'Black Widow' pensioners jailed for life
The two female pensioners have been jailed for life
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Wednesday, 16, Jul 2008 02:53
Two female pensioners who befriended homeless men before murdering them and collecting life insurance payouts have been jailed for life.
Helen Golay, 77, and Olga Rutterschmidt, 75, received nearly $3 million (£1.5 million) in payouts before they were arrested.
Judge David Wesley told the pair that their victims Paul Vados and Kenneth McDavid had needed "only food, water and shelter".
"They needed a helping hand. They thought they were getting that helping hand from Ms Golay and from you, Ms Rutterschmidt," he added.
"Instead, these unfortunate men were sacrificed on [your] altars of greed."
The women, dubbed the Black Widows, were convicted of murder in April and were sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Prosecutors claim they applied for 26 life insurance policies on three different people, including Mr Vados and Mr McDavid.
Mr Vados, 73, was killed after being run over in Hollywood in 1999 and Mr McDavid, 50, was found dead in Westwood after being hit by a car in 2005.