"They made $2.8 million by murder -- murder to collect life insurance
benefits of two men who had nothing," Deputy District Attorney Truc Do
told
the nine-man, three-woman jury.
Helen Louise Golay, 77, of Santa Monica, and Olga Rutterschmidt, 75, of
Hollywood, are charged with two counts each of murder and conspiracy in
the
deaths of Kenneth McDavid and Paul Vados.
The prosecution on Tuesday showed jurors a videotape of one defendant
accusing the other of being too greedy in taking out too many insurance
policies on homeless men.
"It's your fault," Rutterschmidt told Golay in the tape. "You can't have
that many insurers. ... You were greedy. That's the problem."
The tape was played during an opening statement by Do.
Do presented jurors an outline of evidence she said will tie the women to
the deaths of two homeless men who were run over by cars.
Authorities allege that the defendants conspired to insure two indigent
men,
kill them in fake hit-and-run accidents and collect on the insurance
policies.
Both women have pleaded not guilty. The prosecution is not seeking the
death
penalty.
Defense attorneys deferred their opening statements until the prosecution
side of the case concludes.
"We have evidence to show she's not guilty," Golay's attorney, Roger Jon
Diamond, said in an interview Monday. "They have over 100 witnesses but
they
have no eyewitness, no confession. It's all cir***stantial."
The videotape was recorded by the FBI when the women were in custody for
what was initially a mail fraud investigation.
In one part of the videotape, Golay coolly attempted to say that one
victim
loved her and Rutterschmidt and felt they were his family.
Rutterschmidt snapped back: "I was the cousin. You were the fiancee.
Baloney."
Do said the women found the men in a homeless shelter at a Hollywood
church,
set them up in apartments and sup****ted them for two years, all the while
taking out multiple life insurance policies on them.
The prosecutor said they ultimately profited to the tune of $2.8 million
and
were still trying to collect on policies when they were arrested.
During the prosecution's opening statement, the jury was shown pictures of
the victims' bodies, receipts for rent, a car that has been linked to one
of
the killings and a rubber stamp with one victim's signature that was
allegedly used to sign insurance policies.
The case began in 2006 in federal court with a grand jury indicting the
women on nine counts each of mail fraud and related charges for making
false
insurance claims. But when further evidence developed in the alleged
hit-and-run scheme, the case was transferred to Los Angeles County
Superior
Court and murder charges were filed.
In the videotaped conversation, the women apparently thought their only
problem was a mail fraud investigation and Golay calmly told
Rutterschmidt,
"Be quiet. The only thing they're after is mail fraud."
Rutterschmidt replied, "They have no proof."
Rutterschmidt talked on agitatedly in spite of the warning. She berated
Golay for taking too many insurance policies and said, it was "your fault
it
ended up like this."
"I paid for them," replied Golay.
"You have to pay back," said Rutterschmidt. "They will lock you up."
Do said the women spent about $64,000 for insurance policy premiums and to
sup****t the men. They took out a total of $5.7 million in insurance
policies, she said.
"After putting all that money into Mr. McDavid, his life was theirs," the
prosecutor said.
She showed jurors a photo of the palm-shaded Hollywood building where
Golay
and Rutterschmidt rented a studio apartment for McDavid at $875 a month
and
the rental checks they signed.
Do said the women brought him food and closely monitored his life but the
plot almost soured when McDavid invited four or five other homeless people
to move in with him. When the women discovered it, she said, they brought
police to evict the others and hired armed security guards to sit outside
the apartment. The guards were expected to testify.
Do said each man was kept by the women for two years, the length of time
that would make their insurance policies uncontestable, then killed them.
She said they were confident of getting away with the McDavid murder
because
they had killed Vados five years earlier.
On June 21, 2005, she said, Golay "and possibly others" ran over McDavid
in
an alley. She said Golay then called for a tow because the car had
problems.
The tow truck driver is to testify that it was taken to Golay's home.
Later,
it was abandoned in Hollywood and investigators found McDavid's DNA on its
undercarriage.
Do said Golay went to the coroner's office, claimed McDavid's body as a
relative and had it cremated.
The first two witnesses were men who found McDavid's body and called
police.
There are no eyewitnesses to the death.
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