Murder Victim's Daughter Describes Mother As 'Fearful'
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By By Kristin Holtz-
“Tony, where is my mom? Please tell me you didn’t hurt her.”
The response: “Kelsey, I definitely did not hurt her. I got a text around 10. She was leaving town for a few days.”
But Long’s mom, 45-year-old Ruth Anne Maddox, wasn’t out of town. Instead, she was dead, her body wrapped in bloody towels and a tent in the couple’s Prior Lake garage.
Long testified Wednesday in Scott County District Court in the second-degree murder trial of Charles Anthony “Tony” Maddox Jr. Maddox, 47, is accused of killing his estranged wife, Shakopee Valley News reporter Ruth Anne Maddox, in November 2008. The couple was in the middle of a contested divorce.
A former Warsaw resident, Ruth Anne worked for the Times-Union from April 1, 1987, to July 8, 2003. During her tenure at the Times-Union, she covered general assignments, as well as police and courts under the bylines of Ruth Anne Lipka and Ruth Anne Long.
Jurors also listened to an audio recording from the night of Maddox’s arrest. Prior Lake Police Detective Darcy White recorded the conversation when officers executed their search warrant in the early morning hours of Nov. 12.
On the recording, Maddox said the couple had been arguing about some boxes in the house before he took the couple’s dogs into his bedroom and locked the door.
When he opened the door, he stated, Ruth Anne had a knife and screwdriver in her hands. He kicked the door back at her, which forced her to fall backward. He then threw the door, which had come off its broken frame, at her.
White said she began recording the conversation after Maddox said, “I might as well as save you some time. You’re going to find Ruth Anne’s body in the garage.”
Long, 22, who lives in Indiana, said her mother was upset when she discovered Long continued to communicate with Tony after learning about the impending divorce. “She told me not to speak with him and not to share anything with him.”
That was a red flag, Long said. “I knew she was fearful. She had never told me that about anyone before,” Long said. It led her to wonder “what was going on behind closed doors.”
Ruth Anne’s friend, Craig Hoskins, said that he knew Ruth Anne had concerns about her safety after an incident in which Tony had pulled her down the stairs by her leg a year before her death.
Shortly before midnight Nov. 10, Hoskins said Ruth Anne told him over the phone that she was frustrated with Tony after he demanded half of her 401(k) retirement account and one of the couple’s two dogs. She said she planned to use leverage in the divorce, he said.
“I told her she shouldn’t have said that. That would make him desperate,” Hoskins said.
Defense attorney Fred Bruno questioned Hoskins about the nature of his relationship with Rune Anne. Bruno asked whether the two had made a commitment to be together when Ruth Anne returned to Indiana following her divorce.
Hoskins said it “wasn’t exactly a commitment” but they had talked about getting married. They had also spent a weekend together in October in Wisconsin Dells, he said.
Investigation
White also broke down her department’s investigation into Ruth Anne’s disappearance. White, who was a patrol officer in 2008, went to the Maddox home four times on Nov. 11 and early Nov. 12.
The first time no one answered the door, so White returned with two officers after 6 p.m. Tony Maddox answered the door and was polite and cooperative but did not allow the officers inside, White said. According to White, Tony said Ruth Anne had texted him in that morning that she had a doctor appointment and was leaving for a few days.
Tony provided the officers with some names and phone numbers of Ruth Anne’s friends and family in Indiana but refused to sign a missing person report. “They’re married and he wouldn’t sign a missing persons form, which I thought was odd,” White said.
White described Tony as curt when the officers asked questions about Ruth Anne, but he provided information about things they never asked about, such as their divorce.
After leaving the townhome, White contacted Ruth Anne’s friends and sought cell phone records. She also began looking into the defendant’s whereabouts on the evening of Nov. 10.
White said one of the things she learned from friends is that Ruth Anne would never voluntarily leave the dogs with Tony.
The officers returned to the house at 9:14 p.m. and Tony again talked to the police on the front porch. He told officers that his attorney had just informed him Ruth Anne agreed to let him keep the dogs and half her 401(k).
Maddox said he had spent the day driving to La Crosse, Wis., and getting the dogs’ nails clipped. He again refused to sign a missing persons report.
The officers later returned with a search warrant.
Screwdriver
Bruno questioned White on whether anyone secured the screwdriver Ruth Anne had used to threaten Tony. White said she didn’t look for anything but Ruth Anne when they executed the search warrant.
Earlier Wednesday, Bruno had asked Eric Grunewald, a forensic scientist with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension team that responded to the scene, whether investigators had inventoried the screwdriver.
“Even though you saw it, you didn’t think this little screwdriver was significant?” Bruno asked.
“No, I didn’t at the time I made the sketches,” said Grunewald, who said it was not his task to locate and label items.
Evidence
Prior Lake Police Detective Chris Olson was introducing the 41 items his office took from the scene when the court recessed Wednesday. Among the items to be entered into evidence are bloody towels, blankets, clothing, sleeping bag and tent; cleaning supplies; blood spatters on furniture and carpeting; two knives; a note found in Ruth Anne’s car; and garbage bags.[[In-content Ad]]
“Tony, where is my mom? Please tell me you didn’t hurt her.”
The response: “Kelsey, I definitely did not hurt her. I got a text around 10. She was leaving town for a few days.”
But Long’s mom, 45-year-old Ruth Anne Maddox, wasn’t out of town. Instead, she was dead, her body wrapped in bloody towels and a tent in the couple’s Prior Lake garage.
Long testified Wednesday in Scott County District Court in the second-degree murder trial of Charles Anthony “Tony” Maddox Jr. Maddox, 47, is accused of killing his estranged wife, Shakopee Valley News reporter Ruth Anne Maddox, in November 2008. The couple was in the middle of a contested divorce.
A former Warsaw resident, Ruth Anne worked for the Times-Union from April 1, 1987, to July 8, 2003. During her tenure at the Times-Union, she covered general assignments, as well as police and courts under the bylines of Ruth Anne Lipka and Ruth Anne Long.
Jurors also listened to an audio recording from the night of Maddox’s arrest. Prior Lake Police Detective Darcy White recorded the conversation when officers executed their search warrant in the early morning hours of Nov. 12.
On the recording, Maddox said the couple had been arguing about some boxes in the house before he took the couple’s dogs into his bedroom and locked the door.
When he opened the door, he stated, Ruth Anne had a knife and screwdriver in her hands. He kicked the door back at her, which forced her to fall backward. He then threw the door, which had come off its broken frame, at her.
White said she began recording the conversation after Maddox said, “I might as well as save you some time. You’re going to find Ruth Anne’s body in the garage.”
Long, 22, who lives in Indiana, said her mother was upset when she discovered Long continued to communicate with Tony after learning about the impending divorce. “She told me not to speak with him and not to share anything with him.”
That was a red flag, Long said. “I knew she was fearful. She had never told me that about anyone before,” Long said. It led her to wonder “what was going on behind closed doors.”
Ruth Anne’s friend, Craig Hoskins, said that he knew Ruth Anne had concerns about her safety after an incident in which Tony had pulled her down the stairs by her leg a year before her death.
Shortly before midnight Nov. 10, Hoskins said Ruth Anne told him over the phone that she was frustrated with Tony after he demanded half of her 401(k) retirement account and one of the couple’s two dogs. She said she planned to use leverage in the divorce, he said.
“I told her she shouldn’t have said that. That would make him desperate,” Hoskins said.
Defense attorney Fred Bruno questioned Hoskins about the nature of his relationship with Rune Anne. Bruno asked whether the two had made a commitment to be together when Ruth Anne returned to Indiana following her divorce.
Hoskins said it “wasn’t exactly a commitment” but they had talked about getting married. They had also spent a weekend together in October in Wisconsin Dells, he said.
Investigation
White also broke down her department’s investigation into Ruth Anne’s disappearance. White, who was a patrol officer in 2008, went to the Maddox home four times on Nov. 11 and early Nov. 12.
The first time no one answered the door, so White returned with two officers after 6 p.m. Tony Maddox answered the door and was polite and cooperative but did not allow the officers inside, White said. According to White, Tony said Ruth Anne had texted him in that morning that she had a doctor appointment and was leaving for a few days.
Tony provided the officers with some names and phone numbers of Ruth Anne’s friends and family in Indiana but refused to sign a missing person report. “They’re married and he wouldn’t sign a missing persons form, which I thought was odd,” White said.
White described Tony as curt when the officers asked questions about Ruth Anne, but he provided information about things they never asked about, such as their divorce.
After leaving the townhome, White contacted Ruth Anne’s friends and sought cell phone records. She also began looking into the defendant’s whereabouts on the evening of Nov. 10.
White said one of the things she learned from friends is that Ruth Anne would never voluntarily leave the dogs with Tony.
The officers returned to the house at 9:14 p.m. and Tony again talked to the police on the front porch. He told officers that his attorney had just informed him Ruth Anne agreed to let him keep the dogs and half her 401(k).
Maddox said he had spent the day driving to La Crosse, Wis., and getting the dogs’ nails clipped. He again refused to sign a missing persons report.
The officers later returned with a search warrant.
Screwdriver
Bruno questioned White on whether anyone secured the screwdriver Ruth Anne had used to threaten Tony. White said she didn’t look for anything but Ruth Anne when they executed the search warrant.
Earlier Wednesday, Bruno had asked Eric Grunewald, a forensic scientist with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension team that responded to the scene, whether investigators had inventoried the screwdriver.
“Even though you saw it, you didn’t think this little screwdriver was significant?” Bruno asked.
“No, I didn’t at the time I made the sketches,” said Grunewald, who said it was not his task to locate and label items.
Evidence
Prior Lake Police Detective Chris Olson was introducing the 41 items his office took from the scene when the court recessed Wednesday. Among the items to be entered into evidence are bloody towels, blankets, clothing, sleeping bag and tent; cleaning supplies; blood spatters on furniture and carpeting; two knives; a note found in Ruth Anne’s car; and garbage bags.[[In-content Ad]]
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