Greedy Grannies — The Black Widow Murders of Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt - Ep. 104

They looked like harmless grandmothers. Well-dressed. Polite. Unassuming. 
But behind the bleach-blonde hair and designer handbags was a calculated, cold-blooded scheme that turned human lives into insurance payouts. 

In this episode of The Escape Pod, we uncover the shocking true story of Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt—two elderly women who targeted homeless men, gained their trust, insured their lives for millions, and waited for the perfect moment to kill. 

This is the chilling case known as The Black Widow Murders—a story of greed, manipulation, and the systemic failures that allowed it to happen twice… almost more. 

 

Episode Highlights 

• The mysterious 1999 death of Paul Vados, initially ruled a tragic hit-and-run 

• A second eerily similar death in 2005: Kenneth McDavid 

• How life insurance investigators uncovered a deadly pattern 

• The role of fraud, grooming, and exploitation of vulnerable populations 

• Surveillance, forensic evidence, and a secretly recorded jailhouse conversation 

• The arrest, trial, and life sentences of two women no one suspected 

• How insurance loopholes created a literal murder timeline 

 

Trigger Warning 

This episode contains discussions of: 

• Murder 

• Exploitation of unhoused individuals 

• Financial fraud 

• Death by vehicular violence 

Listener discretion is advised. 

 

Notable Quote 

“It is so evil and so heartbreaking to think that anyone would decide that the purpose of homeless human beings is to make profit.” 
— Gloria Allred, attorney for the victims’ families 

Resources & References   

  

NBC News/Dateline: "With friends like these"   

Wikipedia: "Black Widow Murders"  

FindLaw: "PEOPLE v. RUTTERSCHMIDT (2009)"  

Medium/California Dreaming: Bartlette, DeLani R. "Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt: The Black Widow Murderers"    

iHeartRadio/Criminalia: "The Black Widow Murders: The Story of Septuagenarian Killers Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt"  

CBS News: "Black Widows' Guilty In Homeless Murders"  

The Cinema Holic: "Paul Vados and Kenneth McDavid Murders: Where Are Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt Now?"  

NBC News: "Elderly women indicted on insurance fraud"  

CNBC/American Greed: "American Greed: The Black Widows"  

Los Angeles Magazine: "What Can I Tell You?"  

Grokipedia: "Black Widow Murders"  

Ranker: "10 Grisly Facts About The Black Widow Murders And The Seemingly Wholesome Grandmas Behind Them"  

Additional Note: In November 2021, Dateline NBC released a six-part podcast series titled "The Thing about Helen and Olga," presented by Keith Morrison, which provides extensive additional detail on this case.  

 

  

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