In L.A., a Case Straight Out Of 'Arsenic And Old Lace'

Months after McDavid's death, police tracked down the car -- which was abandoned where the tow truck driver testified that Golay said to leave it, eventually impounded and then sold at auction -- and traces of McDavid's blood were found on the undercarriage. A toxicology report said that traces of alcohol and sedatives were found in Golay's medicine cabinet.

"The combination of the alcohol and prescription drugs would have put him over the top," a detective speculated. "They then drove him to the alley, pushed him out of the car and backed up over him." The detective noted the absence of leg injuries usually seen in hit-and-run situations. "In the process, they broke the fuel line."

Insurers paid out $2.2 million for McDavid, most of which went to Golay. "They were paying -- well, most of the time Helen was paying -- premiums on 15 policies, paying rent, paying utilities," Samuels said. "Gotta be $3,000 a month. They've got a huge investment in this guy." Investigators found evidence that Golay tried at least once to get Rutterschmidt's name removed from a policy.

The women were arrested in May 2006, and their time in Los Angeles County jails is marked by their appearance: Each has hair that is gray to her shoulders, where it resumes the darker shade it was colored while still free. Cosmetics are forbidden in lockup, and the judge refused a defense request to allow Golay "to utilize tweezers to pluck her eyebrows and to use eye makeup."

Though police found more rubber stamps with signatures of other names, investigators say they know of no more victims. They did look hard at Fred Downie, 97, who was hit by a car and killed in 2000 after selling his house and giving Golay the profit. But the driver stopped.

"We think that's all of them," Samuels said.

It remains impossible to know for sure, however, given the murkiness of the two worlds the women are accused of exploiting: the homeless and the insurance industry.

"We still get all the mail," said Marlene Blum, 25, who rents Golay's former apartment on Ocean Park Boulevard. "Recently a letter came from an insurance company and I held it up to the light -- and there was a check in it for $45,000."