SHAKOPEE, MINN - Jury selection in the second-degree murder trial of Charles Anthony Maddox Jr., 46, started Tuesday in Scott County District Court in Shakopee.
About 60 prospective jurors were led into the courtroom where Judge Jerome Abrams informed them that Maddox has been charged with second-degree murder by the Scott County Attorney's Office in the death of his 45-year-old wife, Shakopee Valley News reporter Ruth Anne Maddox. Abrams also informed the potential jury members that Maddox has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
A pretrial hearing, which began last week, resumed on Tuesday morning to discuss the boundaries of the jury trial. That hearing will continue Wednesday morning when Abrams will revisit a "sea" of motions that have been filed by both the prosecution and the defense.
Abrams stated some of those motions require further testimony before a ruling can be made, and others need to be resolved prior to opening statements that could begin as early as Thursday. The trial is expected to last between two and three weeks.
Co-workers reported Ruth Anne Maddox missing on Nov. 11, 2008. After Prior Lake police made three unsuccessful attempts to locate her, authorities executed a search warrant at the Maddox home at 16492 Timber Crest Drive at 3:17 a.m. on Nov. 12, where they found the body of Ruth Anne Maddox in the garage of the townhome. The regional coroner ruled the death a homicide and reported that she died of blunt-force injuries to her neck and head.
