00:00:00
a well-liked well respected woman isn't who she says she is she's hiding from the law but what of what she's really
00:00:07
hiding is murder 48 hours right now take a good look at Margaret Ruden she was so sweet a woman of class and
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distinction well spoken well educated she was like a grandmother you know hard to believe she was a fugitive for almost
00:00:24
3 years we open the door and then she's hiding right next to the tub she's charged with brutally murdering her
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millionaire husband is Margaret capable of sliding up behind Ron while he's sleeping in bed and shooting him no
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doubt in my mind police say money was the motive 60% of Ron's millions of dollars would have gone to her and there
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was suspicious Behavior what kind of a wife when her husband is missing remodels her entire master bedroom and
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turns it into an office but in Vegas things aren't always as they appear Harold da investigates let me ask you
00:00:59
point like did you kill your husband absolutely not a 48 Hours mystery you're telling us that you've been framed
00:01:08
murder in Las [Music] Vegas accused of a horrific crime murdering your husband almost No One
00:01:32
Believes that you're innocent you see no way out out of fear and panic you disappear it was a gruesome crime that
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appeared to defy the odds the accused a mild-mannered grandmother certainly not the sort of person you would expect to
00:01:48
find running from the law prosecutors say she ran because she had something terrible to hide but the unlikely
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suspect in this case has a far different story to tell about why she chose to vanish Harold da investigates a case of
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murder in Las Vegas and the pursuit of a woman who to many seemed above [Music] suspicion it's a horrible way to live
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were you worried looking over your shoulders always every minute of every day in Riv Massachusetts a quiet
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bluecollar town just outside of Boston 54-year-old Lee Brown was keeping a dark secret I am not in the habit of talking
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to people about my life she would just come in she say hello to those that knew her Lee was a sweet quiet woman and my
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shop is right there print shop owner Vince La Porter was Lee's neighbor she'd probably come in like two or three times
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a week and make copies she was very pleasant she was like basically like a grandmother you know very soft spoken
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very very nice a nice lady just one of the regular Jackie Melo served Lee coffee at his
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Blues Diner there was just something about her she was more classy you know a more um well spoken well educated kind
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of girl no one ever knew Lee Brown was really Margaret Rudy a woman suspected of murder in
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Nevada this it's just unbelievable you know I don't believe she was capable at all of doing something like this
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Massachusetts State Trooper Mark Lynch got a tip from Nevada authorities that Margaret Ruden was living in Riv it was
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at um Bean over there Lynch tracked Margaret down to this apartment and with one of his officers disguised as a pizza
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Delivery Man a Domino's shirt baseball cap and a Domino's Pizza Box he gained entry and made the arrest we open the
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door and then she's hiding basically either in the tub or right next to the tub the statement was made Margaret you
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know why we're here and she says yeah this is about Las Vegas isn't it Las Vegas the
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strip the shows a high stakes gambling Mecca but to Margaret Ruden lost Vegas meant
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murder she's brought back to Las Vegas to stand trial for the 1994 murder of her husband Ron Ruden let me ask you
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point blank did you kill your husband absolutely not Ron Ruden disappeared December
00:04:47
1994 back then he was a successful real estate developer and gun dealer who was worth an estimated $12 million 60% of
00:04:57
Ron's millions of dollars would have gone to her Jimmy vakaro and Phil Ramos were homicide detectives assigned to the
00:05:05
case we know there was this uh real Rocky roller coaster relationship between Margaret Ruden and her husband
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was there a strain in the relationship many Margaret Ruden admits there were problems but that wasn't reason to kill
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him I don't have a history of staying with somebody if I'm really unhappy I have a history of divorcing them and so
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did Ron when they married in 19 1987 it was the fifth marriage for both he was extremely mysterious very charismatic
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did you fall in love with him yes he needed me but soon after they were married Margaret says she began to see another
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side of Ron I thought I'd made a terrible mistake you know by then I knew that he was uh drinking a lot and he was
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having an affair did that upset you that he was having extra marital Affairs did
00:05:58
it make you angry no you know why is because um 99% of the men that I've ever had in my life had fairs I believe that
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about 90% of the men do you might as well expect it but in spite of everything she says she loved
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Ron and was determined to make her marriage work I still thought that I could have an influence on him that I
00:06:24
could make a difference when Ron disappeared in 1994 Margaret was prepared ing for the
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grand opening of her antique shop and I expected him to come in and he didn't we knew something was
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wrong Sharon Melton Ron's close friend and bookkeeper after 10 years I think I knew him well immediately became
00:06:45
concerned when Ron failed to show up at work the next morning he would just not not show up and let anyone know one
00:06:53
month later Ron did show up charred remains of a body had been discovered in the desert 40 m outside of
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Las Vegas so this is where Ron Ruden stopped right here not a very fitting end for anyone they tell me that Ron's
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remains had been found think I was numb more than anything else amongst the remains was the framework of an antique
00:07:19
trunk and about 35 ft that way towards the river was where the head rolled to the human skull it was right in that
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area right there bullet holes in the skull the medical examiner felt there was a possibility of a decapitation
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having occurred postmortem is Margaret Ruden capable of murder is she capable of murder without a doubt it's unjust
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it's not fair if she is innocent why then did this Pleasant softspoken grandmother go on the run for almost 3
00:07:48
years when you're helpless and you're totally alone you do tend to maybe Panic that's next
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[Music] right through here is where the trunk got dragged and then uh here's a burn
00:08:17
spot right here where the fire actually took place Las Vegas homicide detectives
00:08:21
Phil Ramos and Jimmy vakaro have seen their share of murder somebody's dead we want to know who did it but nothing
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compares to what they believe happened to Ron Ruden shot possibly decapitated hauled some 45 miles outside of town
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does that sound like Overkill it does to me I did not kill my husband now Ron's wife Margaret will stand trial for his
00:08:46
murder this is my handsome husband on her way to church I want to remember him um during the good times you still
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love it yes so does Ron's cousin Brenda woods we were very close who was like a sister to Ron we just kind of had a
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special relationship this was taken in 1956 in our backyard he would have been all of 27 years old there oh it's on huh
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yeah Ron was a kider Ron was fun and that's what I remember most about him is that he was always teasing and always
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making us laugh Brenda watched Ron become a successful real estate developer he had the plates R rr-1 Ron
00:09:28
Ruden realy but were wored about him failing at four marriages until she met Margaret the first time I met her I
00:09:35
loved her I did we all did want a completely happy Christmas she was so sweet and had that sweet voice and so
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softspoken Brenda saw in Margaret a caring mother and grandmother who doted over Ron it was the kind of person that
00:09:53
you'd say you're welcome in my home at any time but when Ron mysteriously disappeared 7 years later Brenda's
00:10:01
attitude changed the more information we got the more we started adding it up and
00:10:06
the more we thought she had something very much to do with it whether she pulled the trigger or
00:10:12
not police felt exactly the same way she's given us bad signals right from the start they turned their attention to
00:10:20
Margaret everything keeps bringing us back to her after she showed what seemed like a lack of concern for Ron's
00:10:28
whereabouts I think that that was part of the reason why people were looking at Margaret right away I saw him about 6:30
00:10:34
they say it took Margaret 2 days to file a missing person's report and that she did so only after Ron's co-workers
00:10:43
informed police first generally speaking uh if the spouse is missing the wife's the one reporting him one month later
00:10:51
when the detectives told Margaret that Ron had been murdered again Margaret's reaction raised suspicion we've notified
00:10:58
a lot of people that their loved one is dead I've never seen a non-reaction like
00:11:02
Margaret's and then there was the antique trunk police say Ron was burned in Margaret had an antique store and she
00:11:09
was an antique dealer but it was information coming from this man he's the guy that tells us everything that
00:11:16
sent up a red flag he's the one that really takes us and brings us straight on focus with Margaret this is actually
00:11:24
the master bedroom Margaret hired Augustine Lavado to remodel the bedroom before Ron's body had been found this is
00:11:32
what I turned into an office for why detectives ask would Margaret Ruden do so before she knew the fate of her
00:11:40
husband this is all done before we even make the death notification If Ron's coming home where are they going to
00:11:46
sleep detectives say Margaret was trying to clean up the murder scene by removing
00:11:51
furniture and carpeting there was what I thought was blood on the carpet and when
00:11:57
I was cutting through it this like scabby type material kept sticking to me it looked like dried blood but there was
00:12:03
more Lavado also noticed a portrait of Margaret hanging over the bed it gave me a creepy feeling like it was like
00:12:10
staring at me on it there appeared to be blood I saw brownish red splatters going
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up the whole picture and then when I saw that I put the carpet and those two together and went wow based on levato's
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statement detective searched the bedroom the carpeting had long since been thrown
00:12:28
out they could only find tiny traces of Blood on the ceiling walls and the portrait police failed to find a sample
00:12:36
of Ron's DNA so they couldn't tell if it was his blood but detectives believe it
00:12:42
was and say this is where Margaret shot Ron and killed him all of this uh movement of the trunk and everything Ron
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Ruden was a 6 foot plus man at about 220 detectives have a theory Margaret didn't
00:12:57
act alone we know there's a Coke Spirit we know there's some help in this but is
00:13:01
Margaret capable of uh sliding up behind Ron while he's sleeping in bed and shooting him no doubt in my mind and
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Ron's friend and bookkeeper Sharon Melton says Ron thought so too one time he stood in my office and screamed at me
00:13:14
she won't shoot me Sharon she wouldn't get anything but guess what none of us knew about the directive but Ron Ruden
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the directive something Margaret knew nothing about an unusual provision Ron put in his will to protect his assets it
00:13:31
was a signal to investigators that if he died by violent means they should look at his
00:13:38
beneficiaries do you think he was speaking from his grade I think he was saying yeah in the event that somebody
00:13:44
murders me take a look at these people including my wife including my wife while detectives were certain Margaret
00:13:51
was the killer the District Attorney's office was concerned about the lack of Hard Evidence we don't know we got
00:13:57
enough to take to a jury here and they didn't a grand jury failed to indict Margaret for the murder of her husband
00:14:04
but then prosecutors Gary Gman and Chris Owens caught a break quite honestly it was concealed in a garbage bag a gun was
00:14:12
found so it looked like trash at the bottom of the lake 14 mil from where Ron ruden's body was discovered ballistics
00:14:19
showed that it was the murder weapon incredibly the gun was owned by Ron Ruden no question about that at all no
00:14:27
question at all records from the uh ATF have absolutely confirmed that that was his gun and Ruden had reported the gun
00:14:34
missing six years before he was murdered are you saying basically that Margaret Ruden took his gun and waited all this
00:14:42
time to kill him that's what the evidence suggests one year after the gun was found 2 years after Ron's murder the
00:14:52
second grand jury handed down an indictment but before prosecutors could arrest Margaret rudley
00:14:59
she fled you're telling us that you've been framed I think it all boils down to Greed on Whose part that will definitely
00:15:07
come out of trial if you're not guilty why do you run [Music] next I have so many memories of this
00:15:24
place when I was a kid my mom spent a lot of her time here we laugh a lot I know it's her all-time favorite place is
00:15:31
here by the water 34-year-old Christina Mason remembers the good times growing up with her mother Margaret in Zion
00:15:39
Illinois she's just a wonderful person and I'm proud to say that she's my mother Christina says her mother has
00:15:49
been accused of a crime she did not commit I miss my mom very much and we just want her to come home I'm sorry
00:15:59
I'm sorry how does your family feel about you being in jail I don't think anyone
00:16:06
could ever ever know how hard it is for her this is Margaret when she was I think four years old and this one she
00:16:21
was five Margaret's mother Eloise Frost if you could be with her right now what would you tell her I love you you more
00:16:29
than anything happy birthday to you today is Eloise's 80th birthday so the scary
00:16:38
thing about being 80 is that I want to live long enough to see Margaret pronounced innocent cuz she is inocent
00:16:46
but prosecutors Chris Owens and Gary Gman ask if you're not guilty why do you run just weeks before she was to be
00:16:54
indicted it's real clear that she left because she was soon to be held accountable Margaret Ruden argues she
00:16:59
left Las Vegas nearly 2 years after Ron's murder and that she had no alternative but to run I was terrified
00:17:07
at that point I had no attorney I had no money it didn't seem like anybody was going to help me it didn't seem like
00:17:13
anybody was even going to Care far from the bright lights of Las Vegas Margaret traveled to guadalahara
00:17:23
Mexico where she worked teaching English it was a wonderful Adventure because I had never been alone
00:17:31
before to avoid detection Margaret Ruden changed her identity how many aliases did you have do you know I really don't
00:17:39
know there were quite a few after several months in Mexico Margaret moved on to Phoenix Arizona and another Alias
00:17:47
there was a net boat right she worked in a hotel gift shop and lived at a YMCA her last stop River Massachusetts
00:17:56
where Margaret Ruden was finally arrested I wanted my life back I wanted to be with my children I wanted to be
00:18:04
with my grandchildren why did she run she was scared defense attorney Michael Amador says Margaret was forced to run
00:18:12
by a police department that had rushed to judgment within days after the missing person's report was given they
00:18:19
immediately targeted Margaret as the perpetrator you saying law enforcement in this case used tunnel vision
00:18:25
absolutely item police say Ron's employe es were the first to report him missing
00:18:31
not Margaret since his employees were immediately concerned that he didn't show up for work why wouldn't Margaret
00:18:37
be concerned but Margaret says she did call police and was told to wait they had said that the majority of them
00:18:44
always come home they had a policy that it was 48 hours to wait and Margaret didn't stop there I started calling
00:18:50
everyone that I ever knew to see if anybody had heard from him or if anybody had heard him say anything oh Margaret
00:18:57
called very just TR Barbara orit's Mountain Lodge was located next to property Ron Ruden owned I asked Barbara
00:19:05
if she had seen Ron I said I also was worried that something might have happened to him over on the property she
00:19:11
was very worried very concerned um that Ron hadn't come home this was not a usual thing item the
00:19:21
bedroom you know what kind of a wife when her husband is missing under suspicious circumstances remodels her
00:19:26
entire master bedroom and turns it into an office there were so many reasons for
00:19:31
that too Margaret explains Ron was missing for almost a month before she changed her bedroom I didn't really
00:19:38
believe that Ron would be coming back once his car was found I believed it was Foul Play and there was another reason I
00:19:45
had never liked being in the bedroom because I had been told Peggy had committed suicide in there Peggy is
00:19:52
Peggy Ruden Ron ruden's third wife who shot herself in the head in that very bedroom that was always something that
00:20:00
bothered me item the murder weapon Ron's own gun there's no way that they could say I was the only person that had
00:20:08
access did you take the gun no I did not so if Margaret Ruden didn't kill her husband who did Margaret was framed for
00:20:16
the murder of her husband in my opinion Amador points to these two people Sharon
00:20:21
Cooper and Harold bucuti longtime friends of Ron Ruden and trustees of his estate they're the ones who a far
00:20:29
greater motive to kill Ronald Ruden than Margaret did you're looking at what attorney Michael Amador calls the
00:20:35
motivation for murder Ron ruden's land Cooper and bosotti along with Margaret Ruden were all beneficiaries of the
00:20:43
estate Amador believes that Cooper and boscutti arranged Ron ruden's murder framing Margaret so that they would be
00:20:51
the only beneficiaries of the estimated $12 million Fortune prosecutors say that's absurd
00:20:59
trustees were not the individuals who had access to that deadly weapon the gun they're not the uh individuals who fled
00:21:05
uh in this investigation they're not the persons that change people that changed
00:21:08
the room and and and altered the bedroom Michael Amador has his work cut out for
00:21:13
him this is a private document so does co-defense counsel Tom pataro there's been nothing simple in this case their
00:21:21
strategy Pro Ron Ruden wasn't killed in his bedroom there is absolutely no possible way that he was shot in that
00:21:28
room if they can prove that they say the entire State's Theory falls apart the blood that they describe is not the
00:21:36
result of a high velocity spray as a result of a gunshot wound to his head I want somebody to believe me but I want
00:21:43
them to believe me on the evidence with the trial fast approaching attorneys on both sides are cautiously confident to
00:21:51
me a trial is a street fight with neckti please state your name but the street fight is about to get nasty Donna can
00:21:59
with explosive testimony from the state star witness you are the sister of Margaret rud is that correct yes I am
00:22:06
that's next can you tell me what it is mar would say about a relationship with [Music]
00:22:28
it took several years for authorities to even find Margaret Ruden to try to bring
00:22:33
the 58-year-old grandmother to justice for the murder of her millionaire husband prosecutors say her motives were
00:22:40
Timeless jealousy and greed but she contends she was framed by others who stood to profit from her husband Ron's
00:22:48
death and she says the reason she fled Las Vegas was out of panic feeling helpless with no one in her Corner 6
00:22:56
years after the murder Mar Ruden would stand trial facing potentially damaging testimony from a bombshell witness and
00:23:05
with her own defense team about to roll the dice here again is Harold [Music] D in the city of high stakes gamblers
00:23:22
money power crime fear attorneys Michael Amador and Tom pataro are taking a chance the evidence doesn't support the
00:23:32
theory they can prove Margaret Ruden didn't kill her husband Ron there's nothing really tangible that you're
00:23:38
knocking out you have a right patero admits circumstantial cases like this one are hard to defend to defend that
00:23:45
you're defending against a whisp of smoke it's Mike Amador okay go ahead but lead defense attorney Michael Amador
00:23:52
appears ready once they get our expert we're going to kick their ass and confident the entire state case is
00:23:59
nothing but a house of cards waiting for just the slightest Breeze to knock it down Mike's had some really grandio
00:24:06
statements I mean he's been sure you know that he has what he has prosecutor Gary Gman the state has the burden of
00:24:12
proof and we've got to shoulder that are my shoulders broad enough we'll find out
00:24:17
all right District Court department 6 session the hon residing you see the please right Council stipulate that the
00:24:23
Pres of the jury all right call your next witness the state starts with one of the motives sues Please Mr Bale
00:24:30
jealousy of this woman did you have feelings for Ronald Ruden in November of 1994 Ron ruden's mistress yes Sue lyes
00:24:38
and can you describe those feelings for the jury as you felt them then I cared very deeply for Ron weeks before Ron
00:24:44
disappeared I don't mean to embarrass you ma' vulgar Anonymous letters were mailed to ly's children they are
00:24:50
dripping with Venom and anger I quote from the letter your mother has been screwing Ronald Ruden the realtor for
00:24:57
over a year and she screws him on dirty carpet floors prosecutors believe Margaret feared ly's was going to steal
00:25:05
Ron and his money did you write the letters no I did not there is absolutely no way that Sue L was ever a threat to
00:25:13
my marriage in any way shape or form Margaret does admit knowing all about ly's how according to police she tapped
00:25:22
Ron's phone can you tell me what his reaction was to the letters he was angry he talked about confronting her her that
00:25:29
confrontation prosecutor Chris Owens theorizes sent Margaret into a rage ending in Ran's murder and the last
00:25:37
thing he' said to this girlfriend was I'm going to go talk to Margaret about these and the next night he disappears
00:25:46
according to prosecutors Margaret shot Ron and used a trunk to get his body to the
00:25:52
desert please state your name and spell your last name for the record Donna with
00:25:57
one n can the state star witness says she knows firsthand how anxious Margaret was
00:26:05
to be free of her husband I said I thought you were going to divorce him and she said to me that uh he's not in
00:26:13
very good health he can't even walk without being out of breath and I think I will wait but this isn't just any
00:26:19
witness you are the sister of Margaret Ruden is that correct yes I am Donna Cantrell Margaret's own sister is
00:26:27
testifying against her we have a long running history of of not speaking now have the two of you always had a close
00:26:37
relationship with each other no what's it like for a mother to see one of her daughters do something like this it's
00:26:44
horrible CU I spent my whole life raising my family and it it breaks my heart does marget ever talk to you about
00:26:54
what you should say if the police contact you to tell them that she and Ron were getting along better than ever
00:27:01
and that the girlfriend wasn't an issue now did you know or believe Ron and Margaret to be getting along better than
00:27:08
ever at the time of Ron's disappearance no her testimony sends shock waves through the defense and Lead attorney
00:27:15
Amador stumbling into cross-examination let me try this when was it in 1988 then
00:27:21
that you first uh went to a doctor and began uh getting a prescription for some sort
00:27:28
of anti-press no it was 1983 1983 but his efforts to discredit Cantrell fall short I want to know what
00:27:36
you intend to elicit from this witness okay I will only be cross-examining her about specific incidents in 1984 she
00:27:44
slammed a glass up against a man's head at a bar because he called her a for it because it was crowded and she
00:27:53
pushed him and there were other acts of of violence that she perpetrated is going to be ridiculous she's not on
00:27:58
trial here this woman is not on trial this woman testified you have a right to impeach her but this is getting
00:28:05
ridiculous as Margaret watches on she loses faith in her attorney my attorney was not prepared Mr Amador was getting
00:28:14
worse with every day that passed instead of a better Department 6 District Court
00:28:19
is now a session please be seated on the following day Margaret does something about it Mr Ruden stand up a minute what
00:28:26
is the issue here I would like to ask for a mistrial because I don't believe that Mr Amador
00:28:33
is prepared enough Amador supports his client's motion and admits defeat the extensiveness of the case made it
00:28:40
impossible given the time but the judge doesn't buy it couldn't the same thing happen in any case couldn't a defendant
00:28:47
say oh by the way judge things are not going my way too much give me a mistrial let me get another second bite of the
00:28:54
apple he denies the motion the trial of the state of Nevada versus Margaret Ruden will resume at 1:00 the judge has
00:29:03
made his ruling and now we go forward the defense team decides that co-counsel Tom patero should step in and take the
00:29:10
wheel one of his first challenges prepare for the testimony of this man the is a Yehuda shiron a former Israeli
00:29:19
military officer turned business man and he explained this business to us he obtains this holy oil and then he
00:29:26
bottles it and he sells it to the Catholic now let me ask you this Chiron helped Margaret manage her finances
00:29:32
detectives believe Chiron was also Margaret's lover and somehow connected with the murder were you involved with
00:29:39
him romantically I was involved with him as a a friend I have a lot of male friends that doesn't mean there's
00:29:45
anything romantically involved Chiron was given full immunity will he implicate Margaret Ruden that's next
00:29:54
[Music] she could not have done it would be physically impossible for her to have done any of the things that
00:30:09
that are attributable to her by the state Tom pataro is convinced 58-year-old Margaret Ruden isn't capable
00:30:19
of committing the gruesome murder of her husband Ron we've never believed that she did it by herself we've always
00:30:25
alleged that someone else had to have assisted her prosecutors say that someone else is Yehuda Chiron a
00:30:32
47-year-old former Israeli intelligence officer this was not a oneperson job to remove the body of a man that large and
00:30:40
take him out to a remote spot in the desert Yehuda shiron who is he he was a friend Margaret says she turned to
00:30:48
Chiron to help her straighten out Ron's finances after he disappeared we had an agreement that he would do a lot of the
00:30:57
uh paperwork for me that I did not know how to do but detectives Ramos and vakaro insist Chiron was more than a
00:31:04
friend the huge amount of phone calls that were occurring between Yehuda and Margaret I mean she called him I don't
00:31:12
know how many times and now we're starting to think uh-oh now we have a boyfriend involved and so did that make
00:31:18
us start thinking that we need to go investigate him you bet despite their suspicion they were never able to prove
00:31:25
Chiron was involved they looked at Yehuda Shir and thought he knows something but he's not telling us why
00:31:31
not well maybe he's afraid that he's going to get prosecuted so the District Attorney's Office granted Chiron full
00:31:39
immunity hoping he would implicate Margaret but he didn't all right call your next witness
00:31:46
yiron Yehuda Chiron now prosecutors are trying again on the stand and Monday night you rented the van yes Chiron
00:31:55
rented a van the day after Ron Ruden disapp appeared prosecutors believe he used it to dispose of the body isn't it
00:32:02
true that you went to Nelson's Landing with that van in 1994 nope you are sure of that I'm very sure once again Chiron
00:32:11
gives the state nothing and the defense jumps at the chance to make that clear to the jury did you kill Ron Ruden no I
00:32:19
did not did you help kill Ron Ruden no I did not he was the only person that could have said I killed Ron Ruden and
00:32:27
could have walked out the door but even with immunity he said no the defense begins to build momentum wherever you
00:32:34
start measuring from there raising doubt as to where Ruden was killed they say that he was shot in his
00:32:41
bedroom while he was asleep well we say the objective evidence doesn't support that in any way shaped manner or form
00:32:48
and while handyman Augustine Lavado says he saw blood in the bedroom a month after Ron Ruden disappeared and one of
00:32:55
the things you thought was very important was to look down at the floor this police detective searched the house
00:33:01
just days after Ron disappeared and saw nothing you were down there on the carpet weren't you it similar to that
00:33:10
position yes you see any big stains down there that struck you was being unusual
00:33:15
no after ruden's body was found the room was searched again this time by forensic
00:33:20
specialist Mike Perkins and this time a small amount of blood spatter was found the size of these is consistent with a
00:33:30
gunshot wound but pataro argues the blood found in the bedroom doesn't make a crime scene going to make a right to
00:33:38
prove it he brings the bedroom to the jury we literally rebuilt the bedroom so that the jury could see
00:33:49
specifically what we're talking about the whole body would have to go this way to get the head now facing the back to
00:33:56
the east is that correct yes pataro also brings in his own expert who says the small amount of blood makes it difficult
00:34:04
to prove anything at all what you're telling us then is that when we put all these stains that are there in total
00:34:12
that we come up with how much volume I think was less than a drop less than a drop
00:34:18
total yes the amount of blood was found was very minute it would not be consistent with someone that would have
00:34:25
been shot in the bed that would have been a great deal of blood nobody ever said that that's all the blood that
00:34:30
there was we just said when the police got there 30 days later after she didn't a remodel top to bottom that's what was
00:34:36
left Michael Amador says from the very beginning investigators had the wrong person were you ever questioned by
00:34:42
detectives Vio and Ramos about your whereabouts on December 18th of 1994 I don't recall who should they have
00:34:50
been following I mean think about it follow the money where does the money lead Sharon Cooper and Harold bosy Shar
00:34:58
Cooper and Harold bucuti trustees and beneficiaries of Ron's estate the people Margaret says took control of Ron's
00:35:06
Fortune within a week of Ron's disappearance the trustees had already uh started putting every asset that he
00:35:13
had in their name after the trust was dispersed All the Monies were dispersed how much did you get a million and a
00:35:19
quarter million and a half the death of Ron Ruden made some people millionaires one of them was not Margaret Ruden his
00:35:25
wife but prosecutors say Cooper and bcui were simply following the instructions in Ron's will these are not killer
00:35:33
people they're just nice people that got surprised by situation and dealt with it
00:35:36
the best way they could after almost 100 Witnesses 8 weeks of testimony and more
00:35:42
than 500,000 taxpayers dollars Margaret Ruden is a good and decent woman the trial goes to the jury Margaret Ruden
00:35:53
chooses not to take the stand the cas is now submitted to you l ladies and gentlemen I've been doing this 26 years
00:36:00
and the one thing I know is I have no idea what's going through the jury's mind right now when we come back this is
00:36:07
wrong no jury should ever ever have to go through what I went through an amazing turn of events
00:36:17
[Music] it's still too early to guess what the jury might be thinking at this point
00:36:32
they almost 9 weeks after her trial began have you talked to Margaret Margaret Ruden must now wait for the
00:36:39
jury to decide her fate I did not kill my husband and I have total confidence that's what the jury will
00:36:46
return as days pass it's clear the jury is struggling to reach a verdict well once again we're hearing about problems
00:36:54
in the jury room but finally after long days they get a verdict and they're going to announce it at 12 R will you
00:37:01
stand up the wait is over have you arrived at a verdict yes sir we have almost 7 years after Ron Ruden was
00:37:09
brutally murdered we find the defendant guilty his wife Margaret is guilty of murder I was numb I was totally numb and
00:37:19
as she has been throughout the trial Margaret remains stoic what were you thinking that I'm Dreaming this isn't
00:37:27
real it can't be real through it all you never showed any emotion how could you do that you know I don't think it's a
00:37:37
choice I don't think you deliberately say I'm not going to show any emotion to the camera but you were
00:37:44
hurt definitely yeah it was complete shock and disbelief disappointment I I mean it broke my heart ladies and
00:37:53
gentlemen of the jury is those your verdicts as R so say you one so say you all yes for Tom potaro it's a disappointing
00:38:01
end to an exhausting fight in the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln I'm too old to cry and it hurts too much to
00:38:07
laugh but for prosecutor Gary Gman Justice is served this was a long time coming and it was nice to see that this
00:38:14
jury was now holding her accountable for a premeditated deliberate act it all came back to Margaret jury Forman Ron
00:38:22
vest to me this was a slam dunk with a step ladder but was it it's Mike Amador just hours after the verdict a stunning
00:38:30
allegation I just got off the phone with juror number 11 they uh forced her into
00:38:35
voting that way I changed my vote I never changed my mind Corine Kovac is juror number 11 the loan hold out during
00:38:44
deliberations do you think maret Ruden is guilty of murder no I don't I think I've read these notes a total of 16
00:38:51
times from start to finish Kovac believes prosecutors failed to prove their case Beyond a reasonable out they
00:38:58
said Margaret killed Ron Ruden in that bed and I don't believe that happened she told 48 Hours she was pressured into
00:39:07
voting guilty I was told to my face we're going to deliberate until we reach a verdict and when she refused to change
00:39:17
her mind she says the other jurors became nasty and belligerent they went off on me I mean they went off screaming
00:39:26
and yelling and pointing and sticking fingers in my face but the jurors we talk to dispute kac's claims there was
00:39:35
no pointing fingers there was nobody in her face it scared me to think that I had already voted and that wasn't going
00:39:44
out of that room and nothing was going out of that room until I agreed with the other 11 jurors on the fifth day of
00:39:52
deliberations Kovac changed her vote guilty I'm sorry I buckled I'm sorry I didn't stick by my guns and I'm sorry I
00:40:01
couldn't take it anymore and I will have to live with that for the rest of my life had Corine
00:40:08
Kovac voted her conscience it would have meant a hung jury and a new trial which
00:40:14
is what Margaret Ruden wants most I will keep fighting I will fight back in every
00:40:20
way possible I can to overrule the verdict absolutely Justice was and here's where his mom and dad are but
00:40:30
for Brenda woods and the rest of Ron ruden's family this case is closed I'd like to see Margaret go to prison and
00:40:38
stay there it was a horrible horrible thing no one should die the way Ron died shortly after trial the judge
00:40:49
pronounced sentence life in prison for Margaret Ruden he rejected her motion for a new trial so saying her lawyers
00:40:58
didn't present sufficient evidence to support their claim that a juror was pressured into voting guilty the judge
00:41:04
also cited a lack of support for the claim that her lead attorney Michael Amador had been
00:41:11
ineffective during sentencing the judge scolded Margaret Ruden for showing No Remorse but he left her with a faint
00:41:19
glimmer of hope she will be eligible for parole after 20 years with time already
00:41:25
served that means she'll get her first chance at Freedom when she's [Music] 76 a
00:42:03
[Music]