Full details on the trial of Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt

April 8, 2008

'Little old lady' framed, defense suggests

An attorney for a septuagenarian woman charged with murder in the staged hit-and-run killings of two homeless men told jurors Monday that his client was framed by her daughter, who was motivated by "intense hatred toward her mother."

April 6, 2008

Greed, betrayal are themes in testimony at women's hit-and-run trial

Life insurance agent Jody Resmick received a baffling call from an irate customer.

March 29, 2008

Witness says he feared accused killers

A few years ago, a stranger made Jimmy Covington an irresistible offer.

March 26, 2008

Sister of a hit-and-run victim testifies in trial of two women

In the spring of 2005, Sandra Salman got a call from her brother, Kenneth McDavid. It was the first time in 10 years that she had heard from him.

March 22, 2008

Jurors view car allegedly used to kill homeless man

It wasn't the typical murder weapon viewing.

March 19, 2008

Defendants' backgrounds

Defendants' backgrounds

* Helen Golay, 77, was born Helen Salisbury in Eastland County, Texas, and grew up between relatives' homes and foster care. According to public records, she is the mother of three daughters, including Kecia Golay, who is listed as a prosecution witness. Golay, a former real estate agent, was known for wearing pantsuits and a tall, bouffant hairdo. During the preliminary hearings, Golay's attorney asked the judge if his client could pluck her eyebrows and wear makeup at trial, but the request was denied. In Santa Monica, where Golay owns several properties, tenants said she was an aggressive landlord who often called police over minor parking and noise complaints. She once sued a woman for allegedly stealing leather skirts from her, and a health club after she got hurt on an exercise machine. In the alleged murder scheme, prosecutors say, she always claimed to be the fiancee of the deceased.

March 19, 2008

Murder case against women outlined

They plucked the destitute off the street as "investments," insured their lives for millions, then snuffed them out in staged hit-and-run accidents. They became so consumed by greed that they bickered over the money even after their arrests.

March 17, 2008

Age could be key part of hit-and-run trial

Jailhouse birthdays for Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt, accused of staging the hit-and-run deaths of two homeless men, quietly came and went uncelebrated this year. Golay turned 77 in February and Rutterschmidt became 75 this month.

March 30, 2007

Women plead not guilty in deaths of transients

Two women accused of killing transient men for insurance money pleaded not guilty Thursday to murder and conspiracy charges.

August 19, 2006

METRO

An Unlikely Friendship That Finally Unraveled

The two women first crossed paths during the spandex-era fitness craze that peaked in the 1980s, in a chance encounter at a West Los Angeles health spa, people who know them say.

August 18, 2006

Police Probe of Women Accused of Killing Men for Death Benefits Widens

Two women in their 70s charged with befriending, insuring and then killing two men for $2.5 million in death benefits tried to buy policies covering three other men, investigators said Thursday.