Dateline NBC – “The Thing About Helen & Olga”

Episode 2: "The Girls"

Original air date: February 9, 2026
Host: Keith Morrison

Overview

This gripping Dateline NBC episode continues the investigation into Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt, two seemingly benevolent elderly women who ingratiated themselves with vulnerable homeless men, only to later become the beneficiaries of suspiciously large life insurance policies after those men died under mysterious circumstances. Episode 2 delves deeper into the lives of the victims, the growing suspicions of investigators, and the elaborate schemes that started to come to light as the web unraveled.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Life on the Streets: Dangerous and Unforgiving

• Keith Morrison opens with a vivid description of daily survival as a homeless person, marked by hunger, violence, and uncertainty.
  • “Each day starts with a quest for food and ends with a hunt for shelter. Rinse and repeat.” (01:00, Keith Morrison)
  • Ed Webster and Sam Mayrose discuss the recurring violence and vulnerability among the homeless population.
• Kenneth McDavid and Paul Vados, two homeless men, became the focus due to their connection to Helen and Olga.

The Illusion of Benevolence

• Helen and Olga are described as “sweet-faced ladies who seemed to understand that the truly destitute needed more.” (02:02, Keith Morrison)
• FBI Agent Sam Mayrose describes their apparent generosity:
  • “They put them up in apartments, paid all their utilities, fed them, took them where they needed to go, would periodically check on them.” (02:13, Sam Mayrose)

Red Flags in the Life Insurance Files

• Ed Webster, a veteran insurance investigator, notes multiple inconsistencies in the life insurance forms for Kenneth McDavid.
  • McDavid is falsely listed as having a substantial income, business partners, and different residences.
  • “I found with certainty that he did not live where he was represented to live. He didn’t work where he was represented to work.” (04:19, Ed Webster)
• Suspicious business: HKO Associates, supposedly co-owned by McDavid, Helen, and Olga, does not exist.
• Both women listed as beneficiaries on multiple policies, raising further suspicions.

The Investigation Deepens

• Ed Webster is methodical and skeptical, refusing to “jump to conclusions” but recognizing a pattern of deliberate misrepresentation. (05:03)
• He revisits the crime scene with Keith Morrison, noting lack of skid marks or vehicle debris.
• Odd details at the scene, like a bicycle with a removed front tire and a helmet placed on top, suggest the accident was staged (09:58).
  • “It was postulated, perhaps it was being set to look like he was changing a flat tire.” (09:58, Ed Webster)
• Helen and Olga refuse to speak with Webster, despite being entitled to large sums of money (10:51).

From Insurance Oddities to Homicide

• Webster meets with Detective Dennis Kilcoyne and the traffic division, laying out the improbable story of two little old ladies with million-dollar policies on homeless men.
  • “Money thing is what was driving it, the amount of money involved.” (12:29, Detective Kilcoyne)
• A cold case file on Paul Vados surfaces, showing identical circumstances and the same beneficiaries (13:08).

Forming the ‘Granny Task Force’

• With the help of FBI and Department of Insurance agents, Kilcoyne and his team assemble a multi-agency task force, recognizing this as more than just insurance fraud (14:34).
• Ed Webster remains a key, unofficial member.

Surveillance: The ‘Girls’

• The homeless community’s nickname for Helen and Olga: “the girls.”
• Surveillance teams tail both women – Olga proves hard to keep up with, nimble at 73 and always active; Helen moves in a regal, patterned way, conducting elaborate, legal financial schemes (credit cards, property flipping). (18:23–19:53)
• Investigators are surprised at how careful Helen and Olga are to never be seen together.

Uncovering the Victims’ Stories

• Detectives find Kenneth McDavid’s sister, Sandra Selman, who shares touching stories of Kenneth as a smart, caring boy who became withdrawn and eventually homeless, possibly due to mental illness.
  • “He was the smart one, but he was also very caring to my mother.” (23:11, Sandra Selman)
  • “He did show some signs of paranoia, but he…was never diagnosed.” (26:09, Sandra Selman)
• Sandra and her family had never heard of Helen or Olga, underscoring how isolated McDavid had become.

Pattern of Insurance Fraud

• FBI agent Sam Mayrose reveals an extensive pattern of life insurance policy applications by Helen and Olga:
  • “They applied for 26 total policies. On Paul, they ended up getting seven…On McDavid, they applied for 17 policies and got 13.” (29:36, Sam Mayrose)
• Applications falsely claimed the men were employed and healthy; Helen listed as a fiancée, Olga as a cousin.
• Insurance business practices enabled this: minimal background checks, poor inter-company communication, and the critical two-year incontestability window (30:47–31:29).
  • “After that two years, except for non-payment of premiums, it can no longer be contested, even if they discover fraud or misrepresentation.” (31:20, Sam Mayrose)

Chilling Theory: Victims as ‘Livestock’

• Agents propose that Helen and Olga kept their victims alive and cared for just long enough to secure and hold insurance policies until legally contestable windows passed (31:52).
  • “The ladies would find the people that they intended to get the policies on…they would put them up for two years.” (32:10, Sam Mayrose)
• The timeline supports this: both Vados and McDavid died just after their policies became contestable, netting Helen and Olga millions (32:10–33:49).

Relentless Pursuit for Justice

• Ed Webster and Mutual of New York actively withheld policy payouts, citing fraud, and pressed Helen and Olga for explanations. The women remained uncooperative and combative.
  • “Get out of my door before I throw hot water on you.” (36:19, Ed Webster quoting confrontation)
• Insurance companies, now wary, await the homicide investigation’s resolution before payout decisions.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• "If you allow yourself to commit to a certain conclusion, you eliminate all other areas of possibility. And that's not your job." (05:03, Ed Webster)
• "There was a helmet lying on top of the bicycle… It was postulated… perhaps it was being set to look like he was changing a flat tire." (09:58, Ed Webster)
• "I had no idea what we had. I just didn't know. But the money thing is what was driving it." (12:29, Detective Kilcoyne)
• "They applied for 17 [policies] and got 13." (29:36, Sam Mayrose)
• "The ladies would find the people … and they would put them up for two years, knowing that they had to wait that two years before they could apply for the payout." (32:10, Sam Mayrose)
• "Get out of my door before I throw hot water on you." (36:19, Ed Webster quoting)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:00–02:21] – Life on the street and the introduction of Helen and Olga's "generosity"
• [03:02–05:41] – Insurance investigator Ed Webster’s suspicions and methods
• [09:22–10:24] – Scene analysis: Staged accident and the peculiar arrangement of the victim and bicycle
• [12:03–13:59] – Homicide detective Kilcoyne gets involved, ties to an earlier similar case
• [14:34–16:24] – Assembling the multijurisdictional investigative team
• [17:23–19:53] – Surveillance tactics and the uncovering of Helen and Olga’s routines
• [21:06–26:50] – Family perspective: McDavid’s backstory and tragic drift into homelessness
• [29:10–31:29] – FBI findings: Policy stacking, application fraud, and insurance loopholes
• [31:52–33:49] – The cycle of "caring" for then cashing in on vulnerable victims
• [34:44–36:19] – Insurance company’s refusal to pay, direct confrontation with Helen and Olga

Tone and Style

True to Dateline’s signature approach, the episode interweaves meticulous investigative detail with compassionate character sketches and a noir atmosphere. The hosts and interviewees speak with a mix of professional detachment, moral outrage, and—occasionally—dark humor, particularly when referencing the incongruity of “little old ladies” as suspects in a multimillion-dollar murder plot.

Conclusion

Episode 2 of “The Thing About Helen & Olga” painstakingly reconstructs how two outwardly benign women exploited systemic vulnerabilities in both the homeless community and the insurance industry for personal gain. Investigators’ growing realization of the scope of the crimes, paired with the poignant backstory of the victims, deepens the sense of unease and anticipation for what further horrors might yet be uncovered.