Helen Golay
Helen Golay was convicted on April 17, 2008, of the murders of two homeless men, Paul Vados and Kenneth McDavid. Golay and co-defendant Olga Rutterschmidt had befriended the men and opened life insurance policies on them. They then killed the men and collected the insurance benefits.1
On July 15, 2008, Golay was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.2
Fast Facts:
- Born: 1931
- Residence: Santa Monica, California
- Occupation: Real estate investor
- Victims: Paul Vados, Kenneth McDavid
- Accomplice: Olga Rutterschmidt
- Conviction: Murder
- Collected approximately $3,000,000 in insurance on two victims3
- Took out multiple policies on the victims3
Personal Background
Golay and Rutterschmidt met in the 1980s and reportedly bonded over shared experiences of childhood trauma—Golay from a car accident and Rutterschmidt from a childhood spent in World War II Hungary.4 The pair, however, would soon direct their bond toward crime.
Criminal Background
Golay and Rutterschmidt began their criminal careers by stealing purses and credit cards, but by 1999 had progressed to the murder/fraud schemes that eventually led to their convictions. That year, Golay and Rutterschmidt staged the hit-and-run death of homeless man Paul Vados in order to collect on a life insurance policy they had taken out in his name. Six years later, they killed another homeless man, Kenneth McDavid, under similar circumstances. Similarities between the two so-called accidents led police to the two elderly women, arresting them in October, 2006.3
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