Jurors Hear Defense Claims In Former Warsawan's Murder
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KRISTIN HOLTZ-
SHAKOPEE, Minn. – The nature of e-mails Ruth Anne Maddox was allegedly planning to use as leverage over her husband in their divorce finally came to light Tuesday, as well as blood evidence indicating where the former Shakopee Valley News reporter may have died. After reaching an agreement with the defense, the prosecution recalled witnesses to speak briefly about the e-mails Ruth Anne threatened to use to ensure Charles Anthony “Tony” Maddox agreed to her divorce terms. The couple had been arguing over custody of their two dogs and her 401(k). Tony Maddox, 47, is accused of killing his wife, whose body was found in the garage of their Prior Lake townhome Nov. 12, 2008. Charged with second-degree murder, he claims self-defense. 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. Lori Carlson, who testified last week that Ruth Anne had threatened to blackmail Tony Maddox, said Tuesday Ruth Anne was threatening to show her husband’s mother, girlfriend and boss some “nasty sex solicitations” contained in e-mails if he attempted to take the couple’s dogs and half her 401(k) in their divorce. The Maddoxes’ neighbor, Sabrina Norrbohm, told Scott County jurors Ruth Anne once showed her the e-mails at the couple’s home. “They were disgusting. …They were soliciting for sexual things, men soliciting men, that type of thing,” Norrbohm said. The e-mails also included information about Ruth Anne’s work schedule and the location of the Maddox townhome, Norrbohm said. Norrbohm said Tony was “very angry” when Ruth Anne told her husband how she planned to use them. Defense attorney Fred Bruno grilled Norrbohm on why she never told police about Tony’s reaction to Ruth Anne’s threat. He proposed the prosecution prompted her to say Tony got angry, even though Norrbohm doesn’t truly know if he even got mad. “She told me he was angry, not happy,” Norrbohm reiterated. Norrbohm, one of Ruth Anne’s best friends, was one of the last people to speak to Ruth Anne before midnight Nov. 10. Norrbohm said she invited Ruth Anne to stay with her that night because she feared for Ruth Anne’s safety. Ruth Anne declined, saying she locked her bedroom door and had 911 programmed into her cell phone. Norrbohm said she didn’t learn of Ruth Anne’s disappearance until mid-afternoon Nov. 11, when she received a call from Ruth Anne’s employer. Her phone call to Ruth Anne’s phone went straight to voicemail, but she left a message on Tony’s cell phone. Around 4 p.m., she talked to Tony on the phone. He said he didn’t know where Ruth Anne was but seemed very calm and normal, Norrbohm said. The two exchanged a couple of text messages up until 7 p.m. when Tony texted Norrbohm, “Well that was kind of uncomfortable,” following a visit by the Prior Lake police. Tony’s girlfriend at the time, Stephanie Rasmussen, also communicated with him several times Nov. 10 and Nov. 11. Rasmussen had been with Tony watching football in Eden Prairie until about 11:30 p.m. Nov. 10, she said on the stand Tuesday. Tony told her he had argued with Ruth Anne earlier in the day and that his attorney planned to use Ruth Anne’s 401(k) as a “bargaining chip” to get the dogs. At about 1 a.m. Nov. 11, she received a text message from Tony that said Ruth Anne was upset when he got home that night; however, she didn’t read it until 3 a.m. and never responded. Rasmussen said she spoke to Tony over the noon hour Nov. 11 in a short conversation in which he asked if she could watch the dogs over the weekend since Ruth Anne had gone out of town. He sounded normal but rushed, Rasmussen recalled. Tony and Rasmussen also exchanged nearly a dozen texts between 8:30 a.m. and midnight, including several that referenced both had spoken to the police about Ruth Anne’s disappearance. Rasmussen, who described her relationship with Tony in 2008 as best friends, said she never knew Tony to be abusive toward anyone and that he was highly respected. The two have communicated less over the past year and a half, she said. Lindsey Garfield, a crime scene coordinator with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, was on the stand most of Tuesday afternoon. Garfield was the BCA’s crime scene investigation team leader at the Maddox townhome Nov. 12. Garfield spoke extensively about an impact blood spatter found on the half wall of the living room. An impact spatter must occur to an already bloody surface, Garfield said. It would require enough force to radiate the blood outward. Working backward from the spatter, Garfield determined an area of origin about 12 inches from the wall and approximately 10 inches off the ground underneath a living room recliner. At that spot, the BCA team found blood marks on the carpet and the carpet pad underneath, she said. Garfield also found blood spatters on each side of the bedroom door the defense alleges struck and killed Ruth Anne. Garfield said she attempted to reconstruct the door spatters using a divot in the wall but could not determine a point of origin since the door had been moved. She said the door’s spatters likely came from two separate impacts. Bruno also asked Garfield about why her team did not collect the small screwdriver the defense says Ruth Anne used to open Tony’s bedroom door. Garfield said she was told Ruth Anne had used an ice pick. The screwdriver, which was collected at a later date, was never tested for blood or fingerprints, Garfield said. The prosecution expects to wrap up its case early Wednesday afternoon following the testimony of several more BCA investigators and the medical examiner. Bruno said he will have several defense witnesses ready to go, including Maddox’s brother and ex-wife, Tanya Leiran-Bennett. Maddox could also be ready to take the stand, if necessary, Bruno said.
