Talking Dateline: The Thing About Helen & Olga

[00:02] Mazda has been named Consumer Reports' safest new car brand. It starts with our approach. Every Mazda comes standard with proactive safety features. So you're more aware of what's around you, more focused on the road ahead, and ready before problems ever start. [00:19] Mazda. More of what matters most to you. Go to mazdausa.com to learn more. Consumer Reports does not endorse or promote any product. [00:30] Thank you. [00:30] This episode is brought to you by Penn Foster. [00:33] Sometimes things don't go as planned, especially with high school. [00:38] When you start to feel like you're falling behind, [00:41] Having another option can make a real difference. [00:44] Penn Foster High School is an accredited online diploma program [00:49] built for flexibility. [00:51] So whether you're hoping to go back and finish what you started, [00:54] Or you're the parent of a teen who needs a different approach to education. [00:58] There is a way forward. [01:00] With self-paced courses, you have the freedom to learn on your own schedule. [01:05] That way you can fit school around everything else going on in your life and stop falling behind. [01:11] Don't just get back on track. Start moving forward with Penn Foster. [01:16] Visit penfoster.edu slash dateline to learn more. [01:24] Hi everyone, I'm Lester Holt and we're talking Dateline. Today I'm here with Keith Morrison to talk about his original podcast series, The Thing About Helen and Olga, and Dateline senior producer Susan Leibowitz, who has been following the story with Keith for nearly 20 years. It's good to see both of you. Thanks for coming on. Hello. Thank you for having us on, Lester.

[01:50] the full series in the Dateline feed as a bonus while Dateline is taking a break for the Winter Olympics. So go take a listen and then come right back here. Later, we'll have an extra clip from an interview that didn't make the show with the manager of a mom-and-pop lighting store in Los Angeles who had his own encounter with Helen and Olga. And Susan has a story about the church [02:20] and Olga Rutter-Schmidt appeared to be two kindly old ladies helping homeless men off the streets of Los Angeles. But as private investigator Ed Webster discovered, along with the LAPD and FBI in the so-called Granny Task Force, the women were actually singling out men for insurance policies, then staging their deaths to collect big payouts. They were convicted in the murders of Kenneth [02:50] bars today. So let's talk Dateline, shall we? Keith, this story contains so much greed, betrayal, and good old-fashioned detective work. It was kind of a typical Dateline plot, but not. Let me let you kind of describe what we're talking about. It's just the craziest story. I can never understand why nobody made it into a movie. Helen and Olga are these two [03:15] you know, [03:16] We say elderly ladies who weren't that elderly when they started their scams who just played the most

[03:23] interesting and patient games with men to try to take their money away or try to take advantage of them and get money [03:31] Farm them for money, if I can put it that way. [03:34] Strange Crazy Story. [03:36] There is sort of Thelma and Louise of crime. [03:39] It sounds like they kind of played the long game. You talked about they had patience. I mean, this thing did play out over years, and the victims, it appears, were identified way in advance. Was that their secret weapon? Is that how they were able to do what they did over such an extended period? You know, Susan, I don't know whether you heard about how they came up with the notion of doing it that way, but they were very patient, and they would spend two years waiting for the time [04:09] them to give them the money from the death of these homeless men who they took in, housed, fed, took care of for all that time so that they could... [04:21] score from the insurance policy when the men unfortunately suddenly died. And they would, of course, be the ones behind that unfortunate sudden death. [04:31] So they had to be patient because the insurance companies would flag a policy if somebody tried to claim it. So they just had to avoid the appearance of criminal activity enough to... [04:45] So the insurance company wasn't going to pay attention to it. And since these were not gigantic policies, [04:51] Um... [04:52] Maybe they wouldn't bother spending the amount of time it would take to investigate it.

[04:56] And for a while, it worked. And, Keith, this starts unraveling because an insurance investigator takes a closer look. He was the most interesting man. I've never encountered somebody who is quite so, you know, calm, methodical, and deliberate. And he just would not give up until he solved this puzzle. He was another character who could have been, you know— [05:20] a lead actor in a movie in the sense that when I'm talking about his character could have been because he was like a boy scout who wouldn't give up. And with, [05:30] And without that determination of his, this might not have been solved. [05:34] He reminded me of like some 1970s TV... [05:38] detective. You know, I don't know, is it Rockford or Mannix? Maybe it was the mustache, but he also was so determined to get justice for these, his guy, Kenneth McDavid, and then ultimately for Vados as well. But it was Kenneth McDavid that got him looking in, there was something not right, and he could not let go of the idea that these women were getting away with these terrible murders of these men that other people... [06:00] I thought nothing of because they were homeless people. But he was determined. He came out here... [06:06] And he was just supposed to do a double check on this. It looked a little weird, and he was... [06:11] He was hooked. [06:12] And Helen and Olga didn't like him. Well, understandably so. No, he only had bad news to give them. Can you tell me what happened when he confronted them? [06:23] and basically said, we're keeping the money? Well, that's all on video, which is awesome to see. And they think...

[06:33] Helen meets with the investigator, and he's with that undercover LAPD detective who— [06:40] is recording all this. And she thinks she's getting the big payout check, and she gets a check that is a refund of... [06:47] what she paid for her premiums. [06:49] And she is not happy. No, indeed. If you're not going to pay me the full amount, this has been a total weight of my time. I am very unhappy. A lot of grief and heartache and problem. And then they go to Olga's and knock on her door. Now, she probably already knew what was coming. And she never really opens the door. She, like, sticks... [07:10] her hand out to get the envelope and slams the door. This is money's check. What is it? What is it? $1,800. What is it? It's a refund for the premiums that you pay. No, we don't have that. What is it? Read it. Read the policy there. Is it? I don't see it. Thank you. Yes, that was because that's the end of, you know, several years of waiting. And it was also recognition, okay, maybe this is, the jig might be up here. We might not be able to do this anymore. [07:40] Granny squad. So Detective Dennis Kilcoyne asked for guys to follow these old women. I remember they were trying to follow Olga, who was 75 at the time, 70-something. That's right. And... [07:52] She would go on these crazy hikes in Runyon Canyon, which I don't know if either of you have done that. It's very uphill. And these... [07:59] The cops following her could barely keep up with her. They did encounter her at a...

[08:07] Kinko's where she was ordering credit cards and other people's names. And they also saw her talking to another potential victim. So, I mean, there was a good reason to follow them around, but it was a funny thing to have to, you know, surveil. [08:20] women in their 70s. Well, it sounds like the police had kind of figured out what was going on, but they really couldn't make the case for a long time. It's just proving a case can be very difficult with these ladies. They were apparently trying to come up with a way to present the case was the recreation in the middle of the night, where they tried to recreate the running over of one of these elderly men in a back alley in Westwood. Westwood, yeah. [08:50] And so at 2 o'clock in the morning, they're out there trying to recreate the scene in order to, what I guess, come up with some kind of theory or evidence that they could use against these women. I was going to ask, Susan, you were there at this recreation. Yeah, it was a huge team of people. They had some really good... [09:07] grainy video of a car going through that [09:10] Alley at the time, they believed Kenneth McDavid was killed. So they used the same type of car, what they thought was the same type of car, and they wanted it to match the speeds. It hit the different cameras. So with the car and that surveillance video in hand, Detective Kilcoyne asked for help from the California Highway Patrol. Okay, here's what we're going to do tonight. The CHP marked where the body was found, where the bike was, the glasses. They added in the location of the cameras.

[09:40] They were trying to figure out if there was something they could do to help make their case. [10:03] And yes, and I was there and I was there till two in the morning till the detective was like, you have to go home because I was pregnant. [10:09] My daughter's about to go to college now. Okay, you just dropped that in. Yeah. And the detective's like, you have to go. I was like, okay. [10:19] Did that video or that recreation ever come of any use? Not for them. It was quite useful for us. It was interesting to see how they do that, but it was not used in... [10:30] Good trial. They changed prosecutors and the second prosecutor wasn't interested. When we come back, we're going to play that interesting interaction involving the two women at a lighting store in Los Angeles. We're back after this. [10:44] Insurance is not one size fits all. [10:47] That's why drivers have trusted progressives' Name Your Price tool for years. [10:53] Just tell Progressive what you want to pay. [10:55] and they'll show you coverage options that fit your budget. [10:58] Visit Progressive.com to find a car insurance rate that works for you. [11:03] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. [11:09] With no fees or minimums on checking accounts, it's no wonder the Capital One bank guy is so passionate about banking with Capital One. He wouldn't just tell you about no fees or minimums. He'd also talk about how Capital One cafes are open seven days a week to assist with your banking needs.

[11:26] "'What's in your wallet?' [11:28] Terms apply. See CapitalOne.com slash bank. Capital One N.A. Member FDIC. [11:36] When you're a maintenance engineer in a beverage manufacturing plant, you keep production lines moving and quality on track because there's no room for slowdowns. With Grainger's vast selection of high-quality motors, sensors, belts, and hard-to-find parts, you can get what you need fast and all in one place. [11:54] so nothing gets in the way of getting the job done. [11:57] Call 1-800-GRANGER, click granger.com, or just stop by. [12:02] Grainger. For the ones who get it done. [12:09] We've been talking in Los Angeles terms, Runyon Canyon, and things like that. Part of the story plays out, actually, in New England. [12:17] Um, and can, can you explain that story? So there's another man named Fred Downey and Fred Downey, [12:24] is not part of the criminal case that played out in Los Angeles. He was... [12:30] Fendowny was this old... [12:32] 95, 96, 97, really old man who lived alone, who had no kids. [12:37] It lived in Cape Cod, and he meets... [12:39] Helen Golay's daughter, Keisha, and they become friends. Keisha is a [12:44] 20-something, and he's a 90-something, and... [12:48] She spent all her time with Fred. And Fred eventually... [12:53] moves to live with Helen and live out his last life. [12:56] years in beautiful Santa Monica. Which is inexplicable, by the way, to his family because, you know, he's crossing the country to live way over...

[13:04] far, far, far away from them with this person they don't really know. [13:08] In Santa Monica, on the other coast. And he sells his house to Helen and Keisha for $100. [13:15] house on Cape Cod. And he writes letters to his niece, [13:19] Mildred, about how wonderful it is. It's amazing Santa Monica. And then the letters become [13:25] not so happy and they're not feeding him very much and [13:30] He's not sure he made the right decision. And he gets run over by a car on Ocean Park Boulevard. So we went to talk to Fred's niece, [13:38] And, um, [13:40] Keith made this amazing discovery while we were at [13:43] the cemetery where Fred was buried. Keith, you want to talk? You remember that? Well, I do remember that. It wasn't such an amazing discovery. We're standing in the cemetery, and there are leaves in the ground. It's autumn, I guess. And... [13:57] just shuffling my feet around where the gravesite is, [14:02] And there are two more gravestones there. [14:05] For... [14:07] Keisha and [14:09] and Helen, right? So they're going to be buried beside poor old Fred Downey and Fred's [14:18] Relative is very, very, very unhappy about that. That is terrible. Look at that. [14:25] Okay. [14:25] He said [14:27] Viral Akesha [14:29] I never knew they were here. That is horrible.

[14:35] Thank you. [14:36] I'm going to put sand on them. [14:38] and gravel or something and grass seed. That is horrible. [14:44] Thank you. [14:44] Oh, I just can't get over that. [14:47] I had nothing. [14:49] I had no idea. [14:51] No, no. It's upsetting. But she hadn't discovered that before. And Susan tells me that those graves are still empty, still kind of waiting for somebody who probably won't get there. So you guys have immersed yourself in this story. Who is the leader of this group? Could they have pulled this off singularly? I mean, certainly they were both... [15:14] apparently scheming and conniving people who were looking for an easy mark. [15:20] I got the impression that Helen was the one who was scheming and coming up with these ideas. And what's the backstory between how they linked up? [15:26] And became friends. Well, Dennis Kilcoyne, the detective, told us he believed they met at the gym. But we don't know. Yeah, I don't know. We don't know the details of that. Were they both on the bicycles next to each other? I have no idea. But they're unlikely friends. Have either of you been able to hear from friends or people close to Helen and Olga who might be able to provide some information? [15:49] Extra insight? People didn't want to talk. Helen's ex-husband didn't want to talk. Helen's daughter, who was in Cape Cod, didn't want to talk. And we went and knocked on her door. [15:59] There was a guy who had maybe dated Helen. I talked to her on the phone. He didn't want to talk. People wanted to keep them at arm's length. I know that people in Olga's apartment building...

[16:12] didn't like her, that she was always yelling at people and complaining about their music being too loud and things like that. Olga's husband had left the country back. [16:20] before [16:22] we got on the story. And I tried to talk to Keisha, but she didn't want to talk to me either. [16:29] Yeah, we didn't get very far with people who knew them. Do you think there's more to be uncovered in this story? [16:35] Yes. [16:37] I do. I think that there's other things... [16:40] that Helen did and maybe other things that Olga did. And I tried to find out. There's... [16:47] There's a guy who Helen worked for who was some sort of real estate development guy. [16:51] At some point he dies, and a lot of his property goes to Helen by quick claims. [16:57] His family sues her. [17:00] saying that she stole it and his family loses. [17:04] Is there more to that story? I don't... [17:07] I don't know. Given what happened since, it makes you want to look at it more carefully, all right? [17:12] Right. And I think these women were energetic, you know. They were not sitting around counting their money. They were sitting around thinking about how to get more money. So go into more detail, if you will, about this interaction in the lighting store in Los Angeles. [17:26] What I remember, so I tried to get a hold of [17:29] people who had been sued by them. So this was a store called Royal Lighting. I don't think it does anymore, but maybe it does. And I talked to one of the owners and he said the two women were there. They were just looking around, which he said was unusual in lighting stores. Usually you

[17:45] a lamp to go next to my bed. Do I need a standing lamp? Like, you know what you want when you walk in. And at one point he hears crash. And when one of them, I think it was Olga, has been hit by one of their lamps. And then the other one... [18:00] Because Helen said, oh my God, I have a camera. Let me take a picture of this for you. And, um... [18:06] And then later on, the store gets a lawsuit. Let's take a listen to that. It was in the corner back here. It was a lamp that we had that was either attached to the wall or a floor lamp. And in order to have that lamp hit you, you'd have to, first of all, the lamp was too tall in order for the top of it to hit you. [18:24] And you'd have to go out of your way and bend back. Now that I think about it, it actually was a very tall lamp. And you'd have to go out of your way, bring the lamp [18:30] low enough [18:32] to have this hit you in the head to begin with. [18:35] So it just seemed peculiar at the time. And they got money from the lawsuit. That's what I heard. Yeah, the insurance company paid that money, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, they were mom and pop store, like, you know. [18:47] It hurt them more than a bigger place. I think they also sued Jacqueline's [18:54] gyms at the time, and I don't know, a couple other... Von's grocery store. There were a bunch of lawsuits. Involving what potentially were staged incidents? Yes, exactly. That's what it seems to be. And I tried to find all the lawsuits, and I don't know if I found them all. And I went to... There's this... [19:12] archive of old court records in the basement of,

[19:17] under the county record building, and it's this creepy place where, like, the ceiling's falling down, and you go into this room that's... [19:25] because, you know, fluorescent lighting really low, and then you ask for the cases. And a lot of them, the documents had been removed. [19:33] You know, I got empty files. Like someone else had taken them. Maybe Olga went down there and took them. Who knows? Wouldn't put it past them. But... [19:41] That's when things were kept on paper and things disappeared. And I just remember it was like this creepy place to go to. But I tried to find, that's why I found Royal Lighting's. [19:50] Details that we were able to interview them. We should point out that Helen and Olga were never charged in connection with any civil lawsuits. And we never got a chance to ask Helen and Olga about the royal lighting lawsuit or any civil lawsuits. Although that scene in the low-ceilinged room with the fluorescent light and the missing files would be a fabulous little scene in the movie. [20:11] Don't you think? [20:12] I know, I guess I should write that down. We remember it when we write the movie, Keith. Right. [20:19] So let's talk about the trial. The police finally make their case, and this just goes before a jury. Any surprises there? I mean, I think Helen pointed at her daughter, which I don't know if that was a surprise, as the real culprit. And we should say Keetha Golay, Helen's daughter, has never been criminally charged in connection to those lawsuits we've talked about or in the deaths of Fred Downey, Kenneth McDavid, or Paul Vados. [20:43] It wasn't a surprise, but boy, was it ever in character. But the jury didn't seem to have any trouble reaching a verdict in Helen's case, but they talked a little longer about.

[20:56] about Olga before they finally came to a conclusion. The jury found Helen and Olga guilty for the murders of Kenneth McDavid and Paul Vados, and they were sentenced to life in prison. Okay, after a short break, why Susan went back to the church where Helen and Olga found their victims. [21:16] Mint Mobile plans are only $15 per month. Wondering what's the catch? There isn't one. [21:23] There are no gimmicks and no gotchas, just unlimited talk, text, and data. [21:28] Fast, reliable coverage on the nation's largest 5G network. [21:32] and an award-winning care team. [21:34] That makes Mint Mobile a catch. [21:37] You can bring your current phone and your phone number. [21:40] Choose from three, six, or 12-month plans and say goodbye to a monthly bill. [21:45] Ditch overpriced wireless with Mint Mobile. It's so easy. Sign up online and get three months of premium wireless service for 15 bucks a month. [21:54] To get your new wireless plan for just $15 a month, go to mintmobile.com slash dateline. [22:00] That's mintmobile.com slash dateline. [22:03] Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com slash dateline. [22:09] That's it. There's no catch. $45 upfront payment required, equivalent to $15 a month. [22:15] New customers on first three-month plan only. Speed slower above 40 gigabytes on unlimited plan. [22:22] Additional taxes, fees, and restrictions apply. See Mint Mobile for details. Summer is the perfect time to rethink what clothes you're reaching for every day.

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[24:08] No, and I'm not a Presbyterian, but it wasn't. So when we're doing the interview, I just come back from maternity leave. And at the very end, the pastor said, you know, we have a preschool here. [24:21] And I'm thinking, no way am I sending my child to the preschool where these women found their victims. And that's exactly where I sent her because it was perfectly... [24:29] between work and home, and they were lovely people. And they fed the homeless on the north side of the church, and the preschool was on the east side of the church. And there was a security guard that stood in between, making sure... [24:40] Nothing went awry. And the preschool kids made sandwiches for the homeless. And it was a wonderful, wonderful place. But people would ask me, how did you find your preschool? And I said, well, I was on this date line, and these women were... [24:51] killing homeless guys oh no no you didn't i did oh goodness all right well reporting on these stories they become uh so much more than a day job we have a question about how we disconnect from work so keith susan i'll put the question to both of you how do you disconnect from stories like the one you just told susan life can be tragic for people and um [25:18] You live in those moments, you feel tremendous empathy for people who are the victims of crime, and you feel whatever you feel for the people who committed it, sometimes more angry than other times, sometimes they're pathetic, sometimes they're really quite evil people. [25:34] You leave it behind and then move on to the next one. Human beings are just endlessly fascinating in their variety, in their goodness, and in their ability to be really bad when they want to be. Susan and Keith, I know you've been kind of loosely at least tracking them and where they are right now. What do we know? They're in two separate prisons in California. Both they have never, as far as they know, been in the same prison, perhaps for good reason.

[26:04] They have, you know, whatever else prison life has done for them, it has not harmed their longevity. Helen has just turned 95. Olga is 92, about to turn 93, as far as we know. And they're going on about their lives in prison. They've been there for quite some time now. [26:25] there's no chance that they're [26:27] getting out, they'll die there. But as [26:31] They may die there a long time from now, the way things go with them. Have you been able to talk to either of them over the years? [26:39] No, Susan has tried endlessly, and I would love to. I've written to them in prison over the years and gotten responses like, [26:48] If you can loan me the money for my next appeal... [26:51] I promise I'll pay you back. [26:53] When I get out. And then maybe we can talk. And then we'll do it. I have not loaned them the money. I didn't think you did, but thanks for clarifying. Yeah, that's right. [27:02] Well, Keith and Susan, what an amazing story. Thanks for coming on and sharing it. Thanks so much. Lester, thank you. A delight to talk to you. And a delight to talk about this story, the thing about Helen and Olga. So thank you. Well, that's going to do it for a Talking Dateline this week. We are not on the air on NBC for the next two weeks for the Winter Olympics, but you can tune in to our Dateline 24-7 channel for our On Thin Ice marathon streaming Thursday through Tuesday. [27:32] We'll drop another of Keith's original podcasts right here, and he'll be back again next week to talk Dateline. So get your questions ready for him. DM us your audio or video on our socials at Dateline NBC, or leave us a voicemail at [redacted phone] for a chance to be featured. Thanks for listening, everyone.

[27:58] Hey, this is Jeff Lewis from Radio Andy. Live and uncensored, catch me talking with my friends about my latest obsessions, relationship issues, and bodily ailments. With that kind of drama that seems to follow me, you never know what's going to happen. You can listen to Jeff Lewis live at home or anywhere you are. Download the SiriusXM app for over 425 channels of ad-free music, sports, entertainment, and more. Subscribe now and get three months free. Offer details apply.