The warrants were filed in Scott County District Court on Dec. 2.
Tony, the husband of Ruth Anne Maddox, who was a reporter for the Shakopee Valley News, the Savage Pacer and formerly the Times-Union, is charged with second-degree murder in relation to the case.
Police found Ruth Anne's body Nov. 12 in the garage of the town home she and her husband shared in the 16400 block of Timber Crest Drive.
According to search warrants, police believe that on Nov. 11, Tony went to Sears at the Mall of America in Bloomington to buy a piece of luggage, spackle and a spackle knife, then went to Walgreens in Bloomington, Minn., before driving Ruth Anne's car to the airport dressed as a woman. He allegedly parked the car and left a note stating she was "leaving." Police believe Tony then got on the light rail back to the Mall of America, where he caught a bus to the park-and-ride in Savage.
The results of the Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner's investigation show the cause of Ruth Anne's death was homicide. The preliminary investigation indicates she died of blunt force head and neck injuries.
According to state law, an autopsy report conducted by a coroner or medical examiner is confidential data available only to agencies charged by law to investigate the death of an individual. The report remains classified as confidential for 30 years after the death, said Dr. Lindsey Thomas of the medical examiner's office.
The search warrants also show:
Police found a bus schedule, detailing times from the Mall of America to the park-and-ride in Savage, in Tony's pocket when he was arrested on Nov. 12. He also had a tag from a piece of luggage from Sears.
Video surveillance at Sears showed a person police believe to be Tony purchased luggage, spackle and a spackle knife at 12:06 p.m. Nov. 11 from the second floor of the store. During the transaction, a person believed to be Tony was seen wearing a white baseball hat, a blue denim button-down shirt, blue jeans and tan shoes.
Police learned after processing the crime scene on Nov. 12 that a sheetrock wall from within the town home had been damaged, presumably by a door that had been kicked or otherwise knocked off the hinges.
Tony also had a receipt from Walgreens, located at 78th Street and Portland Avenue, Bloomington, with him at the time of the arrest. The receipt was from Nov. 11 at 12:44 p.m. According to Walgreens video surveillance, the person was wearing the same clothes but a black knit hat instead of a white baseball hat.
Police also reviewed video surveillance from the Airport Police Department that showed Ruth Anne's car arrive at the main terminal of the general parking area at 1:36 p.m. Nov. 11.
Surveillance showed what appeared to be a person wearing female clothing get out of the vehicle, walk to the elevators, and take the elevator to the lowest level past ticketing and arrivals while pulling a small piece of luggage. It is uncommon for people to go the lowest level of the airport building from the parking lot, as most people in the lot head directly to departures and ticketing on the main level, one search warrant noted.
The person in the video footage was wearing a tan, three-quarter-length button-down coat, black slacks and a black hat pulled down past the ears and covering the eyebrows. The person also was wearing large, dark glasses.
The person looked up directly at the surveillance camera in the elevator. Police believe the person to be Tony.
The video showed the person walk away from the elevator, but at one point the black slacks pulled up around the area of the cuff and police could see what appeared to be blue jeans under the pants.
Airport police observed the person on surveillance head to an area out of camera range toward a family restroom. The person wearing the women's clothing did not reappear, but a person police believe to be Tony exited the area carrying a small pilot bag and wearing the same clothes he was seen wearing at Sears and Walgreens. He also was wearing a royal blue jacket with black shoulders and sleeves, with a white baseball cap pulled down tight.
A person police believe to be Tony then walked directly to the light-rail area, where he boarded a train to the Mall of America at 2:08 p.m. Nov. 11. He then arrived at the Mall of America at about 2:20 p.m., where he was observed boarding a bus to Savage at about 2:34 p.m.
Police requested that the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension enter the town house, as police believed the white baseball hat, black knit hat, blue denim shirt with black shoulders and sleeves and an Apple computer may be at the home, and police found a black suitcase, matching the description of the one purchased by Charles Maddox, in the master bedroom closet.
During the search on Nov. 12, police and the BCA located and seized those items, along with a color photo of Tony with the blue/black jacket. The clothes were found in the dryer and master bedroom.
Police also found blood evidence throughout the home.
They requested a search warrant to re-enter the home with the BCA on Nov. 20 to look for clothing items and to collect additional blood samples from a wall in the living room that contained blood splatter.
Police also requested the BCA conduct a test for blood on the kitchen counter using Luminol, a chemical that reveals blood evidence after cleanup, as the test wasn't done previously. Police also seized an Apple laptop computer during a second search of the home and requested permission to acquire writing samples by Tony from inside the home.
In court last week, prosecutors discussed a handwritten document they said was written by Tony, and they requested handwriting samples. Tony's attorneys admitted he wrote the document in question, the contents of which were not discussed.
Police also requested a search warrant for copies of all text messages and records of phone calls made or received from phones used by Ruth Anne and Tony Maddox. Sprint Corp. said it would honor the search warrant.
Text messages
Ruth Anne was reported missing by co-workers on Nov. 11, after she didn't show up for work and her boss received an unusual text message from her cell phone, stating she had a doctor's appointment.
In addition to the text message received by management at Southwest Newspapers, a friend of Ruth Anne's also received a text on Nov. 11 that stated, "I'm not having a good morning," according to the search warrants. The friend told police he spoke with Ruth Anne daily and it was very unusual not to be able to reach her.
Police also learned Ruth Anne's daughter received two text messages from Charles Maddox after he was served with divorce papers. The text messages stated that he would never allow Ruth Anne to leave him.
Missing car
Ruth Anne's car, a 2003 Subaru Legacy, was not located for several days after her death. But police found her vehicle - and the note saying she was leaving - at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Nov. 14.
A neighbor and close friend told police that she had spoken with Ruth Anne at 11:30 p.m. Nov. 10. When the neighbor left for work on the morning of Nov. 11, she told police both Ruth Anne's and Tony's vehicles were parked in the driveway.
Ruth Anne last was seen at about 9:45 p.m. Nov. 10 leaving the meeting of the Shakopee School Board, which she had covered that night.
Officers were unable to contact anyone at the town home when they tried to check on Ruth Anne at 4:40 p.m. Nov. 11.
At 6:11 p.m., police knocked on the door and Tony answered. He told police he didn't know where Ruth Anne was. Tony refused to sign a missing persons report on his wife's behalf.
Officers spoke with Tony at his door again at 9:14 p.m. before returning to the home about 3:15 a.m. with a search warrant.
Police found Ruth Anne's body in the garage, wrapped in a tent and a sleeping bag and taped with clear packaging tape.
A pickup truck known to be driven by Tony was backed up to the garage door about 5 feet from Ruth Anne's body, the warrants stated.
Tony told police he had been at a friend's house watching football on the evening of Nov. 10. According to search warrants, a woman known to have been with Tony on Nov. 10 was contacted by Minnetonka police, who reported the woman was "visibly nervous" during her conversation with them.
Tony admitted to police that he killed his wife, according to the search warrants.
One of Tony's attorneys, Larry Rapoport, had no comment on the details in the warrants.
