Deadly Senior Citizens May Face Death Sentence
Jim Kouri, CPP
August 02, 2006
Two female senior citizens, dubbed "The Black Widows" by police, were officially charged Monday with murdering homeless men in hit-and-run incidents disguised as accidents. aimed at financial gain, and they face death sentences, according to prosecutors.
The elderly women are accused of committing murders and then collecting millions of dollars on victims' life insurance.
Seventy-three year old Olga Rutterschmidt and 75-year old Helen Golay, were charged in Los Angeles County with two counts of murder and two counts of conspiracy. The murder charges carry special circumstances that would make the women eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
However, county Deputy District Attorney Shellie Samuels told AP that the prosecutors will wait until the case moves closer to trial before deciding whether to seek capital punishment.
Meanwhile, Golay's attorney, Roger Jon Diamond, said that he was confident of winning the case because "there was no murder and there is no evidence of murder."
The women will not be arraigned in Los Angeles on the murder charges until they are transferred from federal to state custody.
The senior citizen suspects are accused of arranging two hit-and-run accidents in dark alleys. The first hit-and-run involved Paul Vados, 73, in November 1999 in Hollywood, while the other hit-and-run left 51-year-old Kenneth McDavid dead in June 2005 in Westwood.
Both killings went unsolved until the women were arrested in May and charged with federal mail fraud.
Federal agents and LAPD detectives claim that the two women enticed the homeless men with rent-free paid apartments and food. The suspects allowed the men to stay for as long as two years in exchange for obtaining the men's signatures.
According to the complaint filed, the women took out three dozen life insurance policies on the men, had them killed and then collected while falsely claiming to be the victims' relatives.
Some of the insurance companies found the women's story suspicious and refused to pay.
An investigation was launched last year when police looking into McDavid's death found similarities to the Vados case, detectives told reporters.
The "Black Widows" are awaiting an October, 2006 trial date on the federal charges.
The elderly women are accused of committing murders and then collecting millions of dollars on victims' life insurance.
Seventy-three year old Olga Rutterschmidt and 75-year old Helen Golay, were charged in Los Angeles County with two counts of murder and two counts of conspiracy. The murder charges carry special circumstances that would make the women eligible for the death penalty if convicted.
However, county Deputy District Attorney Shellie Samuels told AP that the prosecutors will wait until the case moves closer to trial before deciding whether to seek capital punishment.
Meanwhile, Golay's attorney, Roger Jon Diamond, said that he was confident of winning the case because "there was no murder and there is no evidence of murder."
The women will not be arraigned in Los Angeles on the murder charges until they are transferred from federal to state custody.
The senior citizen suspects are accused of arranging two hit-and-run accidents in dark alleys. The first hit-and-run involved Paul Vados, 73, in November 1999 in Hollywood, while the other hit-and-run left 51-year-old Kenneth McDavid dead in June 2005 in Westwood.
Both killings went unsolved until the women were arrested in May and charged with federal mail fraud.
Federal agents and LAPD detectives claim that the two women enticed the homeless men with rent-free paid apartments and food. The suspects allowed the men to stay for as long as two years in exchange for obtaining the men's signatures.
According to the complaint filed, the women took out three dozen life insurance policies on the men, had them killed and then collected while falsely claiming to be the victims' relatives.
Some of the insurance companies found the women's story suspicious and refused to pay.
An investigation was launched last year when police looking into McDavid's death found similarities to the Vados case, detectives told reporters.
The "Black Widows" are awaiting an October, 2006 trial date on the federal charges.
Print
Email
