Santa Monican Golay was not related to victim says relatives
DOWNTOWN LA Contrary to what she claimed on a series of life insurance policies, Santa Monica landlord Helen Golay was not related to either of the policy holders she is accused of murdering, according to family members of the two victims.
In the second day of the preliminary hearing for the so-called “Black Widows,” the relatives of Kenneth McDavid and Paul Vados, who were killed in similar yet separate hit-and-run incidents in 2005 and 1999, respectively, testified that Golay, 76, and her alleged accomplice, 74-year-old Olga Rutterschmidt, were not related to the victims.
The two women stand accused of murdering the 50-year-old McDavid and 73-year-old Vados in an insurance scheme in which the women allegedly cashed in on millions of dollars of life insurance payouts following the victims’ untimely deaths.
Investigators believe that Golay and Rutterschmidt, of Hollywood, befriended the two men when each was homeless, setting them up in apartments and gaining their trust. The women then convinced Vados and McDavid to sign them over on to their insurance policies before each met his maker.
The accused duo resumed their spots at opposite ends of the defense table on Tuesday, sitting in their orange jumpsuits and occasionally chatting quietly with their defense attorneys — Roger Jon Diamond for Golay and Public Defender Michael Sklar for Rutterschmidt.
They watched as witness after witness testified, revealing information that potentially casts a shadow of doubt on the women’s no-guilty pleas.
With a stern look on her face, Sandra Salman approached the stand, agreeing under oath that she would testify about her brother’s death.
The last time she saw her brother, McDavid, was in 1995. The last time she heard from him was a month before he died, when he left a message on her answering machine asking his sister to call him back. The call was never returned.
“He apologized for not calling sooner,” she said.
Deputy District Attorney Shellie Samuels asked Salman how well she knows about her family tree and asked if the defendants are her relatives. Were there any mysteries about who her family members are?
“No mysteries,” Salman replied. In their cross-examinations, both Sklar and Diamond asked Salman if she was aware of McDavid’s aspirations to become a screenwriter. She didn’t know of those dreams, but did remember that McDavid used to write poems and stories.
“I didn’t even know he was homeless,” she said.
Moments later, Vados’ daughter, Stella Carmen Vados, testified that she hadn’t seen her father since 1996, nor was she in touch with him at the time of his death since she had moved to Northern California.
Though there are family members she has never met, Stella Carmen Vados said that she was sure Golay and Rutterschmidt are not her relatives.
“I don’t know why my father had an insurance policy to start with,” she said.
In her testimony, it was revealed that Vados’ daughter had retained the services of a pro bono lawyer who assisted the Vados children with recovering some money in a life insurance policy. During an arbitration meeting in which the two parties — Golay and Vados’ daughter — were seated in different rooms, Vados recalled seeing Golay in the hallway on the way to the bathroom. The older woman did not introduce herself and never mentioned that she was Vados’ fiancée or cousin.
Through arbitration, the Vados children were able to claim back about $12,600.
Between the two men, Golay and Rutterschmidt applied for 24 different life insurance policies, seeking more than $700,000 for Vados and approximately $5.7 million for McDavid’s death, according to witness Robert Brockway, who was the insurance investigator with the California Department of Insurance when the women were arrested in May of last year.
From Vados’ policies, Golay and Rutterschmidt received approximately $347,000 and $246,000, respectively. For McDavid’s policies, the Ocean Park resident received approximately $1.5 million, while Rutterschmidt cashed in on approximately $676,000.
Both Golay and Rutterschmidt claimed to be cousins of McDavid in the myriad of life insurance policies taken out in his name. In other applications, Golay claimed to be the fiancée of both McDavid and Vados, or the women were listed as investment partners with the men.
In his cross examination of Brockway, Diamond asked if it is customary for beneficiaries to seek multiple life insurance policies, to which Brockway replied that it is normal, as long as it’s a reasonable amount.
“There is nothing inherently wrong with getting more than one policy on one person is it?” Diamond asked.
The defense attorney’s counterpart, Sklar, then sought to distance his client from Golay. It was a letter dated May 2, 2005 — about a month before McDavid was found dead in a Westwood alley on June 22 of that year. In the letter, sent from AAA to Brockway, it mentioned that Golay attempted to increase the life insurance coverage for McDavid from $800,000 to $1 million.
After showing Brockway the letter, Sklar then asked him if Rutterschmidt had ever attempted to increase a life insurance policy within 60 days of the death of the policy holder. The former insurance investigator confirmed she had not.
The attorney placed another letter on the overhead projector, this time dated June 6, 2005 — several weeks before McDavid’s death. In the letter, Golay requests to the insurance company that Rutterschmidt, who was named as a co-beneficiary with Golay, be taken off the policy.
But has Rutterschmidt ever attempted to remove Golay from a life insurance policy, Sklar asked.
Brockway said he wasn’t sure.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 14, 2007. Read the original PDF.