Murder Suspect Put Tracking Device On Victim's Car Weeks Before Slaying: Report

OSWEGO, IL — Weeks before Ashley Stewart was killed inside her Oswego home, her ex-husband, the accused murderer, put a tracking device on her car, according to a report from Shaw Local.

Ryan Dodd, 44, was arrested Jan. 29 after Stewart, 41, was found dead in her residence on Valentine Way in Oswego. He was charged with first-degree murder, home invasion, armed violence, residential burglary and aggravated stalking.

Investigators found that Dodd surveilled Stewart four times between Dec. 14 and Jan. 21 using a GPS tracking device he had installed under the rear bumper of her black 2022 Ford Expedition, Shaw Local reported.

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First responders found Stewart dead in her home Jan. 27, shortly after Oswego police received a 911 call from Stewart's husband, who told dispatchers he believed his wife was in danger after seeing, via home surveillance footage, a man chase her into their garage, Patch reported. The caller told police he believed the suspect was his wife's former husband.

When Oswego detectives executed a search warrant Jan. 28 at Dodd's residence in the 2300 block of Pagosa Springs Drive in Aurora, they found clothing that matched the suspect in surveillance footage on the day of the killing, as well as a large knife, according to Shaw Local.

About a month before the slaying, a judge ordered Dodd to pay Stewart about $15,000 per month in emergency child support, according to court documents obtained by Patch. The pair, who share five children, were married in 2004 in Greenville, Michigan. They filed for divorce in February 2021, and it was finalized in 2022.

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As of Wednesday, Dodd remains at the Kendall County jail. His next court date is set for March 9.