All language subtitles for Blood.and.Money.S01E03.A.Missing.Mogul.720p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-NTb_track3_[eng]

In the criminal
justice system,

detectives and prosecutors
face daunting challenges

when money
is the motive for murder.

Have you seen this man?

He's Ron Rudin,
a 64-year-old realtor

well-known in Las Vegas.

The mysterious disappearance
of a Las Vegas millionaire

dominates the headlines.

This case certainly shook
Las Vegas.

Detectives find
evidence of murder

deep in the Nevada desert.

Finding that gun
really changed this case.

We were able
to finally file charges.

For prosecutors,

the bizarre trial
of the Black Widow

is the longest
in Nevada history.

We had
the police department's

best detectives on the case.

If you need
a piece of evidence,

you're gonna get it.

The Margaret Rudin story...

And now, 20 years on,

new evidence casts the trial
in a different light.

It really had the earmarks
of a mob hit.

These men and women dedicate
their lives to law and order.

At the end of the day,
I believe

justice was served
for the family.

These are
their true stories.

In 1994,
Ron and Margaret Rudin

were making big plans
for the future.

However,
as Margaret was holding

a grand opening celebration
for her new antique store,

Ron never showed.

That morning,
Ron had explained to her

that he was gonna close
on this business deal,

which was gonna pay him,
like, $8 million.

So she thought that Ron
just had something come up,

and he ended up going.

Margaret worked
late that night.

When she finally went home
at 1:30 in the morning,

Ron and Ron's car was missing.

Margaret called Metro Police,
but they said,

"We can't do anything
until he's gone for 48 hours.

"He's an adult.

"A lot of times,
they just come back.

He can do
whatever he wants to."

I was a deputy sheriff
in Iowa for 2 1/2 years.

And after patrolling

the cornfields of Iowa
at night,

I figured, if I'm gonna stay
in law enforcement,

maybe I should go somewhere
where there's more going on.

It seems like Las Vegas
attracts criminals

from all around the world.

The second morning Ron Rudin
failed to show up at work

was unusual for his employees,

because Ron was always on time.

When he didn't
show up for work,

actually, two of his employees
went down to the police

to file
a missing person report.

Ron Rudin's persona
wasn't to be in the casinos.

He was a businessman.

He was a mover and a shaker.

He could get things done.

Everyone always thought
how lucky he was.

You've got a millionaire
real estate mogul

with a good-looking wife.

I heard of him
before I ever had

the opportunity to meet him.

My family did some deals
with Ron Rudin,

and he was a character.

Ron's wife, Margaret,
was a sweet Southern belle,

but she also had
nerves of steel.

And she had a tough life too.

She came from nothing.

She married badly,
divorced badly,

and, with Ron,
is on husband number five.

Ron Rudin was married
five times also.

So these two were encouraged
to go out with each other.

And eventually, they decided
to go ahead and get married.

Detectives at the time,

in the missing persons section,

they went to talk to Margaret
right away.

She also let them walk
through their house.

The search didn't turn up
any evidence of foul play,

and investigators were left
without any obvious leads

as to Ron's disappearance.

Several days after
Ron had gone missing,

his Cadillac was found
behind the Crazy Horse Too

on Industrial, a topless joint

known to be kind of connected
to the mob.

Ron's car was covered in dirt,

and there was dirt
inside the car.

That would not be
the way Ron would drive it.

They go inside,
and it's been wiped clean.

There are no fingerprints
from Ron Rudin,

no fingerprints from Margaret.

But there are
four muddy footprints.

There immediately are
whispers that, you know,

is the mob somehow involved
in his disappearance?

Considering the possibility
that Ron's disappearance

could be connected
to organized crime,

investigators scrutinized
his business dealings.

What they found out was,
Ron was working on a land deal

called Lee Canyon, which is

probably about 30 minutes
outside of Las Vegas,

up in the hills
towards Mount Charleston.

And he had long envisioned
having a resort-type area.

And there was rumor that Ron
went through organized crime,

trying to get the money.

Detectives learned
from Ron Rudin's employees

that there were
a number of reasons

why Ron might have turned
to organized crime

to finance his development.

At the time of his deal
up at Mount Charleston,

Ron had lost
his real estate license.

And he had
several complaints on him

from the real estate board.

But it didn't slow him down.

He was still
conducting business.

Of course, people have
to wonder, you know, did--

did Ron not pay somebody back?

Did a deal go south?

Did he somehow run afoul
of organized crime?

What's interesting
about that was that

Ron Rudin was
a paranoid individual.

And he also had
over 1,000 guns in his house.

He always had guns with him.

The local sheriff here
had given him

a concealed carry permit.

And he not only carried
a pistol in his boot,

but he carried a shotgun
in the back of his car.

He had a high-level security
system installed at his home,

and he was always looking
over his shoulder.

One month after
Ron Rudin's disappearance,

a gruesome discovery was made
100 miles away.

These fishermen
are night fishing.

So it's the middle
of the night.

They're out fishing
the Lake Mohave.

They can barely see
what they're doing.

They're in
the middle of nowhere,

and they're walking
back to their car

with their flashlights,
and the beam hits something,

and it's a human skull.

They found the remains
of a human being.

Police get a phone call
from a young man,

and he has
quite a story to tell.

Ron Rudin had multiple
extramarital affairs.

Ron's third wife
suffered from depression

and committed suicide.

Other people may have had
motive to do harm to Ron.

The whole case is just one
strange thing after another.

Detectives investigating
the disappearance

of real estate millionaire
Ron Rudin

received a tip about a body
in the Nevada desert.

Two of the fishermen
that found the skull

near Nelson's Landing
were military officers.

And they knew
not to disturb the scene

and told others
to leave the skull there.

They found the skull about
70 yards off the main road.

At the scene,
there was the burnt skull,

but it was
fairly well-preserved still.

The rest of the remains
were found

where this fire had
taken place.

In this burn pit,
they see human body parts...

Intermingled with what looks
like hardware.

You know, like, hinges
and a clasp

and, like, metal straps.

It was one of the craziest
crime scenes

I've ever heard about.

And they found what they
alleged were drag marks.

So it looked like someone had
pulled up in a vehicle

and dragged something
down to this place,

where it was
ultimately burned up.

The question is,
who put it there?

Well, police already
kind of wondered

if these are the remains
of Ron Rudin.

Then they see a very expensive
bejeweled bracelet.

And in jewels are
three letters--

R-O-N.

At the autopsy,
dental records were compared,

so that we knew that the skull
was for sure Ron.

And then they discovered
four bullet holes

in the skull
and evidence that seemed like

he had also been decapitated.

There were some knife marks
on some of the bones.

So now we had
a confirmed homicide.

It really had the earmarks
of a mob hit.

I don't know
who would have gone through

that much trouble,
other than the mob,

just did it the way
they did it.

The people that he was
doing business with,

that put up the money for him
to do that deal, you know,

"You've got this amount of time
to make good on this.

You'd better come across
on your end."

I think people have been killed
for a lot less.

Certainly, no one deserves
to be killed like that

and then have your body
mutilated and burned.

Someone wanted
to cover up evidence.

Detectives notified
Ron's wife, Margaret Rudin,

of her husband's murder.

Her response was unexpected.

Detectives sit down
with her,

and they watch her
very closely.

Now, different people
react differently

to that kind of news,

but this is something
they had never seen before.

Margaret takes her fist
and she starts

kind of grinding it
into her eye.

And at first, the detectives
are like, "What is she doing?"

And then it occurs to them,

she's trying
to make herself cry.

If you look at all
the circumstances,

Margaret claimed
that she contacted the police.

But it was
Ron Rudin's employees

that went
to the police department

to report him missing.

And that was
obviously suspicious.

Ron's remains are
eventually sent back

to his hometown in Illinois.

Ron's family,
they are devastated.

They can't believe that Ron
came to this kind of an end.

Based on Ron's activities

and his business
and his wealth,

they wonder if money has
to be the motive here.

The family waited
for an answer.

And it wasn't long

before their suspicions
were confirmed.

Margaret starts battling with
the trustees of Ron's estate,

trying to get a larger portion
of his estate.

At first, she was given
60% of everything.

But Margaret wanted
to increase the percentage

and inherit
most of Ron's estate,

which I think was
estimated to be

$10 million to $12 million.

Metro really put their
best detectives on this case.

And that's because
of who Ron Rudin was.

He was a pillar
of the community.

And when the emperor is slain,
you need to find the slayer.

So whenever you're dealing
with a murder trial,

the good thing
for a prosecutor is,

you're usually getting
the police department's

best detectives on the case.

These are the guys who go
through multiple marriages

because they're married
to their job.

Margaret Rudin stood to gain
financially from this.

Now, as a prosecutor,
that's a game changer.

Investigators prepared
to turn over every stone

to try and figure out
what happened to him.

When detectives looked
at Ron Rudin's will,

there was a secret directive
in the will that says,

if he dies
under suspicious means,

that any beneficiary
named in that will

needed to be investigated.

That obviously started
a lot of conversation

with the trustees
of his trust.

They had business
relationships with Ron

over the years in Las Vegas.

Trustees decided
that Margaret was the one

that was responsible
for Ron's death,

so they cut her off.

She was getting paid
a salary from Ron's business,

and they cut that off.

They even cut off
her newspaper subscriptions

at the house.

They hired the biggest law firm

in Nevada to represent them,

and they went after Margaret
with a vengeance.

The trustees of his estate
put out a $25,000 reward

for any information
about Ron Rudin's death.

A couple days after that,

police get a phone call

from a young man
named Augustine Lovato.

And he has
quite a story to tell.

Augustine Lovato,
he's a handyman.

And what he tells
investigators is that

Margaret Rudin hired him
to renovate the master bedroom.

And then when he went
to the bathroom,

he saw what appeared
to be blood

gurgling up from the drain.

Detectives investigating
the murder of businessman

Ron Rudin received a tip
from a contact

with ties to his family.

Augustine Lovato
came forward

and said that he was hired
by Margaret

to renovate the bedroom

before Ron's body
was even found.

When he removed the bed,
there was blood on the carpet.

That changed the focus
of the investigation

to Margaret Rudin.

She was the main suspect.

Based on
Augustine Lovato's tip,

the investigators are able
to get a search warrant

to search the Rudin house.

So when they do
the forensic testing,

they found blood
in the bedroom

and blood in the bathroom.

Samples were sent
to the lab for processing

to determine if the blood
was that of Ron Rudin.

The results were not
what detectives expected.

Some of the blood
found in the master bedroom

was determined
to be Ron's blood,

but not all of it.

Both Ron and Margaret had been
married four previous times.

Ron's third wife,
Peggy June Lee,

suffered from depression
and committed suicide

in the same room where we found
the blood spatter on the wall.

So they've got
this blood evidence.

But the prosecutor
Gary Guymon says,

"No, we can't charge Margaret."

Because they can't say
for certain

whether it's Ron Rudin's blood
or Peggy's blood.

There's just not enough here

to convict
beyond a reasonable doubt.

Prosecutors do need to err
on the side of caution,

because police came in
and did a cursory search.

They didn't see
any blood on the walls.

They didn't see blood
in the bathroom.

And that muddies the water up.

The prosecution was
unwilling to hang the case

on inconclusive blood results
and witness accounts.

Detectives continued
to examine the evidence.

When you look at the scene
where Ron was found,

there were the burnt remains
of Ron,

along with what was left
of this wooden trunk.

The analysis of the trunk
matched a very specific type

of antique humpback trunk.

Well,
during the investigation,

we found a receipt
at Margaret's store

that she had purchased
the same type of trunk

from a gentleman in California
by the name of Bruce Honabach.

Police ask Margaret
about the trunk,

and she can't account for it.

It's not in the inventory.

She can't show
that she's sold it anywhere.

She doesn't know where it is.

This is powerful
circumstantial evidence,

that a trunk just like
what she purchased

ended up burnt up
out in the desert

along with
her husband's remains.

The trunk represented
a possible link

between Margaret Rudin
and the site

where Ron Rudin's body
was found.

Ron weighed 220 pounds.

Margaret alone couldn't have
loaded Ron into the trunk.

She couldn't have loaded
the trunk into a vehicle

and then pulled it
out of the vehicle

and dragged it partway
up the hill by herself.

If she was responsible
for the murder of her husband,

she had some help.

There had to be
an accomplice.

So what the detectives do is,
they start interviewing

everybody that knew him,
family and friends,

to try and figure out
who it is.

Margaret's sister said
that Margaret was

having an affair
with this gentleman

named Yehuda Sharon.

Now, Yehuda Sharon was a guy

who used to hang around
in Las Vegas.

He was originally from Israel.

Allegedly had been
in the Mossad before,

and he came to Las Vegas.

He starts hanging out
with these middle-aged women

at the country club.

So one of them he met
was Margaret Rudin.

And they got
to know each other,

allegedly having affairs
and things like that.

So as the investigation continues,

they find out
that this infidelity

wasn't a one-way street.

It was a two-way street.

Ron Rudin had multiple
extramarital affairs.

Margaret was obviously upset
about Ron's activity,

and they were known to fight.

I think they'd actually had
separated for a time

and then gotten back together.

If Ron was gonna
divorce Margaret,

she would lose out
on all his wealth.

So it certainly seemed

that the money kept Margaret
coming back.

The detectives thought
that money

has to be the motive here.

If Ron divorces Margaret,

the ramifications for her
could be dire.

She would be battling Ron
in court.

Margaret has divorced
four times before,

and each time, she was at
the losing end of the divorce.

Now she's looking
at potentially

losing out for the fifth time.

She could lose everything.

She's gonna be
five times divorced

and no money,

and she's gotta start
all over again.

Investigators presented
their findings

to the district attorney's
office

in an attempt to bring charges
against Margaret Rudin.

As a prosecutor,
you got a really tough job.

Because we want finality,
you know,

not 20 years of appeal
and a vacated conviction.

So you don't force the trial.

With no further evidence
than what they've found,

they're not able to positively
link Margaret Rudin

to Ron Rudin's death
in a way that would allow

prosecutors to file charges.

That's not gonna be enough
to move forward

with a murder prosecution.

The case seemed to hit
a dead end.

A full year passed
with no leads

into the murder of Ron Rudin.

Then, in the summer of 1996,

a new piece of evidence
came to light.

In Lake Mead, some divers
had found a firearm

with a silencer a year prior.

But it had been sitting
in police storage for a year.

And one of the detectives
in the case

finds out about this gun
and decides to have it tested.

And they find out this gun
once belonged to Ron Rudin.

This was the big break
in the case

that led to the suspects responsible

for Ron Rudin's murder.

Ron went missing
December 1994.

His remains were found
out by the lake

in January of '95.

The gun wasn't discovered
until July of '96.

For whatever reason,
that gun got

lost in evidence until 1997.

Ron was known to have
a huge firearms collection,

reported to be worth
$2 million to $3 million.

Shortly after Ron had
married Margaret,

he had a gun with a suppressor
on it go missing.

So he reported it at that time,

that the gun was missing.

This gun is affixed
with a silencer.

Now, we see silencers
all the time--

TV crime shows.

But in real life,
they're actually very rare.

And in fact, you have to have
a special license from the ATF

to have a silencer.

Investigators found out
that Ron had gotten

the license for that silencer.

It was on file.

Through forensics testing,
the ballistics on the bullets

found in Ron's skull matched
the gun that was found

at the lake,
which is significant

because other people
may have had motive

to do harm to Ron,

but they didn't have access
to that weapon.

It seems like whoever stole
that firearm is the killer.

This is definitely
a key piece of evidence.

It was hard for anybody else
to have an opportunity

to get that particular firearm.

Margaret Rudin is
really the only one.

Police now have
the murder weapon.

The discovery of the gun

and the identification
of the gun

is a game changer.

They can put
this murder weapon in the home

where Margaret lives,

within arm's reach
of Margaret.

They have a financial motive.

They have an emotional motive
in the infidelity.

They feel like they have
all the pieces

to charge Margaret with murder.

Detectives presented
the case

to Assistant District Attorney
Gary Guymon,

and the grand jury
finally indicted Margaret Rudin

for the death of her husband,

murder in the first degree
with use of a deadly weapon.

At that time,
we were finally able to obtain

an arrest warrant.

A lot of times,
as a prosecutor,

you have a good relationship

with the defense attorneys
on the case.

Everybody knew who
Margaret Rudin's attorney was.

So prosecutors contact
her attorney

and say, "Look, we indicted.

"We got the arrest warrant.

Let's go ahead and bring
your client to surrender."

And what the defense attorney
says is,

"My client left town
a month ago.

I don't know where she is."

Detectives' inquiries as to
Margaret Rudin's whereabouts

were unsuccessful.

Margaret had disappeared.

On the lam.
That's what we call it.

That's the slang
for being a fugitive,

for being on the run.

She was on the lam.

She got a fake ID.
She got a fake passport.

She got documents.

Margaret ends up
in Guadalajara.

She's in a house
with some other Americans.

Some of them happen to be

fugitives from justice
as well,

and they teach her
the ins and outs

of how to stay off the grid.

She was
a pretty good fugitive,

for somebody in her mid-50s

who had never had
a speeding ticket before.

She was on the lam
for two years.

She moved from place to place.

I think she was in Mexico
for a while,

she was in Phoenix,
and maybe some other places.

She was on "America's
Most Wanted," I think,

more than any other female had
ever been on that show before.

Eventually,
somebody spots her

one day in Arizona.

A cop actually goes
to investigate,

and she sweet-talks him.

She convinced them that
she was not Margaret Rudin.

She was living under an alias

and had changed
her appearance,

and Phoenix police
actually let her go.

Margaret told me this.

She said,
"The day the cops showed up

"and questioned me at the door

is the very day I just got
that ID issued in Arizona."

And the minute
they walked away,

she grabbed her suitcase,
called a limousine service,

walked out the back door,
was in the limousine and gone.

She outsmarted them.

Out of desperation
comes innovation.

So Margaret's successfully
stayed off the grid

for two years at this point.

But the Massachusetts
State Police

get a tip
that Margaret Rudin is

mailing packages
from a post office

in Revere, Massachusetts.

And so they send some officers
to go down to that post office

and show her picture
to see if they can

confirm that she was there.

A post office employee
confirms that, "Yes,

that woman has been here
at the post office."

And they show police
exactly where she lived.

Police there
were able to enter

the apartment
where she was found

by posing as
a pizza delivery person.

They went up there
and knocked on the door,

and the door was open,
and they found Margaret,

I think, in the bathroom.

And that's how
they apprehended her.

And that was
the end of the road.

Margaret Rudin doesn't
go to trial until 2001.

It's a big media circus
around the courthouse.

There's media trucks
all around the courthouse.

It was a very publicized trial.

We as a jury did not know
what to expect.

For I think all of us,

this was
our first murder trial.

You think, OK, whatever.

We're gonna be here
for several days, if not weeks.

And we'll just see
how it all plays out.

What we did not know
at the time

was that this would be

the longest trial
in Nevada history.

All rise.

District Court Department 6
now in session,

the Honorable Judge
Joe Bonaventure presiding.

Be seated, please.

The media is
all over this case.

They start calling
Margaret Rudin--

they dub her the Black Widow.

You know, the female spider
that eats her mate.

She's notorious.

The evidence will show that,
like an individual

in the center
of her own soap opera,

she sat and manipulated,
almost like a puppeteer

pulling strings.

The prosecution's theory
is that Margaret thought

Ron was going to divorce her,
leave her no money.

And that's why
she murdered him,

so that she would have a chance
of inheriting his estate.

And then the defense is

a classic
reasonable doubt defense.

They say
there's no direct evidence

that Margaret did anything.

Money was not an issue.

This was
an organized crime hit.

Ladies and gentlemen
of the jury...

Margaret, Tom,
Michael, gentlemen...

This is a great day.

If you watch Michael Amador's
opening statement,

you would be hard-pressed
to find

a coherent defense theory.

Perhaps
I'm a little different,

sometimes, than other people
might be.

I look for passion.

And Michael Amador gets
lost in the weeds.

This opening statement,
which normally takes

15 or 20 minutes,
is going on forever.

We're over an hour,
and he's still talking.

There are things
about our lives today

and the place where we live...

they're like no other place
and no other time in history.

Amador continues by speaking
mostly about himself.

Judge Bonaventure actually
admonishes Amador.

And I let you get away
with a lot, Mr. Amador,

but the purpose
of an opening statement

is just indicate
what the evidence is

gonna tend to show.

And then calls for a recess.

But after the recess,
it didn't get any better.

It started on tilt, and it
never got straightened up.

I've never seen an attorney
conduct himself in such a way.

This is supposed to be
the evidence

that you're gonna bring forth
in regards to Margaret.

I think he talked
about soccer at one point

during his open,
rambling on about,

"I'm a soccer dad,
and when my kid plays soccer,"

and he's going off
in a tangent,

and we're just along
for the ride.

Michael Amador was
not well-prepared.

And something we didn't see
is that Amador allegedly

negotiated media rights
to the story

while he was
representing Margaret.

Michael Amador was just
going for the publicity

of Margaret's case.

And it wasn't really
for her defense.

At that point, the power
rests in Judge Bonaventure.

He could have
declared a mistrial

after he saw that outrageous
opening statement.

But he didn't do it.

He allowed the trial
to go forward.

Early in the case,
the prosecution present

a key witness.

He's an antique dealer.

His name is Bruce Honabach.

What he testifies to is that
he bought a humpback trunk

from a Donald Schaupeter,

and that he provided
that trunk

to Margaret Rudin
for her antique store.

The inside of it
had a pattern of, um,

a light--a light blue,
if you will, flower design.

What Honabach testifies to
is that matches

the interior
of the humpback trunk

that he gave
to Margaret Rudin.

So here we got
a guy who said,

"I sold her the trunk
that Ron's body was found in."

That points
right at Margaret Rudin.

And Margaret had dealt
with Bruce Honabach

over many transactions.

About 10 or 12 times,
according to his testimony,

she told him,

"I wish my husband was dead.

He doesn't give me any money.
I wish he was dead."

And it bothered Bruce so much
that he made an appointment

and went and saw Ron Rudin,
and he said, "Hey,

I think your wife
wants to kill you."

And he wasn't
surprised at that.

He kind of already knew that.

So to me, that was huge.

After weeks of testimony
from multiple witnesses,

the prosecution's case
was strong.

But a potential stumbling
block needed an explanation.

One of the problems
that we had

in the prosecution
of the case was,

Margaret Rudin was not
gonna be physically capable

to carry out the execution

and also dispose of the body
in the way that it was done.

And so
the prosecution's theory was,

there had to be an accomplice.

The prosecution was
so certain

it was Yehuda Sharon.

He is supposedly involved
with Margaret Rudin,

and he was
physically strong enough

to drag a trunk containing
a 6-foot-whatever man

out to the desert
and setting it on fire.

They called Yehuda Sharon
and asked some questions.

Isn't it true that you
received immunity in this case

as this relates to the death
of Ronald Rudin?

I know
that I received immunity.

From what, I have no idea.

I mean, you ask me
to tell you or to speculate

about something that
I have no idea of,

and I don't know
what to tell you.

He was granted total immunity
for any crimes

that were committed
in exchange for his testimony.

The problem is,
it was never secured

exactly what his testimony
was gonna be.

He goes, "I'm not gonna
answer these questions.

I don't know what you guys
are looking for."

And he wouldn't answer
his questions,

which was very smart
on his part.

Well, he could have nailed
her coffin closed and walked.

But this guy told them,

"I am not having
an affair with her.

"I did not help her
kill Ron Rudin.

"To the best of my knowledge,
she didn't.

And if she did, it wasn't
because I helped her."

It was a tactical error
by the prosecution.

Their once-star witness fizzled.

And by giving him immunity,

now they can't go after him
for anything.

So the judge is baffled,

and it just doesn't go anywhere.

I can't have objections

on both sides
of the room, all right?

Make your mind up
who wants to object.

It hurt the case to bring
this witness to trial.

Could lead to a reasonable
doubt in the minds of a jury.

After damaging testimony
from an intended star witness

in the murder trial
of Margaret Rudin,

the defense quickly seized
on the misstep.

Now the defense can try

and insert
some reasonable doubt.

They really harp on them.

A key witness
for the prosecution,

the handyman Augustine Lovato,
when he takes the stand,

he testifies consistently

with what he told police before.

What color was the spot?

Dark brown.

Did you attempt to clean that
area at Margaret's request?

Yes.

The defense counters is,
police came in

and did a cursory search.

They didn't see
blood on the walls.

They didn't see blood
in the bathroom.

And also,
there was a reward out

for any kind of information

that's gonna help solve
this crime.

Magically, this handyman
drops down out of the sky.

And he says,
"Oh, I did this and this.

"And by the way,
I saw blood gurgling up

from a drain,"
which I've never had a drain

that bubbled up anything.

Now they can tie
the story together,

and this guy gets $25,000.

That's--that's a little
too tidy for me.

It was a very, very fierce
and I would say

pretty effective
cross-examination.

Now, if anyone needed
a reward back in 1995,

it was you and your mother,
wasn't it?

It didn't matter.
I mean--

Well, you--go ahead.
It didn't matter?

There was never--

this was never about a reward.

This was about
a man that was dead,

and that people loved him,
and he was missing.

The defense was
trying to make the case

that he's lying because he got

that $25,000 reward.

To cast further doubt on
Augustine Lovato's testimony,

the defense devised
an elaborate plan.

The, uh, mattress,

we've got the same size
of what they did.

We went out and actually bought
the same size of things there.

This is an actual
representation of what it is.

They literally bring in
a set,

like a TV set,
of part of Ron's bedroom.

And they have the attorneys
playing different parts.

They're putting on
their own little crime show

in the courtroom.

Bang, bang.

And then would have
to run around

the other side of the bed.

And we had Tom Pitaro
fake shooting John Momot.

He stood at the bed, and he's
running around the bed.

And it's like,
what kind of garbage is this?

So on April 18th,

the trial has been going on
for about six weeks.

Defense attorney Michael Amador
receives a call

from a guy, Donald Schaupeter.

All right.

My name is Don Schaupeter.

He's been watching
the trial on TV.

And he says
that Bruce Honabach,

the antique dealer,

did not buy a humpback trunk
from Mr. Schaupeter.

I said,
Bruce must be mistaken.

"I sold him a box
with some ice skates,

not a humpback trunk."

That's a pretty big issue,
because the prosecutors made

a big deal
about finding Honabach

to show, you know,
the source of the trunk.

It was clearly
a setback for prosecutors.

They lost this clean,
direct connection

between Margaret and the trunk.

The state went first,
gave their closing argument.

Their theory in the case
was pretty simple.

Our theory as prosecutors
was that Margaret Rudin

killed Ron Rudin in his bed.

He was shot multiple times
in the head,

and the body had
to get transported

with the help
of an accomplice,

and that her motive for
doing so was financial gain.

Then it was up
to Margaret's attorneys

to do their closing arguments.

Michael Amador,
the lead attorney,

was gonna be allocated
30 minutes

to make his argument.

Ask the right questions,
and I'll tell you no lies.

Is Margaret Rudin innocent
of the charges presented

to you by the prosecution?

The answer is yes,
she is innocent.

There was not
a rational closing argument

given by Margaret's attorney,
which was a shame.

Gonna be
a travesty of justice.

Michael Amador promises
Judge Bonaventure

he's gonna do
a quick closing argument.

He ends up going 90 minutes.

Sets Judge Bonaventure off.

Amador, you sandbagged me.

You lied to me,
you lied to this DA,

and you didn't live up
to your bargain.

You lied to the court.
You sandbagged the court.

The jury was left
to deliberate.

Days dragged on,
and a stalemate emerged.

At first,
we were nine to three.

The whole case is just one
strange thing after another.

There was some conflict
about the trunk.

Some believed
David Schaupeter did not

sell Bruce Honabach the trunk.

I think that Bruce Honabach
sold Margaret Rudin

an antique trunk.

Might not have come
from David Schaupeter.

And after some deliberation,
after a few hours,

it was 11 to 1.

And we stayed 11 to 1 for days.

When they actually
delivered their verdict,

what we come to find out is...

As to count two,

for murder with the use
of a deadly weapon,

we find the defendant guilty.

That one holdout juror
changed her vote.

Margaret was convicted
first degree murder,

and she was sentenced
to 20 years to life.

The prosecutors were
unified with their story.

And there was
a mountain of evidence

as to why we thought
she did it

and very little
as to why she didn't do it.

And I've said it before
and I'll say it again--

this thing was a slam dunk
with a stepladder.

She did it.

I believe Margaret got
what she deserved.

Justice was served.

Ron Rudin should be
remembered as...

remembered as a criminal.

Margaret Rudin served
19 years in prison.

During the COVID-19 pandemic
of 2020,

she was released on parole.

Margaret got released from
prison in January of 2020,

and she's maintained
her innocence the whole time.

Then she started
corresponding with me,

and she started calling me,
and then I agreed

to represent her
if she got a new trial.

When I go back and read
the trial transcript,

I couldn't believe
what I read.

There was some more discussion
that the jury didn't see,

or the TVs didn't see,
behind the scenes

in Judge Bonaventure's
chambers.

It was recorded
by a court reporter.

Michael Amador,
the lead attorney,

admitted he wasn't prepared,
he was in over his head,

he hadn't been able to sleep,

and, I mean,
all this other kind of stuff.

At that point, it should have
been a mistrial.

Margaret did not have effective
assistance and counsel.

Based on these new findings,
an appeal was filed

on Margaret Rudin's behalf
to reopen the case.

On May 16, 2022,

Federal District Court Judge
of Nevada Richard Boulware,

he grants the post-conviction
habeas corpus relief.

Says that Margaret did not get

effective assistance
to that trial.

He vacates her conviction.

Clark County
DA's office decide

they're not gonna retry
the case.

She's already done her time.

The only point would be
to actually tag her

with the conviction.

She's no longer
on life parole.

Her rights have been
given back to her.

So she can get a passport,
she can travel.

So she does have
somewhat of her life back.

But she's 79 years old now.

You know,
it's just unfortunate.

There's no winners here.

Ron Rudin lost his life.

Margaret Rudin lost hers.

Was law and order served?

I don't believe so.

We still don't have
a convicted killer.

So is Ron Rudin's murder
a mystery still?

Looks like it.