LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A 75-year-old woman was convicted Thursday of murdering a homeless man to collect life insurance, but the jury said it was deadlocked on another murder charge and a conspiracy count.
The judge ordered more deliberations in an effort to conclude a trial that has spun a bizarre tale of a murder-for-profit scheme carried out by two elderly women.
Olga Rutterschmidt was convicted of the first-degree murder of Kenneth McDavid, 50, a day after she was found guilty of conspiring to murder him for financial gain. Her 77-year-old co-defendant, Helen Golay, was convicted Wednesday of murdering McDavid and Paul Vados, 73, and on counts of conspiracy in both killings.
Without saying which way it was leaning, the jury said it was deadlocked 11-1 on the charge that Rutterschmidt murdered Vados and 10-2 on conspiracy to murder him for financial gain.
Superior Court Judge David Wesley ordered jurors to return Monday to try to decide the remaining counts. Those deliberations will have to start from scratch because the judge replaced a juror who told the court he had preplanned travel and could not serve any longer.
The verdicts so far carry life prison terms without possibility of parole for both women. Prosecutors chose not to seek the death penalty.
Thursday's verdict came after the jury heard a second round of closing arguments it requested in an effort to decide the last three counts against Rutterschmidt.
Deputy District Attorney Truc Do told jurors Rutterschmidt was far from being Golay's pawn.
She was "fully capable of heading this scheme on her own," Do said. "... Golay is not the mastermind of this scheme. They are 50-50 partners."
Rutterschmidt's attorney Michael Sklar argued that prosecutors had not proven Rutterschmidt had the specific intent to murder anyone.
"What we know is that by Ms. Rutterschmidt's actions, she entered a conspiracy to commit insurance fraud," he said. "On what do the people rely to say it went further than that? They rely on Helen Golay's actions."
