Altoona, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines, is the scene for a new episode of Snapped, airing Sept. 28 at 6/5c p.m. on Oxygen. 

It’s a small city known for its theme parks and racetrack, but on Aug. 10, 2022, the amusements were upended by an urgent call to Polk County 911. 

In an episode preview clip, Marique Ruth frantically told the dispatcher in a recorded call: “My boyfriend tried to attack me, and I had no choice but to defend myself.”

Ruth went on to share chilling details. “He’s lying on the floor, and I think he’s dead,” she told 911. “I shot him!”

The shooting victim was John Killen, who lived in Ruth’s house with her 22-year-old son, Cole.

What police found at the scene

Ruth was instructed to immediately leave the house, said Altoona Police Detective David Lowe, and to wait for the arriving officers.

Upon entering the residence, police checked on Killen. “John was face down in the living room,” said Lowe. “He appeared to be shot multiple times.”

The scope of the wounds was clearly discernible. “You could see a large amount of blood coming from what appeared to be his mouth and behind his ear,” Altoona Police Lieutenant Steven Harris noted in the episode preview. “So, there were some visible wounds.”

A closer inspection revealed where bullets had entered Killen’s body. “Right away,” stated Altoona Police Sergeant Mark Harmon, “you could see a bullet hole on the side of his neck.”

Officers quickly went into first-response mode. “They tried to render aid and found that he was already deceased,” said Des Moines Register reporter William Morris, “He was declared dead at the scene.”

Marique Ruth’s account of the deadly shooting

Officers at the scene observed Ruth’s reaction in the wake of the fatal encounter. “Marique seemed shocked with the whole situation,” said Altoona Police Detective Tia Frederick. “Her hands were visibly shaking.” 

In a recorded conversation captured in the Snapped preview, Ruth told police, “We’ve been fighting since I got home. I asked him to leave. He refused and came after me like he was going to punch me.”

As she wept, Ruth went on to describe her actions that preceded the deadly shooting. “I grabbed my gun out of my purse,” she declared. “I just pulled the trigger.” 

Her son said he’d just left the room when the shots rang out, so he didn’t actually witness the shooting. 

“Cole was walking down the stairs to his bedroom from the living room where John and Marique were arguing,” said Frederick. “He said that three or four shots occurred from behind him.”

How police approached the case

Investigators quickly developed a sense of the history and dynamic between Killen and Ruth.

“The overall factor was that Marique had been on and off again with John,” said Harris. “They argued a lot.”

That pattern of behavior and volatile history had, Ruth claimed, an impact on her. “Marique said that she was scared of John, that he might physically assault her,” said Harmon. “That’s why she had to use her gun in self-defense.”

In the police recording, Ruth stated, “I thought he was gonna hurt me.” 

Investigators dug deep to uncover the circumstances that led to this incident. In order to do that, said Lowe, they had “to peer into the past of both Marique and John.” 

Learn the shocking truths that police discovered in this case when Snapped airs Sunday, Sept. 28 at 6/5c p.m. on Oxygen.