True-crime fans won’t want to miss tonight’s episode of Twisted Love, investigating the macabre murder of Ruth Ann Madden, a Troy-area woman, that resulted in three arrests and a life-sentence. The episode, called “Crippling Desire,” will air tonight on Investigation Discovery at 8 p.m. Central Time.
Here are six things to know before you watch:
Get a fresh take on the day’s top news
Subscribe to the St. Louis Daily newsletter for a smart, succinct guide to local news from award-winning journalists Sarah Fenske and Ryan Krull.
1. The episode details how Andrew and Ruth Ann Madden’s relationship (they were married for more than 23 years) ended in tragedy when she was found dead in Silex, Missouri, in August 2002. Her death rocked Lincoln County, northwest of St. Louis.
2. The first signs of trouble came in 2000 when Andrew Madden, a Vietnam War veteran, began suffering from health problems. He started using a wheelchair, and in 2001 he and Ruth Ann hired a home-health nurse named Karen Clowers. In 2002, Andrew Madden and Clowers began an affair, and she quickly said she was “falling in love.”
3. On August 9, 2002, police were called to investigate a car left in a parking lot in Silex, Missouri. They found Ruth Ann Madden lying face-up on the ground. She had been shot in the head. Police began investigating her death and quickly grew suspicious of Clower, who they learned was having an affair with Andrew. The police unravel an elaborate story—full of inconsistencies—that eventually leads to three arrests.
4. The case went to court in December 2003. Andrew Madden eventually received a 30-year sentence. Clower’s son-in-law, who acted as an accessory, was also imprisoned. And Clowers herself? She was sentenced to life for first-degree murder.
5. The episode includes interviews with several key people around the case. Ray Juengst of the St. Charles PD, Michael Short of the Elsberry Democrat, Clowers’ grandson, Andrew Madden’s son, and more help tell the story of the murder, investigation, and aftermath. Short calls it “the most appalling and vicious murder he’s ever covered.”
6. This is the fourth installation in the six-episode Twisted Love series exploring how a “trusted love can turn into a treacherous fate.” The true-crime series is produced by Investigation Discovery and Khloé Kardashian, who also made Twisted Sisters in 2018. “I love the idea of love,” Kardashian says, “but these stories will stun even the most hopeless romantic.”
