One 'Black Widow' defendant convicted of murder
Helen Golay is found guilty of killing two homeless men to cash in on life insurance. Her co-defendant, Olga Rutterschmidt, is convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and still faces murder charges.
In a case that has drawn worldwide attention, a 77-year-old woman was convicted today of murdering two homeless men in a chilling, slow-motion plot to collect $2.8 million in life insurance. Her 75-year-old co-defendant was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit murder, and the jury was still considering two murder charges and a second conspiracy count against her.
Helen Golay, who was convicted of murder, and Olga Rutterschmidt, found guilty on the conspiracy charge, were accused of plucking Kenneth McDavid and Paul Vados off the streets, putting them up in apartments for two years while the deadline for insurance companies to contest claims ran out, and then having them run over in dark alleys.
Golay faces life in prison without possibility of parole. She buried her face in her hands as the verdicts were read.
Rutterschmidt faces 25 years to life for the conspiracy conviction. She put her chin in her hand and glanced around the courtroom as the jury's decision was delivered.
From the start, the defendants' advanced age kept the case in headlines, drawing comparisons to the film "Arsenic and Old Lace." The killings came to be known as the "Black Widow" murders.
Experts said there was no point in seeking the death penalty against them because they would probably die in prison during the lengthy appeal process. A plea bargain was also out; any prison term would be a life sentence for the women.
After two years in custody, they appeared gray and frail during the trial in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Prosecutors said Golay, a former Santa Monica real estate agent, and the Hungarian-born Rutterschmidt, a longtime Hollywood resident who once owned a coffee shop with her late husband, targeted the most vulnerable people in society because their deaths would not raise a stir.
Golay and Rutterschmidt had known each other for at least 20 years before their arrests, police and others say. They allegedly were partners in a number of bogus lawsuits and petty crimes before embarking on the murder scheme, authorities say.
A Texas native known for her elaborate hairstyles and youthful dress, Golay fronted the money for the cold-blooded enterprise, and is believed to have pocketed most of the insurance proceeds, which infuriated Rutterschmidt, according to acquaintances and investigators.
