worked with you
and she had this fear that i was going something was going to happen to me, so she wanted me to get out of the military in 2003. reporter: in 2003 they began civilian life together. they moved into this house not far from where they grew up. venus worked at a bank and he at applebees. venus hoped and parade for two little girls. i hoped and prays for two babies. we both got her reporter: andd venus like being a mom? that was her number one priori reporter: but stay-at-home mom wasn t for her. so you became mr. absolutely. it was the best years of my life. reporter: when he kicked back, mom enjoyed his xbox. thanks to the game s live feature he s talk to other first-person shooters far and wide. they became fast he spent so many hours wandering the virtual world, he stopped
from day one. i do not know where my wife is. therese, how did you learn that doug had been arrested? oh, the state police came to the house and told us. the same day they told us venus was deceased. they said they arrested him for murder, and [inaudible] right out from underneath her. i didn t want to accept that he would do that to her. reporter: police had declared her dead even without finding her body and prosecutors were preparing to file a first degree murder charge. but as doug stewart got ready to stand trial for murder, venus family s trials were far from over. coming up! douglas stewart caused the death of venus stewart. in the courtroom how easy? he was very good at presenting himself as the all american guy. it was very bizarre. you re on trial for murring your wife and none of this seemed to effect him one bit. when dateline continues. o! (bridget vo) with thyroid eye disease. i hid from the camera.
in centerville, michigan, in st. joseph county. it had been nearly a year since venus stewart disappeared in her pajamas. her husband, doug, was now on trial for her murder, even though the body was never found. a fundamental fact of the defense s case. doug pleaded not guilty, and said he was surprised he was even arrested. this is my opening statement. reporter: the responsibility for prosecuting doug stewart fell to baby-faced john mcdonough. douglas stewart caused the death of venus stewart. reporter: seated at the defense table, doug stewart wearing casual guy sweaters and sweater vests. courtroom demeanor, what d you see, john? he was very good at kinda presenting himself as kinda the all-american guy. it was very bizarre. cause we would go into chambers, he would talk out loud like he was one of the