American Greed Episode 26: The Black Widows

Case File

The Black Widows

  • The Victim
  • In an upscale neighborhood near Los Angeles, a middle-aged man lies face-up in the road. There's a bicycle a few feet away. It appears Ken McDavid is the victim of a tragic hit and run accident. Police investigate. But, the crime scene looks suspicious.
  • Murder for Money
  • Before his untimely death, Helen Golay befriends McDavid who is down on his luck. She takes him off the streets. Pays for rent, food and clothes. But, it's a set-up. Helen and her friend Olga Rutterschmidt are ruthless con artists who take out life insurance policies on unsuspecting men and kill them in hit-and-run "accidents."
  • The Money Trial
  • Two months after McDavid's death... a life insurance claim is filed. The payout? One million dollars. Helen and Olga are the beneficiaries. They claim to be the victim's business partners. Police don't buy their story. What kind of business are Helen and Olga in together?
  • Busted
  • An investigator remembers…there was another case. A hit-and-run accident. A man found dead in an alley. And, yes there was an insurance policy with Helen and Olga as beneficiaries.
  • As the puzzle is pieced together, the two women who come across as nice old grannies begin to look like cold-blooded killers.

Web Extras

  • Before his untimely death, aspiring but unsuccessful screenwriter Ken McDavid strikes seeming gold when Helen Golay befriends him. She takes him off the streets, pays for rent, food and clothes. But, it’s a set-up. Helen and her friend Olga Rutterschmidt are ruthless con artists who take out life insurance policies on unsuspecting men and kill them in hit-and-run "accidents."Click ahead to find out how these "black widows" ultimately get trapped in their own web of lies and deceit.

    Helen and her friend Olga Rutterschmidt are ruthless con artists who take out life insurance policies on unsuspecting men and kill them in hit-and-run "accidents."

  • Since the early 1970s, law enforcement authorities have noted a significant increase in the number of women convicted of murder. Their victims are typically close to them — quite frequently family members or close acquaintances. And the motive? It often involves personal gain — most often, life insurance policies naming the suspected murderess as the benefactor.Here, we take a look at some of the most notorious murder cases committed by women over the last century that involve their families and

    Here, we take a look at some of the most notorious murder cases over the last century committed by women and involving their families and friends as victims.