Uncovering the Twisted Tale of Two Senior Men’s Deaths: Accident, Suicide, or Murder?

Two senior men who had fallen on hard times turned up dead in Los Angeles alleyways six years apart. They were both victims of hit-and-runs and had sizable Life insurance policies with the same beneficiaries. Was it coincidence or the work of heartless killers?

In the early morning of June 22, 2005, police responded to a call about a body in an alleyway near UCLA in Westwood, Calif. First responders found Ken McDavid with tire marks all over his clothes. With a mangled bicycle nearby and his ID still on him, police surmised he was working on his bike when he was tragically run over by a car. A nearby security camera captured a Mercury Sable in the alley, but the driver’s identity remained unknown.

McDavid, a former radio personality who had fallen on hard times, was found with no identification except for a mangled bicycle. Two women, Helen Golay and Olga Ratterschmidt, claimed to be his fiancé and cousin, respectively, raising suspicions among detectives.

It was later discovered that both women had taken out sizable Life insurance policies on McDavid and another victim, Paul Vatos, who had died in a similar hit-and-run six years prior. Detectives uncovered a complex insurance fraud scheme orchestrated by Golay and Ratterschmidt, who had targeted vulnerable individuals for financial gain.

The investigation revealed that the women had lured McDavid with promises of a free apartment and groceries, only to exploit him for insurance money. Despite lacking concrete evidence of murder, police were able to charge Golay and Ratterschmidt with interstate wire fraud.

In a dramatic turn of events, the women were caught on tape discussing their crimes, leading to their arrest and eventual conviction for first-degree murder. The toxicology report showed that McDavid had been drugged before being run over, implicating Golay as the driver.

On March 18, 2008, Golay and Ratterschmidt were sentenced to life without parole for their heinous crimes. The case serves as a chilling reminder of the lengths some individuals will go to for financial gain, even at the expense of innocent lives.

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