Two elderly women from Los Angeles, originally from Hungary, turned a 1944 classic comedy into a real-life horror story. Were they diabolically clever or simply mad?
Helen Golay, 77, and Olga Rutterschmidt, 75, dubbed the "Black Widows," were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. These women, who appeared stony-faced in court, were found guilty of a chilling scheme that involved befriending homeless men, taking out life insurance policies on them, and then orchestrating their deaths in hit-and-run accidents.
The duo targeted two homeless men, aged 73 and 50, providing them with accommodation and then taking out life insurance policies on them. They found an insurance company with a slogan "No Hassle, No Investigations," which paid out regardless of the cause of death. Using rubber stamps to forge the men's signatures, Golay and Rutterschmidt collected $2.8 million before their scheme was uncovered.
The victims, Paul Vados and Kenneth McDavid, were crushed by cars in 1999 and 2005, respectively. Both men were insured by Golay and Rutterschmidt. The women claimed to be the fiancée and cousin of the victims to collect the insurance money. The men, who were merely seeking food, water, and shelter, met a tragic end.
In his closing comments, Judge Wesley stated, "The two men you killed needed a helping hand. They thought they were getting this from you. Instead, these unfortunate men were sacrificed on your altar of greed." He further elaborated on the definition of greed as "a selfish desire for money, not in order to purchase things, but just to have it."
What were these women in their late seventies planning to do with all that money? Even more alarming is the question of whether they were responsible for other deaths involving six life insurance policies that were not paid out due to suspicious circumstances.
The original play, "Arsenic and Old Lace," was a groundbreaking departure from the typical theater of its time. With 1,444 performances, it stands among the longest-running shows on Broadway, paying its backers 40 to 1. The play has been frequently produced worldwide, including in countries like Brazil and Romania.
The comedy centers around the Brewster sisters, who were known for their charitable acts and neighborly attentions. They helped put up to a dozen old men, who had no families, out of their lonely, miserable existence. The sisters' method involved a homemade elderberry wine laced with arsenic, strychnine, and cyanide. The bodies were buried in their cellar, with proper funerals conducted by their unsuspecting nephew.
Frank Capra's film adaptation, starring Cary Grant, made significant alterations to the original script, including a more sugar-coated ending. Despite these changes, the movie has been enjoyed by thousands over the years and remains a classic.
Did Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt watch "Arsenic and Old Lace" multiple times before copying its plot? Some may argue that the widows were merely eccentric, while others believe they were diabolically clever or simply mad.
You be the judge: Were Golay and Rutterschmidt extremely clever, or plain mad? Perhaps they were lunatics with no logic, morons with twisted logic, or fools seeking entertainment.
This article has been fact-checked and expanded to provide a more detailed and nuanced account of the events. The original content has been rephrased and refined to ensure uniqueness.
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