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
about anything in this case, i want you to think about the word guesswork. reporter: in its opening argument, the defense asked jurors to pay close attention to a prosecution case that had no victim s body and no eyewitness who saw the defendant in michigan, much less killing his wife. i believe at the end of this case, the prosecutor is going to ask you to guess. reporter: after ricky spencer s riveting testimony, anticipation was building. would the defense be able to rock the wild story from the so-called double? the defense lawyers, jeff and kymberly schroeder, the married and highly regarded team, were poised to attack more than ricky s testimony. they were going after his character, too, and the deal, they claimed he d made for leniency with the prosecution. my defense, my story, had to do with ricky evading life in prison, ricky being an
reporter: so what about all those purchases at walmart? doug stewart seen walking the aisles in loud, floral shorts? they asked rhetorically would a man about to commit a murder be so dumb as to call that kind of attention to himself? is he trying to hide things? he s wearing hawaiian shorts asking people where things are. does that sound like somebody who s going to use it in a crime? reporter: and he bought a shovel, the defense attorney noted. so what? what evidence have they shown you that a shovel was used in the killing of venus stewart? they have not. reporter: schroeder summed it up for the jury. he claimed the prosecutor had an illusion of evidence, a circumstantial case woven together with ricky spencer s tall tale. they ve tried to make you think they have all this evidence, but they don t. and they haven t proved their case.
testimony, anticipation was building. would the defense be able to rock the wild story from the so-called double? the defense lawyers, jeff and kymberly schroeder, the married and highly regarded team, were poised to attack more than ricky s testimony. they were going after his character, too, and the deal, they claimed he d made for leniency with the prosecution. my defense, my story, had to do with ricky evading life in prison, ricky being an accomplished liar. reporter: cross examination strategy number one was to muss up the clean-cut young man image he projected from the stand. they started with the x-rated screen name, the tag, he d picked for himself when he played xbox live. ricky, your gamer tag is dark [ bleep ], isn t it? yes, that s correct. what s a [ bleep ]? it means a bunch of guys. reporter: ricky explained to the jury the overt and very explicit sexual connotations of his online name. the defense wanted the jury to look at ricky as an unsavory
you that a shovel was used in the killing of venus stewart? they haven t. reporter: schroeder summed it up for the jury. he claimed the prosecutor had an illusion of evidence, a circumstantial case woven together with ricky spencer s tall tale. they ve tried to make you think they have all this evidence, but they don t. and they haven t proved their case. you have a duty to do. and that s to find doug stewart not guilty. coming up you believe she s alive? i ve gotta believe she s alive. reporter: what would the jury do? the clerk will read the verdict. a verdict and a whole new chapter in the mystery. he showed up to the door. he said that it was part of the case. the case was never closed. that s the missing piece. when dateline continues.