> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Tenants in limbo as Helen Golay's Ocean Park buildings sit neglected
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/local-12-thursday-january-25-2007-a-newspaper-with-issues-left-behind-by-landlord-behind-bars/
- Published: 2007-01-25T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T23:54:15.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Real Estate & Housing, Ocean Park, #archive-import, Homeless

OCEAN PARK Eight months after the arrest of a Santa Monica landlord who now stands accused of murder, one of Helen Golay’s three apartment buildings placed on the market sits neglected, as tenants await word on the future of their homes.

One tenant complains of an insufficient supply of electricity that keeps shorting, another has been getting her water supply from a garden hose.

Life changed for Golay and the tenants in her three Ocean Park structures when the long-time Santa Monica resident was arrested in May on federal charges of mail fraud. Golay, 75, and fellow senior citizen Olga Rutterschmidt, 73, of Hollywood, were thrust into the national spotlight when investigators accused the pair of murdering two former homeless men and cashing in on their life insurance policies.

Following her mother’s arrest, 42-year-old Kecia Golay assumed control of the three properties, placing them on the market and collecting rent checks and managing maintenance in the meantime.

However, stints in prison seem to run in the Golay family. The younger Golay is currently serving a four-month sentence in Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood on felony charges of first-degree residential burglary and allegedly stalking a former boyfriend. Kecia Golay was arrested on Oct. 12 and is expected to be released on Valentine’s Day.

But even when Kecia Golay was around, things weren’t the same as when her mother was calling the shots, according to her tenants at 2817 Third St.

In the four-unit bungalow style apartments, there are rumors circulating among the tenants that the building has been sold since a “For Sale”sign came down in December. For the most part, the tenants have been left in the dark about the real estate proceedings.

The building is valued at approximately $1.5 million by Zillow.com, an online real estate service.

Sold or not, the complex remains in questionable condition. Untrimmed bushes grow wild, hanging over a white picket fence — the epitome of Americana, which is marred by chipped paint.

“Helen was actually a great landlord,” said one tenant, who asked not to be named.“Now that Kecia has taken over, things are not getting done and we’re all getting a little frustrated.”

The tenants are preparing to file a complaint with the city listing their grievances from the lack of maintenance.

“She was a funny woman, always coming by and checking the building on a daily basis,”the tenant said, standing outside her home on Tuesday.“She was totally anal about stuff.”

Another tenant in the same building complains of electrical issues, that several of the outlets in his unit have stopped working. The paint is chipping, the grounds haven’t been cleaned and the landscape is unkempt, he said.

“It’s \[a combination\] of general neglect and deterioration,” said the tenant, who also chose to remain anonymous.

Neither of the tenants have begun looking for a new home and plan to stay put until they are forced out.

The maintenance situation appears to be more positive at Golay’s four-unit building at 609 Marine St., where Kecia Golay occupied the front bungalow. The blue bungalow and townhouse complex is listed for sale by AP Real Estate for approximately $1.7 million and is advertised as a “uniquely unusual income property” that was built in 1948.

A young woman residing in one of the units commented that she hasn’t noticed a change since either of the Golays got taken away. A maintenance worker regularly stops by, according to the tenant.

A few blocks away, at 424 Ocean Park Blvd., sits the three-unit building Helen Golay used to call home. The stucco apartments, called “Peach at the Beach in Trendy Ocean Park” by AP Real Estate, was listed for sale at $1.27 million and is currently in escrow, an AP Real Estate representative said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Golay and Rutterschmidt await their preliminary hearing, scheduled for Feb. 20, on murder charges that they killed ex-transients Kenneth McDavid and Paul Davos in separate back alley hit-and-runs. Investigators believe the two women befriended the men at a time each was homeless, set them up in apartments and convinced them to sign the women on as beneficiaries for their life insurance policies before murdering them.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 25, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/012507.pdf?ref=smdp.com)