Karen Clowers

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Bravos, the real housewives of Salt Lake City are back.

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Apparently, you're already taking it.

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he was a vietnam veteran fighting for his life

he came home with some demons to battle she was the loving partner who helped him find his way

she stood by him and was able to take care of him for nearly three decades they remained inseparable

until an unthinkable betrayal destroyed their union.

She was laying on her back not too far from her vehicle.

There looked to be some sort of struggle.

Homicide investigators quickly uncover a web of suspicions and salacious rumors.

Some of the allegations were quite disturbing.

She never made any bones about the fact that they were having an affair.

They were hiding in closets and different things, and it was starting to disrupt the workforce there.

When the case finally comes to a close, it will expose an unlikely mastermind of a sinister plot.

The irony of dying at the hands of someone that she was trying to help all the way up until her death, it's kind of heartbreaking.

She wasn't going to let anything stop her.

We were in

total disbelief and shock.

August 9th, 2002, Lincoln County, Missouri.

It's a quiet Friday afternoon in this small town just north of St.

Louis until a flood of 911 calls ring into the sheriff's office.

Some witnesses had called in to law enforcement and dispatch and notified officers that there was someone who was lying on the ground in the commuter lot positioned at the intersection of Highway B and 61.

One of the witnesses passing by made the assumption it was a suicide.

Within minutes, sheriff's deputies respond to the scene.

A vehicle was parked.

facing towards the highway, kind of the middle of the parking lot, and car door open, and there was a large pool of what appeared to be blood.

Witnesses observed, as well as law enforcement, that there was someone with a massive head wound, what appeared to be a gunshot, who was laying on the ground.

She was laying not too far from her vehicle, towards the front of her vehicle.

The vehicle was still running.

Authorities quickly determined that the victim is deceased, but none of the 911 callers saw what happened to her.

They thought maybe it was a suicide at that point.

It was my understanding that when they found her body, she had a work uniform on from her employer, and on that was her work identification.

The badge identifies the victim as 56-year-old Ruth Ann Madden, a housekeeping supervisor at a nearby medical center.

Upon identifying the victim on the commuter lot based on her her work ID, uniformed officers in the Missouri State Highway Patrol responded to her husband's house to make death notification.

This is common and usually the first step is notifying next of kin.

Ruth Ann's husband is 52-year-old Andrew Madden.

Andy was wheelchair bound.

When they arrived, he was out front.

They said, unfortunately, we have to tell you your wife is deceased.

He put out his cigarette kind of calmly and then dropped his face down into his hands and began crying.

And he wanted to find out what happened to his wife, how this could have happened.

Born on December 17th, 1945, Ruth Ann Scott was always a caregiver.

She was just sweet and reserved.

You could tell she cared about people.

She was a warm individual.

She was the oldest of 11 children.

She would be that person that, you know, that helped raise quite a few of the siblings.

She was so family-oriented.

She was just a very kind and nurturing person.

In her 20s, Ruth Ann fell in love with a young soldier named Andrew Madden.

Andy Madden was a former service member of the U.S.

Army.

He was a veteran of the Vietnam War.

He was a tank mechanic.

He did see significant action during his tour in Vietnam, and it left an emotional toll on him.

He came home with some demons to battle.

But once he got to know you and once you got to know him, he actually

really good friend.

Ruth Ann married Andy in 1975 and settled down in Eolia, Missouri.

She worked in housekeeping at a hospital while Andy operated heavy machinery at a quarry in Lincoln County.

They were always together.

She was always concerned about his well-being and if everything was all right.

There was something particularly cute about the two of them and everybody enjoyed them being around.

But as the years passed, Andy's health deteriorated.

His health was not that good.

He was a sick man, very sick man.

Andy was in a wheelchair.

He was able to walk.

So sometimes his balance gets in the issue, and that's what the chair is for.

Cancers, especially the treatment from cancer, they rob the body of a lot of strength.

His problems seem more with strength in his legs.

Unable to continue his job at the quarry, Andy struggled with the physical and emotional fallout.

The military makes you a strong individual.

Your strengths are a major part of your life.

When those things leave you, it's hard to deal with.

Despite Andy's failing health, Ruth Ann stuck by his side.

And in 1997, she accepted a full-time job as a housekeeping manager at Lincoln County Medical Center to support the both of them.

She stood by him and was able to take care of him and continued to take care of him, continued to work at the same time.

Ruth Ann did what she could, but more help was needed.

The Veterans Administration went ahead and supplied him a home health care aide by the name of Karen Clowers to assist in everyday duties such as clothing, medicine, bathing, and whatnot as needed.

For the Maddens, having health care worker Karen Clowers in their home made a huge difference.

She was helping with house chores and making sure he was taking his medicine and making him something to eat and stuff while Ruth was out working.

The relationship, to my understanding, with Karen Clowers and Ruth Ann Madden was a good one.

They would talk a lot.

They would hang together.

Even after she got off, she would stay.

It was a friendship relationship with all three.

It seemed Ruth Ann and Andy had finally found a good balance.

But little did they know, their time together was running out.

Now, on August 9th, 2002, state troopers have just informed Andy Madden that his wife, Ruth Ann Madden, has been found dead in a commuter parking lot.

He was upset.

A couple times he broke down.

I'm like, you know, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry, Andy.

I'm so sorry.

I mean, I can't imagine what you're going through.

While Andy processes his grief, detectives arrive at the crime scene.

Initially, it was reported that it was possibly a suicide, but really quickly it was starting to unfold that that was clearly not a suicide.

Right away, we start thinking this doesn't smell right.

We don't have a weapon at the scene, it was gone.

Clear headshot left running by her car, IDs on her shirt.

Something happened immediate and quick.

At that point, it was obvious that this was a homicide.

Coming up, investigators find evidence of a desperate struggle for survival.

There was actually human hairs clenched in her hand that looked to be that she either tried to stop her assailant or grab onto her assailant.

And Ruth Ann's husband gives investigators their first lead.

He mentioned that she had been receiving threatening and harassing phone calls and death threats.

This whole thing was very bizarre.

On August 9th, 2002, authorities in Lincoln County, Missouri are processing the scene where 56-year-old Ruth Ann Madden has been found murdered in a commuter parking lot near her home.

A homicide in this particular community is extremely rare.

You have thefts, maybe somebody steals a car, breaks into a house, but to have someone brutally shot point blank in the face in a commuter lot, it shocks the conscience.

Investigators talk to bystanders who have gathered at the scene of the crime,

including a young couple that saw a suspicious vehicle leaving the parking lot that afternoon.

It just so happens that this gentleman, Randy, was driving westbound on Highway E, and this car comes screaming out in front of him to the point where I think he almost had to take some sort of evasive action, and that drew his attention to the commuter lot, where he saw the body on the commuter lot.

Suspecting the other driver might have been involved in a crime, Randy decided to give chase.

This individual made a U-turn and actually attempted to chase this vehicle down northbound 4061, but it was traveling in excess of 85, 90 miles an hour.

I guess the witness realized that, hey, this is getting too dangerous.

You know, to them, it wasn't worth it.

So they shut back down, responded back to the commuter lot, wherein they met deputies and gave them their statement.

Unfortunately, at the time, they did not get the license plate.

The witness was more focused on identifying the driver of the car, but he did give us a spectacular description of the vehicle.

Investigators immediately issue a bolo for a white Chevy Lumina sedan with tinted windows.

But without a license plate number, authorities are looking for a needle in a haystack.

Initially, we really didn't have a lot to go on when we formed up.

In an effort to act fast, the Sheriff's Office seeks help from the multi-agency Major Case Squad of Greater St.

Louis.

You have anywhere from 25 to 30 detectives from all over bringing all different kinds of of experience.

And one of the benefits of that is the kind of, for lack of better words, brainstorming.

You know, like, what do you think?

What does this look like to you?

One of the scenarios was, well, was this a carjacking or a robbery that went bad?

But then you start looking at some of the other factors and like, well, you know, her purse is left in the car.

Is that a robbery?

It's probably not.

We noted a gunshot wound to the side of the head and an exit wound.

We did not locate a projectile.

That absolutely would lead us to to either believe that the person was, whoever was responsible for the crime, was aware enough to clean up after themselves or that they had used a revolver.

And in that case, no shell casing would have been ejected.

Investigators collect several items from the area, including a soft drink bottle and multiple cigarette butts.

You don't know, is this an important piece of evidence or is it just clutter?

So they were seizing those cigarette butts that they found.

It was a Dural brand cigarette.

Upon closer examination of Ruth Ann's body, investigators find evidence that she might have tried to fight off her killer.

There looked to be some sort of struggle because there was actually human hairs found in Ruth Ann's hand, clenched in her hand.

that looked to be that she either tried to stop her assailant or grab on to her assailant.

Those hair follicles were seized as evidence and forwarded for DNA analysis.

Detectives request Ruth Ann's phone records, hoping they will shed some light on what happened.

But getting the results will take time.

While they're waiting, they ask the local community for help.

We need the public to help us police.

Two minutes of someone's life could save countless hours of investigators' time and maybe possibly save somebody's life before it's too late.

I first heard that they found her body was on the news.

And

then when they said their name, I was thinking, oh no, it couldn't be the same.

It just made no sense to me.

It would seem like she had no business being there unless she was meeting somebody there.

Because where they lived was at least another 10 or 15 minutes north from where she was found.

While investigators wait for potential tips to roll in, they drive out to the Madden home to speak further with Ruthanne's husband, Andy.

Traditional police work would lead you to believe that you always have to look at the spouse first.

I said, would you have time to talk with me alone?

And he said, sure.

I would very much like to help you.

I want to find out who did this to my wife.

And I'm like, okay, this is a good start.

Investigators ask Andy where he was earlier in the afternoon.

He says he had been with his caretaker all day.

He had mentioned that Karen Clowers was with him the whole day until approximately 5 p.m.

Andy provides detectives with contact information for Karen Clowers so they can verify his alibi.

But before contacting Karen, detectives ask Andy if Ruth Ann had any enemies outside or inside the home.

He described their marriage as the perfect marriage, no problems whatsoever, never alluded to any type of problems on the marriage front.

Obviously, a question is asked, do you have any idea of who may want to have harmed your wife?

And immediately he mentioned that she had been receiving threatening and harassing phone calls and death threats.

Ruth had been receiving threatening phone calls at home and at work, and she was kind of on, I I guess what I would say, maybe high alert.

One of the calls was to Andy himself, and it sounded somewhat like a female voice stating that his wife was having an affair.

Hey, your wife is cheating on you.

We thought you need to know.

This whole thing was very bizarre.

Investigators want to know who was calling Ruth Ann and why they were harassing her.

Initially, Ruth Ann suspected the calls may have been coming from a coworker.

She would would tell Andy that people at work are messing with me,

and she was scared of it.

Andrew believes the calls may have come from a former coworker of Ruth Ann's named Betty.

Ruth Ann had a supervisory position at the hospital.

She was in charge of housekeeping.

And there was a female employee who was a subordinate of hers.

According to Andrew, Ruth Ann had moved Betty to the night shift.

This ended up upsetting Betty and prompted her to call, but not to threaten murder, but just to stop meddling with my life.

She subsequently resigned.

Andrew says he and Ruth Ann quickly reported the calls to the Troy Police Department.

Ms.

Madden and Andrew Madden had taken steps to try to track where these phone calls were coming from.

Law enforcement ended up following up on some of those leads, but none of them really went anywhere.

Andrew provided us with four or five phone numbers that he said he had captured from his caller ID.

Now investigators wonder, could workplace tensions have led to murder?

We wanted to get to the bottom of it.

We're going to find a person that's responsible.

Coming up, an illicit and brazen affair is revealed.

They're alone all day, all day long.

And I know she set her sights on him.

And detectives find their biggest piece of evidence yet.

We're like, does that look like the vehicle that you saw fleeing the crime scene?

And they were 100% sure that like, yeah, that's the vehicle.

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Just hours after Ruth Ann Madden was found murdered in a commuter parking lot, her husband has implicated one of Ruth Ann's coworkers, who allegedly made some harassing phone calls in recent weeks.

Andy Madden holds firm that whoever it is making these threatening phone calls must have been involved somehow.

Investigators contact Ruth Ann's supervisor at the Lincoln County Medical Center to learn more about Ruth Ann's problems with a former coworker named Betty.

He had said that Ruth Ann had come to him and mentioned that other employees had mentioned that two of her subordinates were having an extramarital affair.

They were hiding in closets and different things, and it was starting to disrupt the workforce there.

They decided the best course of action would be to separate them on the work schedule.

Once the participant in that affair, Betty, was notified that her shift would be changed because of her behavior, she was very upset.

According to the supervisor, Betty quit her job on July 25th, around the same time, Ruth Ann received the harassing phone calls.

Some of the allegations raised as to the comments on the phone calls were quite disturbing.

Some of those alluded to the fact that she was going to have her throat slit, that she was going to be beaten and thrown into the Quiver River.

Her supervisors took those threats seriously enough that they assigned her security to walk her back and forth from her car.

Investigators work quickly to contact Betty at her home in Troy, Missouri and ask her where she was on August 9th.

She said her car had been in the shop for quite some time, specifically during that time period and days before and after.

Betty gives detectives receipts from the car repair shop, as well as contact information for friends who can verify her alibi.

When we investigated that, it turned out she had a really good alibi and was not anywhere near the crime scene during that time.

Detectives use one more piece of evidence to eliminate Betty as a suspect, a tape recording provided by Andrew Madden.

I believe it was upon the advice of law enforcement that they were to record these phone calls, which they had.

So law enforcement, they had a sample of the voice of the person who was making these phone calls.

Troy Police Department turned over some of the calls.

There was an analysis done between Betty's voice and the calls, and it became pretty clear that that wasn't her.

As investigators strike Betty from the suspect list, a lead comes in from one of Andrew Madden's neighbors.

Apparently, he is an avid scanner listener, monitors police traffic, and he hears, because it's broadcast after the murder, that law enforcement is looking for a white Chevy Lumina.

He says, Look, the Chevy Lumina that you're looking for happens to be the type of vehicle driven by Karen Clowers, who's the caretaker of Mr.

Madden.

So, law enforcement, once they had this information, they need to know what's going on with Karen Clowers.

Born in 1957 in Louisiana, Missouri, Karen Dowell had a troubled youth, leading to a teenage pregnancy.

What I heard was

she got married

because she was pregnant,

but then gave the baby up for adoption.

The marriage didn't last, and Karen moved on with her life.

By 1980, when another relationship failed to pan out, Karen found herself a single mother of two.

They got a divorce at some point.

While Karen had been unlucky in love, that all changed when she met her next husband, John Clowers.

She was extremely happy with their relationship, their marriage.

Karen thought she was like secure financially, home, that type of stuff.

I don't think she was worried about finances or anything.

She worked on and off as a waitress, and then she did the home health care stuff.

In early 2002, 45-year-old Karen Clowers started working for Andrew and Ruth Ann Madden.

Then, in May of that year, after 17 years of marriage, her husband John suddenly passed away.

To my knowledge, it was natural causes John provided for them all.

So that was a huge loss right there.

Now,

three months after the death of her husband, investigators wonder if Karen Clowers is connected to another tragic event, the murder of Ruth Ann Madden.

Highway patrol ends up going out to go to her house and taking the two witnesses who viewed the Illumina to see if they could identify the vehicle.

We're like, here's this vehicle over here.

Does that look like the vehicle that you saw fleeing the crime scene?

And they were 100% sure that, like, yeah, that's the vehicle.

Investigators request a search warrant for karen's house and car

but they will have to wait until morning to conduct a legal search detective plum and i set up surveillance on karen's house and vehicle the entire night while we were waiting the neighbor of karen clowers comes out to us and tells us that she's aware of the white chevy lumina being wanted in relationship to this homicide and then alerts us that andy frequents karen's house daily she She had noted that Andy Madden did come and visit Karen at her home and thought that it was suspicious that he was parking his truck in her garage and then taking his wheelchair to come around to the front door to go in and visit.

We asked, what time was the vehicle there yesterday?

And she clearly noted that it had left about 2 and did not return until around 7 p.m.

Investigators note that this timeframe fits the time of Ruth Ann's murder, which was around 4 p.m.

The Chevy Lumina was driven by Karen Clowers and it left at a certain time and then it returns at a certain time and it builds that window for her to participate in the crime.

After speaking to Karen's neighbor, detectives call Andrew Madden into the station for an interview that night.

It was asked, hey, do you think Karen may have possibly had something to do with this?

And he quickly jumped on a no, no way.

She's not involved.

When we got in the interview and we told him about that, Karen owned a white Chevy Illumina.

He started coming up with a timeline.

She couldn't have done this because she was with me to such and such time to such and such time.

His responses in the defense of Karen were much more genuine and much more stern and very, very direct, similar to what you would do defending a family member or a loved one.

So we knew something wasn't right there.

It wasn't, you don't defend a professional relationship the way that he was defending Karen.

We asked him when he last spoke with his wife, and he quickly said 3:38 p.m., which the detectives actually noted that and go, Well, how do you know specifically 3:38?

And he had mentioned he had looked at the time on his cell phone.

It seemed like he had manipulated his story and whatever evidence he had to cover for Karen Clowers.

Coming up, investigators put their prime suspect suspect under pressure.

We parked right by where the crime scene was at.

We just wanted to see what way this would make her go emotionally.

There's things that your body reacts to that's almost better than a confession.

She's singing like a canary, but it's not about her.

On the morning of August 10th, 2002, less than 24 hours since Ruth Ann Madden was found shot to death in a parking lot near her house, law enforcement executes a search warrant at the home of Karen Clowers.

We kind of got her out of the way of the investigators and off into a bedroom and began to speak with her.

At that point, she acted as if she had no idea whatsoever that she had died.

I said, you know, have you spoken to Andy?

And she's like, oh yeah, he did mention that Ruth Ann had been murdered.

No one forgets that you've been told someone has died.

No one forgets that.

That's when Karen makes a startling confession.

She never made any bones about the fact that she was in love with Andy and that they were having an affair.

It wasn't like that was a big secret.

They were alone all day long.

And I guess Karen...

liked the way Andy was treating her.

I know she set her sights on Andy Madden.

While detectives continue the interview with Karen, law enforcement search her house and car and discover potentially incriminating evidence.

In the vehicle of note, they found packages of Durrell cigarettes.

And again, Durrell's cigarette butts were found on the commuter lot.

We suggested that she go back with us.

to the Sheriff's Department for a more private interview uninterrupted, and she agreed.

On the way, investigators decide to take a strategic detour.

Marshall and I came to the agreement, like, let's take her back to the crime scene and

let's see what happens.

We allowed her out of the car and parked right by where the crime scene was at.

And we just wanted to see what way this would make her go emotionally.

As we're walking up towards where the actual crime took place, she just leans over and vomits all over the place.

The human body is amazing.

There's things that you just, when you're put under stress, there's things that your body reacts to that's almost better than a confession.

Marshall and I, we got her calmed down, put her back in the car, and continued on to the sheriff's department.

And I remember her saying, Hey, I'm right, I'm going to tell you everything.

At the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, Karen Clowers starts talking.

She's singing like a canary,

but it's not about her.

Do you remember having a conversation with anyone concerning Ruthan?

John Lewis from Louisiana.

Who is John Lewis to you?

My son-in-law.

What did you talk about?

I was telling him that I was in love with Andy and I wish there was some way that I could have him all the time.

Like,

Andy and Ruthan get a divorce or, like, get separated.

And he said he could think of

a way to get her out of the kitchen.

Karen tells investigators that on August 9th, John Lewis showed up unexpectedly.

He picked my car up at Andy's house.

Andy Madden's house?

Yes.

Said that it needed to use my car.

About what time was that?

Probably between 2 and 3.

When John left the house, how long has he gone?

Over an hour or more.

And what did he say to you when he got out of the car?

Just taken care of.

Just told me he was on that shed.

Thanks for it later on.

So we're initially thinking, like, okay, our guy is John Lewis.

Detectives respond immediately to John's home.

What was noteworthy is how angry John Lewis became once the finger had been pointed at him.

He's like, heck no, that is not how this happened.

Investigators bring John to the station for a formal interview.

Since she gave me money, bothered to meet her out there.

At the time, that's basically what she said.

She wanted this man dead.

How much money?

5,000.

I just touched upon and paid some of my bills off.

So you let her believe, yeah, I'll take care of it.

According to John, he had no intentions of hurting or doing anything to Ruth Ann.

He was just figuring, okay, if you're going to give me $5,000, I'm just going to go out and spend it and not really worry about it.

Because what are you going to do?

Go tell somebody that you gave me $5,000 to murder someone?

How's it supposed to be there?

She wanted me to break up a house.

His house in Yoli, Missouri.

And she was upset.

She just lost five grand.

What she wanted them to get to.

So, you know, she kept kept coming over, wanting it done, wanting it done.

I kept telling her, no, no, no.

Like I said, when she called me with the $1,000, I said, Yeah, I'll make you out.

And that's how we met up after three o'clock.

John says Karen's plan was to call Ruth Ann Madden, claim she was stranded in the commuter lot, and ask for help.

I understand

that John drove a truck.

Karen drove the car out to the commuter parking lot, popped the hood.

John walked across and met Karen behind the trunk.

There was an old family firearm from her ex-husband.

Karen had John show her exactly how to use this pistol.

It's a revolver.

He clocks the hammer back, which makes it extremely easy to pull the trigger.

Doesn't require any real power to have to pull the trigger.

It'll go off really quickly.

Sets it down in the trunk of the vehicle.

At that time, he chickens out, decides, I don't want any part of this.

He told her, you know, I'm not going to do it.

I can't do it.

I'm not.

And Karen's like, wait a minute, you're going to do it.

Well, he didn't do it.

He gave the gun to Karen.

When he saw Ruthanne pull onto the lot, he ducked down between two parked cars.

It's panic time, I'm sure.

Couldn't imagine how that felt back there behind that open trunk lid.

And then what happened to Karen?

You know, she's fuzzing around the front like she's doing something.

She's got to get on her hand.

Ruth Ann shows up.

She gets out of her car.

She proceeds to walk towards Karen.

So, oh, did you find out what's wrong with it?

Karen says, yeah, it was about pulling the gun upshot.

It's a shocking story, but John isn't done talking.

He said Andy was in on it and agreed to make the phone call to lure her in

Hey, they are broke down on this commuter lot.

Can you come by?

See if you can help them.

I don't believe at all that Ruth Ann knew that Karen and Andy were developing a romantic relationship.

And unfortunately, it was too late when she probably figured that out.

We have to wonder whether or not when he called to tell Ruth Ann to drive out to Karen's vehicle, if he knew or should have known that he was sending her to her death.

Certainly, he recognized that whatever he was calling to send her into was not going to turn out well.

Coming up, investigators unravel the details of a twisted conspiracy.

She was instructed to cover the mouthpiece up and talk in a deep and threatening voice.

And the truth behind the tragedy of Ruth Ann Madden's murder becomes even more horrific.

She wasn't going to let anything stop her.

Only one day after the murder of Ruth Ann Madden, investigators have made their first arrest in the case.

John Lewis, the son-in-law of Karen Clowers.

They've gotten statements from John Lewis, and he gets charged with murder first.

which is the highest possible charge you can possibly get for a homicide.

Now, investigators have their sight set on John's co-conspirators,

starting with Ruth Ann's own husband, Andrew Madden.

We interviewed Andy, and at that point, you know, it was clear that Andy was involved and he was brought down.

And I really think Andy's the one that kind of laid out the whole thing.

I called Ruth Ann and I

told her that I had sent Karen to give me a piece angalon.

But her car had broke down and she was parked in that

little turn off.

Sometime after that,

Karen called me and told me that they had

took Karen.

God helped me.

I was stupid.

Because I could have done something else after I got a divorce.

I always thought of myself as being a

proud, upstanding citizen.

And to let myself be mutilated into doing something like this, I don't know what was wrong with me.

But I did love my wife.

In another kind of way, I love Karen.

He talked about initially just how quickly he fell in love with Karen and Karen fell in love with him.

And it was a type of situation you describe as like,

well, this is meant to be.

This was what you were meant to do.

He was willing to go have his wife come to that community parking lot, knowing that Karen was going to kill her.

And that's the sad truth.

Why didn't it just happen?

I don't know.

With statements in hand from her lover, Andrew Madden, and her son-in-law, John Lewis, investigators confront Karen Clowers.

Karen eventually confesses to shooting Ruth Ann, although in her story, she says says that the gun accidentally went off, that she never really meant to kill her.

One piece of evidence seems to contradict her story.

How do we account for the hair in Ruth Ann's hand?

I believe that Ruth Ann and Karen met.

Karen pulled the gun, and Ruth Ann, probably startled, was like, you know, hey, what's going on?

And struggled a little bit with her.

And then the gun went off.

The only people that know exactly what happened in that respect is John and Karen.

Authorities charge both 45-year-old Karen Clowers and 52-year-old Andrew Madden with first-degree murder.

He called me and he just basically said

that I'm going to hear some things about him

and

he's embarrassed and then he's sorry for

everything that I'm about to hear.

Myself and those of us who spent a lot of time with Andrew were in total disbelief and shock.

Next, law enforcement issues a search warrant of John Lewis's home, where they run into an unlikely ally, Karen's daughter.

We provided her a copy of the search warrant, which had the affidavit for probable cause.

She is reading the probable cause and notes that Karen said her husband's the one that did this.

And at that point, she blurts out he had nothing to do with this and then went on to explain her involvement.

Karen's daughter tells investigators that she was the one who made the harassing phone calls to Ruth Ann Madden.

But she claims she didn't know who she was calling at the time.

She admits that her mother, Karen, directed her to make these harassing phone calls from various pay phones, and she was instructed to cover the mouthpiece up and talk in a deep and threatening voice.

Karen Clowers was careful to not allow her daughter to see what number she was dialing, but gave her specific instructions as to what to say, how to say it.

When she asked her mom, look, what is this all about?

Her mother says

it was an argument that happened at a bar after work and, you know, offers this weak explanation for these threatening phone calls.

In November 2003, Andy Madden pleads guilty to second-degree murder.

I think the worst part about it was that her own husband of all those years made the phone call to lure her into her own death.

What he did made no sense.

Is he a cold-blooded, heartless killer?

No.

So I just think that he had a lapse of good, sound judgment and clarity.

It shocks the conscience that people can be that brutal to each other.

John Lewis also agrees to plead guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit murder.

I think from what we put together, he was probably supposed to be the trigger man, so to speak, and changed his mind.

On December 2nd, 2003, the case against Karen Clowers begins in a Lincoln County County courtroom.

Karen says he kept chickening out and I just had to do it myself.

She had it set in her mind that she was going to do it and it was going to happen no matter what.

All that she cared about, regardless of the ramifications, regardless of the aftermath, all she cared about was her one singular goal, which was to be with Andy.

Two days into her murder trial, Karen Clowers has a change of heart and pleads guilty to Class A felony murder in the second degree.

I think the writing might have been on the wall.

She realized that there was nothing that she was going to be able to do to get out of being found guilty.

The murder of Ruth Ann Madden still lingers in the hearts of everyone connected to the case.

It's been almost 20 years since this happened, and I assure you, there are still ripple effects that are are causing problems in the lives of the people that are left behind.

Karen destroyed so many families and so many lives that I can't even count.

My kids are the most important thing to me in my life.

And Karen

has hurt their life and is still hurting their life today.

The stigma of like, hey, my grandmother or my mom murdered this lady.

She masterminded this plan.

That follows you around.

Just because somebody is related or knows somebody that is convicted of a murder, that doesn't make them a murderer.

If she would have come up to us and approached us for murder, it would have been straight to the police department.

The irony of Ruth Ann dying at the hands of someone that she was trying to help all the way up until her death, it's kind of heartbreaking and heart-wrenching.

John Lewis was sentenced to 15 years for his role in the crime.

Andrew Madden is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence in the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Karen Clowers was sentenced to life in prison.

In 2011, she died in prison at the age of 54.

Karen's daughter was never charged in connection to the crime.

It's all a light-hearted nightmare on our podcast, Morbid.

We're your hosts.

I'm Alina Urquhart and I'm Ash Kelly.

And our show is part true crime, part spooky, and part comedy.

The stories we cover are well researched.

Of the 880 men who survived the attack, around 400 would eventually find their way to one another and merge into one larger group.

With a touch of humor.

Shout out to her.

Shout out to all my therapists out the years.

There's been like eight of them.

A dash of sarcasm and just garnished a bit with a little bit of cursing.

That motherfucker is not real.

And if you're a weirdo like us and love to cozy up to a creepy tale of the paranormal, or you love to hop in the Wayback Machine and dissect the details of some of history's most notorious crimes, you should tune in to our podcast, Morbid.

Follow Morbid on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can listen to episodes early and ad-free by joining Wondery Plus and the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.