SCOTT COUNTY, Minn. - A Scott County judge denied a bail reduction request for Charles Anthony Maddox Jr., who is accused of second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Ruth Anne Maddox.
Judge Jerome Abrams ruled Thursday morning that bail should remain at $1 million with conditions, including not leaving the state, remaining law-abiding, showing up for court appearances and not having contact with Ruth Anne's family.Abrams also ruled that, should Maddox be released without conditions, bail would be $2 million.
Attorneys for Maddox had asked for bail of $100,000 with conditions or $500,000 without conditions.
No plea has been entered in the case, and one was not entered in court Thursday. The body of Ruth Anne, a Shakopee Valley News and former Savage Pacer and Times-Union reporter, was found in the garage of her townhome in Prior Lake in the early-morning hours of Nov. 12.
Fred Bruno, an attorney for Maddox, said the results of a bail study assigned Maddox a risk level of 14 on a scale of zero to 18-plus, with 18 being the highest risk. Twelve of those points were related to the second-degree murder charge; two others related to a 2005 charge of driving while impaired and fleeing an officer.
Attorneys also addressed the prosecution's request for an upward departure from state sentencing guidelines. Prosecutors on Feb. 19 requested the sentence to be increased to 40 years in prison, if Maddox is convicted, instead of the guideline of 30 years and seven months.
In their upward departure motion, prosecutors allege that Maddox "attempted to conceal evidence," that "the victim was treated with particular cruelty for which the defendant should be held accountable," and that Maddox "violated a position of trust."
Family and friends of Ruth Anne and Charles Maddox appeared in the courtroom Thursday morning. Many of them had traveled from Indiana to attend the omnibus hearing. Ruth Anne's family and friends wore ribbons that read "Remember Ruth Anne." Her mother held a framed photo of her in the courtroom.
Maddox appeared calm as he sat in the courtroom. As Ruth Anne's family was led into court, he glanced at them, then put his head down and began moving his lips as if to pray.
A contested omnibus hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. May 14. Bruno said he plans to file additional motions in the case prior to that hearing.
During Maddox's first appearance in Scott County court on Jan. 7, prosecutors discussed a handwritten document they said was written by Maddox, and they requested handwriting samples. During the hearing, Maddox's attorneys admitted he wrote the document, the contents of which were not discussed.
But according to a motion filed by the Scott County's Attorney's Office on Jan. 15, investigators found a handwritten note in Maddox's pocket at the time of his arrest that appeared to be a "to do list."
A photograph of the note was sealed in court documents, but the motion describes the note as a "list that included activities and items that may be used to cover up a crime such as the shower, remove molding, 'bleach my sink,' 'bleach her sink,' duct tape, kerosene, etc."
Bruno had no comment Thursday on the request for handwriting samples, stating "the documents in question may not be admissible in court."
After police located Ruth Anne's body Nov. 12, it took authorities several days to locate her car, which was eventually found at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Police believe Maddox spent the morning and early afternoon hours of Nov. 11 shopping for supplies at Sears and Walgreens in Bloomington, Minn., before driving Ruth Anne's car to the airport, dressed as a woman, according to search warrants filed in Scott County court records on Dec. 2.
Upon searching the vehicle at the airport, police discovered a note in the front passenger seat of Ruth Anne's car, which indicated she was "leaving."
Police also collected blood samples from a wall in the living room that contained blood splatter and requested the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension conduct a test using luminal, a tool that traces blood splatter after cleanup, in the kitchen area.
Ruth Anne was last seen covering a Shakopee School Board meeting on the evening of Nov. 10. Authorities believe she was killed later that night or in the early-morning hours of Nov. 11 by Maddox.
According to the criminal complaint, Ruth Anne was reported missing by co-workers Nov. 11 after she didn't show up for work and her boss received an unusual text message from the reporter's cell phone, saying she had a doctor's appointment. A friend also received a text message from the phone, which said Ruth Anne was "having a bad morning."
Police talked with a neighbor who had last spoken with Ruth Anne about 11:30 p.m. Nov. 10. When the neighbor left for work on the morning of Nov. 11, she saw both of the couple's vehicles parked in the driveway.
Officers were unable to contact anyone at the townhome when they tried to check on her at 4:40 p.m. Nov. 11. About an hour-and-a-half later, police knocked on the door and Maddox answered. He told police he didn't know where Ruth Anne was, but he had received a text message from her saying she was headed out of town.
Maddox told police he was at a friend's house watching football on the evening of Nov. 10.
According to search warrants, a woman known to have been with Maddox on Nov. 10 was contacted by Minnetonka police, who reported the woman was "visibly nervous" during her conversation with them. Officers spoke with Maddox at his door again at 9:14 p.m. and returned to the home at about 3:15 a.m. with a search warrant.
When police arrived with a search warrant, Maddox told police, "I might as well save you the trouble; you will find Ruth Anne's body in the garage."
Maddox also told police Ruth Anne came at him with a screwdriver and a knife and that he put his knee on her arm that held the knife and choked her.
Ruth Anne's body was found in the garage, wrapped in a tent and a sleeping bag and taped with clear packaging tape, according to search warrants. A pickup truck known to be driven by Maddox was backed up to the garage door about 5 feet from Ruth Anne's body, the warrant stated.
According to the criminal complaint, Maddox admitted to police that he killed his wife.
The two had started divorce proceedings and were in the process of completing the divorce at the time of Ruth Anne's death, according to court documents.
