Olga Rutterschmidt is a Los Angeles woman who was convicted of murder at the age of 73, along with her 75-year-old co-conspirator, Helen Golay. The pair had opened multiple life insurance policies on two homeless men, then killed them.Los Angeles Times: Woman convicted of second murder (April 22, 2008)
On July 15, 2008, Rutterschmidt was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.Los Angeles Times: Killers of 2 homeless men for insurance get life without parole (July 15, 2008)
Fast Facts:
- Born: 1933
- Birthplace: Hungary
- Residence: Hollywood, California
- Convicted: Murder
- Victims: Paul Vados, Kenneth McDavid
- Accomplice: Helen Golay
- Combined $3,000,000 in insurance collectedWashington Post: In L.A., a Case Straight Out of 'Arsenic and Old Lace' (March 17, 2008)
Criminal Background
A native of Hungary, Rutterschmidt conspired with co-defendant Helen Golay to befriend homeless men and then take out life insurance policies in their name. In 1999, after the life insurance policy on Paul Vados matured, Golay and Rutterschmidt engineered his staged hit-and-run death. In 2005, they developed a similar plan involving another homeless man, Kenneth McDavid. After police spotted odd similarities between the two supposedly accidental deaths, including the position of the victim's bodies, they investigated and discovered connections to Rutterschmidt and Golay. Both women were arrested in October, 2006.Washington Post: In L.A., a Case Straight Out of 'Arsenic and Old Lace' (March 17, 2008)
