In short
The 1994 disappearance and murder of real estate developer/gun dealer Ron Rudin, and the long legal fight over whether his wife, Margaret Rudin (alias “Margaret Rudin” living in Revere, MA), was guilty.
Key claims
Investigators say Margaret shot Ron in their remodeled master bedroom, then used an antique trunk to move his body to the desert 40 miles away; they cite her delayed missing-person report, unusual lack of concern, pre-remodeling, alleged blood traces, and a murder gun found in a lake matching Ron’s gun. A co-conspiracy is alleged, with financier Yehuda Sharon as an alleged helper. Defense argues tunnel vision, insufficient evidence Ron was killed in the bedroom, and that trustees Sharon Cooper and Harold Biscotti had motive and control of assets.
Notable examples
Domino’s-shirt arrest in Revere; trunk/bedroom blood testimony; Ron’s will “directive” to check beneficiaries; a gun concealed in a garbage bag; juror dispute after conviction.
Guests
Donna Cantrell (Margaret’s sister); Sue Lyles (Ron’s mistress); Sharon Melton (Ron’s bookkeeper/friend); Brenda Woods (Ron’s cousin); Eloise Frost (Margaret’s mother); Yehuda Sharon (former Israeli military officer/businessman, granted immunity).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOLee Brown's Secret Life
0:18 to 1:24
Exploring the secretive life of Lee Brown, who was actually Margaret Rudin.
“In Revere, Massachusetts, a quiet blue-collar town just outside of Boston, 54-year-old Lee Brown was keeping a dark secret.”
The Arrest of Margaret Rudin
1:24 to 2:30
Details of the arrest of Margaret Rudin in Massachusetts after a tip-off.
“I don't believe she was capable at all of doing something like this.”
The Rocky Relationship
2:30 to 3:19
Discussion of the tumultuous relationship between Margaret and Ron Rudin.
“Back then, he was a successful real estate developer and gun dealer who was worth an estimated$12 million.”
Disappearance and Discovery
3:19 to 4:48
Unpacking the events surrounding Ron's disappearance and the discovery of his remains.
“When they married in 1987, it was the fifth marriage for both.”
Reactions to the Murder
4:48 to 5:40
Exploring the reactions and suspicions surrounding Margaret following Ron's murder.
“Charred remains of a body had been discovered in the desert 40 miles outside of Las Vegas.”
The Investigation Deepens
6:51 to 8:35
Details of the investigation into Ron's murder and the implications for Margaret.
“Right through here is where the trunk got dragged, and then here's the burn spot right here where the fire actually took place.”
Suspicion Falls on Margaret
8:35 to 10:40
How evidence and behavior led detectives to suspect Margaret was involved in Ron's murder.
“She was so sweet and had that sweet voice and so soft-spoken.”
The Murder Weapon
10:40 to 13:16
Details of the discovery of the murder weapon and its implications for the case.
“Detectives say Margaret was trying to clean up the murder scene by removing furniture and carpeting.”
Fleeing Justice
13:16 to 14:01
Margaret Rudin's flight from justice after being indicted for her husband's murder.
“Incredibly, the gun was owned by Ron Rudin.”
Setting the Scene: A Mother's Memories
14:01 to 15:46
Christina Mason reflects on her childhood memories of her mother, Margaret, amidst accusations against her.
“When I was a kid, my mom spent a lot of her time here.”
Show all 23 chapters
Margaret's Flight: The Fear That Drove Her
15:47 to 16:56
Margaret Rudin explains her decision to flee Las Vegas after her husband's murder, citing fear and lack of support.
“It's real clear that she left because she was soon to be held accountable.”
The Case Against Margaret: Evidence and Motives
16:57 to 19:16
Prosecutors argue the reasons behind Margaret's actions while defense attorney Michael Amador presents alternate theories.
“Defense attorney Michael Amador says Margaret was forced to run by a police department that had rushed to judgment.”
Trial Tensions: Preparing for Courtroom Battles
19:17 to 22:25
As the trial approaches, attorneys on both sides brace for conflicts, revealing their strategies and concerns.
“longtime friends of Ron Rudin and trustees of his estate.”
Explosive Testimony: A Sister's Betrayal
22:26 to 24:38
Margaret's sister, Donna Cantrell, testifies against her, bringing shocking revelations about their relationship.
“Did you have feelings for Ronald Rudin in November of 1994?”
A Mistrial Request: Shifting Defense Strategies
24:39 to 27:16
Margaret seeks a mistrial due to her attorney's preparedness, leading to a change in defense strategy mid-trial.
“Because I spent my whole life raising my family, and it breaks my heart.”
The Involvement of Yehuda Sharon: Friend or Accomplice?
27:17 to 28:00
Discussion of Yehuda Sharon's role in the case and whether he assisted Margaret in the murder of Ron Rudin.
“He obtains this holy oil and then he bottles it and he sells it to the Catholic Church.”
Allegations Against Margaret Rudin
28:00 to 29:46
Learn about the accusations against Margaret Rudin and the involvement of Yehuda Sharon.
“It would be physically impossible for her to have done any of the things that are attributable to her by the state.”
Trial Dynamics: Yehuda Sharon's Testimony
29:46 to 30:49
Examine the implications of Yehuda Sharon's testimony during the trial.
“Now, prosecutors are trying again, on the stand.”
Blood Evidence in the Bedroom
30:49 to 32:48
Explore the evidence surrounding the blood found in the bedroom and its implications.
“And one of the things you thought was very important was to look down at the floor.”
Financial Motives and the Trust
32:48 to 33:49
Discuss the financial implications and motives surrounding Ron Rudin's estate.
“Sharon Cooper and Harold Boscutti trustees and beneficiaries of Ron's estate the people Margaret says took control of Ron's fortune.”
The Jury's Verdict and Reactions
33:49 to 35:48
Detail the jury's verdict and the subsequent reactions from all parties involved.
“Margaret Rudin chooses not to take the stand.”
Juror Number 11's Dissent
35:48 to 38:18
Hear the perspective of Juror Number 11 and the dissenting opinions about the verdict.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is those your verdicts as read, so say you once, so say you all?”
Margaret Rudin's Release and Aftermath
38:18 to 39:07
Learn about Margaret Rudin's release on parole and the effects of her trial.
“I will fight back in every way possible I can to overrule the verdict.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:01Music
0:18It's a horrible way to live.
0:21Harold Dow:Are you worried? Looking over your shoulders? Always. Every minute of every day. In Revere, Massachusetts, a quiet blue-collar town just outside of Boston, 54-year-old Lee Brown was keeping a dark secret. I am not in the habit of talking to people about my life. She would just come in, she'd say hello. To those that knew her, Lee was a sweet, quiet woman. And my shop is right there. Print shop owner Vince Laporta was Lee's neighbor. She'd probably come in like two or three times a week and make copies. She was very pleasant. She was basically like a grandmother, you know, very soft-spoken, very, very nice.
1:03A nice lady. Just one of the regulars.
1:07Harold Dow:Jackie Mello served Lee coffee at his Blues diner. There was just something about her. She was more classy, you know, a more well-spoken, well-educated kind of girl. No one ever knew Lee Brown was really Margaret Rudin, a woman suspected of murder in Nevada. This is just unbelievable, you know. I don't believe she was capable at all of doing something like this. Massachusetts State Trooper Mark Lynch got a tip from Nevada authorities that Margaret Rudin was living in Revere. It was that beige one over there. Lynch tracked Margaret down to this apartment and with one of his officers disguised as a pizza delivery man, a Domino's shirt, baseball cap, and a Domino's pizza box.
1:56Harold Dow:He gained entry and made the arrest. We open the door and then she's hiding basically either in the tub or right next to the tub. The statement was made, Margaret, do you know why we're here? And she says, yeah, this is about Las Vegas, isn't it? Las Vegas. The strip. The shows. A high-stakes gambling mecca, but to Margaret Rudin, Las Vegas meant murder. She's brought back to Las Vegas to stand trial for the 1994 murder of her husband, Ron Rudin. Let me ask you a point, Mike. Did you kill your husband? Absolutely not. Ron Rudin disappeared December 1994. Back then, he was a successful real estate developer and gun dealer who was worth an estimated$12 million.
2:4660 % of Ron's millions of dollars would have gone to her.
2:51Harold Dow:Jimmy Vaccaro and Phil Ramos were homicide detectives assigned to the case. We know there was this real rocky rollercoaster relationship between Margaret Rudin and her husband. Was there a strain in the relationship? Many. Margaret Rudin admits there were problems, but that wasn't reason to kill him. I don't have a history of staying with somebody if I'm really unhappy. I have a history of divorcing them. And so did Ron. When they married in 1987, it was the fifth marriage for both. He was extremely mysterious, very charismatic. Did you fall in love with him? Yes. He needed me. But soon after they were married, Margaret says she began to see another side of Ron.
3:38I thought I'd made a terrible mistake. You know, by then I knew that he was drinking a lot.
3:43Harold Dow:And he was having an affair. Did that upset you, that he was having extramarital affairs? Did it make you angry? No. You know why? It's because 99 % of the men that I've ever had in my life had affairs. I believe that about 90 % of the men do. You might as well expect it. But in spite of everything, she says she loved Ron and was determined to make her marriage work. I still thought that I could have an influence on him, that I could make a difference. When Ron disappeared in 1994, Margaret was preparing for the grand opening of her antique shop. I expected him to come in, and he didn't. We knew something was wrong.
4:29Harold Dow:Sharon Melton, Ron's close friend and bookkeeper... After 10 years, I think I knew him well. ...immediately became concerned when Ron failed to show up at work the next morning. He would just not not show up and let anyone know. One month later, Ron did show up. Charred remains of a body had been discovered in the desert 40 miles outside of Las Vegas. So this is where Ron Rudin stopped, right here. Not a very fitting end for anyone. They told me that Ron's remains had been found. I think I was numb more than anything else. Amongst the remains was the framework of an antique trunk. And about 35 feet that way towards the river was where the head rolled to.
5:14The human skull. It was right in that area right there. Bullet holes in the skull. The medical examiner felt there was a possibility of decapitation having occurred post-mortem. Is Margaret Rudin capable of murder? Is she capable of murder? Without a doubt. It's unjust. It's not fair.
5:31Harold Dow:If she is innocent, why then did this pleasant, soft-spoken grandmother go on the run for almost three years? When you're helpless and you're totally alone, you do tend to maybe panic. That's next. When life gets busy, even something as routine as grocery shopping can start to feel like a big lift. That's where Instacart comes in. With delivery via Instacart, it's easy to shop from thousands of stores and get exactly what's needed, whether it's fresh ingredients for the week, household essentials, or specific brands that matter. The app makes it simple to search, filter, and build a cart with intention so nothing gets overlooked.
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7:08Right through here is where the trunk got dragged, and then here's the burn spot right
7:13Harold Dow:here where the fire actually took place. Las Vegas homicide detectives Phil Ramos and Jimmy Vaccaro have seen their share of murder. Somebody's dead, we want to know who did it. But nothing compares to what they believe happened to Ron Rudin. Shot, possibly decapitated, hauled some 45 miles outside of town. Does that sound like overkill? It does to me. I did not kill my husband. Now Ron's wife, Margaret, will stand trial for his murder. This is my handsome husband on her way to church. I want to remember him during the good times. Do you still love it? Yes. So does Ron's cousin, Brenda Woods. We were very close.
7:58Harold Dow:Who was like a sister to Ron. We just kind of had a special relationship. This was taken in 1956 in our backyard. He would have been all of 27 years old there. Oh, it's on, huh? Yeah. Ron was a kidder. Ron was fun. And that's what I remember most about him, is that he was always teasing and always making us laugh. Brenda watched Ron become a successful real estate developer. He had the plates RRR-1, Ron Rudin Realty. But worried about him failing at four marriages until she met Margaret. The first time I met her, I loved her. I did. We all did. She was so sweet and had that sweet voice and so soft-spoken.
8:42Harold Dow:Brenda saw in Margaret a caring mother and grandmother who doted over Ron. It was the kind of person that you'd say, you're welcome in my home at any time. But when Ron mysteriously disappeared seven years later, Brenda's attitude changed. The more information we got, the more we started adding it up, and the more we thought she had something very much to do with it, whether she pulled the trigger or not. Police felt exactly the same way. She's given us bad signals right from the start. They turned their attention to Margaret. Everything keeps bringing us back to her. After she showed what seemed like a lack of concern for Ron's whereabouts.
9:24I think that was part of the reason why people were looking at Margaret right away. I saw him about 6.30.
9:30Harold Dow:They say it took Margaret two days to file a missing persons report, and that she did so only after Ron's co-workers informed police first. Generally speaking, if the spouse is missing, the wife's the one reporting him. One month later, when the detectives told Margaret that Ron had been murdered, again, Margaret's reaction raised suspicion. We've notified a lot of people that their loved one is dead. I've never seen a non-reaction like Margaret's. And then there was the antique trunk. Police say Ron was burned in. Margaret had an antique store and she was an antique dealer. But it was information coming from this man.
10:10He's the guy that tells us everything.
10:12Harold Dow:That sent up a red flag. He's the one that really takes us and brings us straight on focus with Margaret. This is actually the master bedroom. Margaret hired Augustine Lovato to remodel the bedroom before Ron's body had been found. This is what I turned into an office for. Why, detectives ask, would Margaret Rudin do so before she knew the fate of her husband? This is all done before we even make the death notification. If Ron's coming home, where are they going to sleep? Detectives say Margaret was trying to clean up the murder scene by removing furniture and carpeting. There was what I thought was blood on the carpet and when I was cutting through it, this like scabby type material kept sticking to me.
10:57Harold Dow:It looked like dried blood. But there was more. Lovato also noticed a portrait of Margaret hanging over the bed. It gave me a creepy feeling like it was like staring at me. On it, there appeared to be blood. I saw brownish red splatters going up the whole picture. And then when I saw that, I put the carpet and those two together and went, wow. Based on Lovato's statement, detectives searched the bedroom. The carpeting had long since been thrown out. They could only find tiny traces of blood on the ceiling, walls, and the portrait. Police failed to find a sample of Ron's DNA so they couldn't tell if it was his blood.
11:36Harold Dow:But detectives believe it was and say this is where Margaret shot Ron and killed him. All of this movement of the trunk and everything, Ron Rudin was a six-foot-plus man at about 220. Detectives have a theory. Margaret didn't act alone. We know there's a co-conspirator. We know there's some help in this. But is Margaret capable of sliding up behind Ron while he's sleeping in bed and shooting him? No doubt in my mind. And Ron's friend and bookkeeper Sharon Melton says Ron thought so too. One time he stood in my office and screamed at me, she won't shoot me, Sharon, she wouldn't get anything. But guess what?
12:15None of us knew about the directive but Ron Rudin.
12:17Harold Dow:The directive, something Margaret knew nothing about, an unusual provision Ron put in his will to protect his assets. It was a signal to investigators that if he died by violent means, they should look at his beneficiaries. Do you think he was speaking from his grave? I think he was saying, yeah, in the event that somebody murders me, take a look at these people. Including my wife? Including my wife. While detectives were certain Margaret was the killer, the district attorney's office was concerned about the lack of hard evidence. We don't know we've got enough to take to a jury here. And they didn't.
12:56Harold Dow:A grand jury failed to indict Margaret for the murder of her husband, but then prosecutors Gary Guymon and Chris Owens caught a break. Quite honestly, it was concealed in a garbage bag. A gun was found. So it looked like trash at the bottom of the lake. 14 miles from where Ron Rudin's body was discovered, ballistics showed that it was the murder weapon. Incredibly, the gun was owned by Ron Rudin. No question about that at all? No question at all. Records from the ATF have absolutely confirmed that that was his gun. And Rudin had reported the gun missing six years before he was murdered. Are you saying basically that Margaret Rudin took his gun and waited all this time to kill him?
13:39That's what the evidence suggests.
13:43Harold Dow:One year after the gun was found, two years after Ron's murder, the second grand jury handed down an indictment. But before prosecutors could arrest Margaret Rudin, she fled. You're telling us that you've been framed? I think it all boils down to greed. But whose fault? That will definitely come out of trial. If you're not guilty, why do you run? Next.
14:16I have so many memories of this place. When I was a kid, my mom spent a lot of her time here. We laughed a lot. I know it's her all-time favorite place is here by the water.
14:28Harold Dow:34-year-old Christina Mason remembers the good times growing up with her mother, Margaret, in Zion, Illinois. She's just a wonderful person and I'm proud to say that she's my mother. Christina says her mother has been accused of a crime she did not commit. I miss my mom very much and we just want her to come home. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. How does your family feel about you being in jail? I don't think anyone could ever, ever know how hard it is for her.
15:10This is Margaret when she was, I think, four years old, and this one she was five.
15:16Harold Dow:Margaret's mother, Eloise Frost. If you could be with her right now, what would you tell her? I love you more than anything. Happy birthday to you. Today is Eloise's 80th birthday. The scary thing about being 80 is that I want to live longer not to see Margaret pronounced innocent because she is innocent. But prosecutors Chris Owens and Gary Guymon ask... If you're not guilty, why do you run? Just weeks before she was to be indicted. It's real clear that she left because she was soon to be held accountable. Margaret Rudin argues she left Las Vegas nearly two years after Ron's murder and that she had no alternative but to run.
16:01I was terrified at that point. I had no attorney. I had no money. It didn't seem like anybody was going to help me. It didn't seem like anybody was even going to care.
16:10Harold Dow:Far from the bright lights of Las Vegas, Margaret traveled to Guadalajara, Mexico.
16:19Harold Dow:where she worked teaching English. It was a wonderful adventure because I had never been alone before. To avoid detection, Margaret Rudin changed her identity. How many aliases did you have? Do you know, I really don't know. There were quite a few. After several months in Mexico, Margaret moved on to Phoenix, Arizona and another alias. There was Annette Boatwright. She worked in a hotel gift shop and lived at a YMCA. Her last stop, Revere, Massachusetts, where Margaret Rudin was finally arrested. I wanted my life back. I wanted to be with my children. I wanted to be with my grandchildren. Why did she run?
17:01Harold Dow:She was scared. Defense attorney Michael Amador says Margaret was forced to run by a police department that had rushed to judgment. Within days after the missing persons report was given, they immediately targeted Margaret as the perpetrator. You're saying law enforcement in this case used tunnel vision? Absolutely. Item. Police say Ron's employees were the first to report him missing, not Margaret. Since his employees were immediately concerned that he didn't show up for work, why wouldn't Margaret be concerned? But Margaret says she did call police and was told to wait. They had said that the majority of them always come home.
17:40They had a policy that it was 48 hours to wait.
17:42Harold Dow:And Margaret didn't stop there. I started calling everyone that I ever knew to see if anybody had heard from him or if anybody had heard him say anything. Oh, Margaret called, very distressed. Barbara Orcutt's Mountain Lodge was located next to property Ron Rudin owned. I asked Barbara if she had seen Ron. I said I also was worried that something might have happened to him over on the property. She was very worried, very concerned that Ron hadn't come home. This was not a usual thing. Item, the bedroom. You know, what kind of a wife, when her husband is missing under suspicious circumstances, remodels her entire master bedroom and turns it into an office?
Read the full transcript
18:24There were so many reasons for that, too.
18:26Harold Dow:Margaret explains Ron was missing for almost a month before she changed her bedroom. I didn't really believe that Ron would be coming back. Once his car was found, I believed it was foul play. And there was another reason. I had never liked being in the bedroom because I had been told Peggy had committed suicide in there. Peggy is Peggy Rudin, Ron Rudin's third wife, who shot herself in the head in that very bedroom. That was always something that bothered me. Item, the murder weapon, Ron's own gun. There's no way that they could say I was the only person that had access. Did you take the gun?
19:04No, I did not.
19:05Harold Dow:So if Margaret Rudin didn't kill her husband, who did? Margaret was framed for the murder of her husband, in my opinion. Amador points to these two people, Sharon Cooper and Harold Biscutti, longtime friends of Ron Rudin and trustees of his estate. They're the ones who had a far greater motive to kill Ron Rudin than Margaret did. You're looking at what attorney Michael Amador calls the motivation for murder, Ron Rudin's land. Cooper and Boscotti, along with Margaret Rudin, were all beneficiaries of the estate. Amador believes that Cooper and Boscotti arranged Ron Rudin's murder, framing Margaret, so that they would be the only beneficiaries of the estimated$12 million fortune.
19:51Harold Dow:Prosecutors say that's absurd. The trustees were not the individuals who had access to that deadly weapon, the gun. They're not the individuals who fled in this investigation. They're not the people that changed the room and altered the bedroom. Michael Amador has his work cut out for him. This is a private document. So does co-defense counsel Tom Pataro. There's been nothing simple in this case. Their strategy? Prove Ron Rudin wasn't killed in his bedroom. There is absolutely no possible way that he was shot in that room. If they can prove that, they say the entire state's theory falls apart.
20:28The blood that they describe is not the result of a high-velocity spray as a result of a gunshot wound to his head. I want somebody to believe me, but I want them to believe me on the evidence.
20:39Harold Dow:With the trial fast approaching, attorneys on both sides are cautiously confident. To me, a trial is a street fight with neck ties. Who states your name? But the street fight is about to get nasty. Donna Cantrell. With explosive testimony from the state's star witness. You are the sister. of Margaret Rudin, is that correct? Yes, I am. That's next. Can you tell me what it is Margaret would say about a relationship?
21:18Harold Dow:In the city of high stakes gamblers. Money, power, crime, fear. Attorneys Michael Amador and Tom Potaro are taking a chance. The evidence doesn't support the theory. They can prove Margaret Rudin didn't kill her husband Ron. There's nothing really tangible that you're knocking out. Patero admits circumstantial cases like this one are hard to defend. To defend it, you're defending against a wisp of smoke. It's Mike Amador. Okay, go ahead. But lead defense attorney Michael Amador appears ready. Once they get our expert, we're going to kick their ass. And confident. The entire state's case is nothing but a house of cards waiting for just the slightest breeze to knock it down.
22:04Mike's had some really grandiose statements. I mean, he's been sure, you know, that he has what he has. Prosecutor Gary Guymon. The state has the burden of proof, and we've got to shoulder that. Are my shoulders broad enough? We'll find out. All rise, Mr. Court Department, six down session. The Honorable George T-Bone, a bench of residing. You seated, please.
22:22Harold Dow:All right, count the stipulate to the premise of the jury? Yes, sir. All right, call your next witness. The state starts with one of the motives. Sue Lyles, please, Mr. Bailiff. Jealousy of this woman. Did you have feelings for Ronald Rudin in November of 1994? Ron Rudin's mistress. Yes. Sue Lyles. And can you describe those feelings for the jury as you felt them then? I cared very deeply for Ron. Weeks before Ron disappeared. I don't mean to embarrass you, ma 'am. Vulgar, anonymous letters were mailed to Lyles' children. They are dripping with venom and anger. I quote from the letter, your mother has been screwing Ronald Rudin, the realtor, for over a year, and she screws him on dirty carpet floors.
23:01Harold Dow:Prosecutors believe Margaret feared Lyles was going to steal Ron and his money. Did you write the letter? No, I did not. There is absolutely no way that Sue Lyles was ever a threat to my marriage in any way, shape, or form. Margaret does admit knowing all about Lyles. How? According to police, she tapped Ron's phone. Can you tell me what his reaction was to the letters? He was angry. He talked about confronting her. That confrontation, prosecutor Chris Owens theorizes, sent Margaret into a rage, ending in Ron's murder. And the last thing he'd said to this girlfriend was, I'm going to go talk to Margaret about these.
23:43Harold Dow:And so the next night, he disappears. According to prosecutors, Margaret shot Ron and used a trunk to get his body to the desert. Please state your name and spell your last name for the record. Donna, with one N. Cantrell. The state star witness says she knows firsthand how anxious Margaret was to be free of her husband. I said, I thought you were going to divorce him. And she said to me that he's not in very good health, he can't even walk without being out of breath, and I think I will wait. But this isn't just any witness. You are the sister of Margaret Rudin, is that correct? Yes, I am. Donna Cantrell, Margaret's own sister, is testifying against her.
24:28We have a long-running history of not speaking. Now, have the two of you always had a close relationship with each other?
24:38Harold Dow:No. What's it like for a mother to see one of her daughters do something like this? It's horrible. Because I spent my whole life raising my family, and it breaks my heart. Does Margaret ever talk to you about what you should say if the police contact you? To tell them that she and Ron were getting along better than ever, and that the girlfriend wasn't an issue. Now, did you know or believe Ron and Margaret to be getting along better than ever at the time of Ron's disappearance? No. Her testimony sends shockwaves through the defense and lead attorney Amador stumbling into cross-examination. Let me try this.
25:18When was it in 1988 then that you first went to a doctor and began getting a prescription for some sort of antidepressant?
25:29Harold Dow:No, it was 1983. 1983. But his efforts to discredit Cantrell fall short. I want to know what you intend to elicit from this witness. I will only be cross-examining her about specific incidents. In 1984, she slammed a glass up against a man's head at a bar because he called her a bitch, because it was crowded, and she pushed him. And there were other acts of violence that she perpetrated. It's going to be ridiculous. She's not on trial here. This woman is not on trial. This woman testified you have a right to impeach her, but this is getting ridiculous. As Margaret watches on, she loses faith in her attorney.
26:09My attorney was not prepared. Mr. Amedore was getting worse with every day that passed instead of better.
26:17Harold Dow:Parliament 6, district court is now in session. Please be seated. On the following day, Margaret does something about it. Ms. Rude, stand up a minute. What is the issue here? I would like to ask for a mistrial because I don't believe that Mr. Amedore is prepared enough. Amedore supports his client's motion and admits defeat. The extensiveness of the case made it impossible given the time. But the judge doesn't buy it. Couldn't the same thing happen in any case? Couldn't a defendant say, oh, by the way, judge, things are not going my way too much. Give me a mistrial. Let me get another second bite of the apple.
26:54He denies the motion. The trial of the state of Nevada versus Margot Rudin will resume at 1 o 'clock.
27:01Harold Dow:The judge has made his ruling and now we go forward. The defense team decides that co-counsel Tom Pataro should step in and take the wheel. One of his first challenges? Prepare for the testimony of this man. Yehuda Shiron, a former Israeli military officer turned businessman. And he explained this business to us. He obtains this holy oil and then he bottles it and he sells it to the Catholic Church. Now let me ask you this. Sharon helped Margaret manage her finances. Detectives believe Sharon was also Margaret's lover and somehow connected with the murder. Were you involved with him romantically?
27:39I was involved with him as a friend. I have a lot of male friends. That doesn't mean there's anything romantically involved.
27:46Harold Dow:Sharon was given full immunity. Will he implicate Margaret Rudin? That's next.
27:59She could not have done it. It would be physically impossible for her to have done any of the things that are attributable to her by the state.
28:12Harold Dow:Tom Potaro is convinced 58-year-old Margaret Rudin isn't capable of committing the gruesome murder of her husband Ron. We've never believed that she did it by herself. We've always alleged that someone else had to have assisted her. Prosecutors say that someone else is Yehuda Sharon, a 47-year-old former Israeli intelligence officer. This was not a one-person job to remove the body of a man that large and take him out to a remote spot in the desert. Yehuda Sharon, who is he? He was a friend. Margaret says she turned to Sharon to help her straighten out Ron's finances after he disappeared. We had an agreement that he would do a lot of the paperwork for me that I did not know how to do.
28:59Harold Dow:But Detectives Ramos and Vaccaro insist Sharon was more than a friend. The huge amount of phone calls that were occurring between Yehuda and Margaret. I mean, she called him I don't know how many times. And now we're starting to think, uh-oh, now we have a boyfriend involved. And so did that make us start thinking that we need to go investigate him? You bet. Despite their suspicion, they were never able to prove Sharon was involved. They looked at Yehuda Sharon and thought, he knows something, but he's not telling us. Why not? Well, maybe he's afraid that he's going to get prosecuted. So the district attorney's office granted Sharon full immunity, hoping he would implicate Margaret.
29:40Harold Dow:But he didn't. Alright, call your next witness. Yehuda Sharon. Yehuda Sharon. Now, prosecutors are trying again, on the stand. On Monday night, you rented the van. Yes. Sharon rented a van the day after Ron Rudin disappeared. Prosecutors believe he used it to dispose of the body. Isn't it true that you went to Nelson's Landing with that van in 1994? No. You are sure of that? I'm very sure. Once again, Sharon gives the state nothing, and the defense jumps at the chance to make that clear to the jury. Did you kill Ron Rudin? No, I did not. Did you help kill Ron Rudin? No, I did not. He was the only person that could have said, I killed Ron Rudin and could have walked out the door.
30:27But even with immunity, he said no.
30:30Harold Dow:The defense begins to build momentum. Wherever you start measuring, from there down here... Raising doubt as to where Rudin was killed. They say that he was shot in his bedroom while he was asleep. Well, we say the objective evidence doesn't support that in any way, shape, manner or form. And while handyman Augustine Lovato says he saw blood in the bedroom a month after Ron Rudin disappeared... And one of the things you thought was very important was to look down at the floor. This police detective searched the house just days after Ron disappeared and saw nothing. You were down there on the carpet, weren't you?
31:07It's similar to that position, yes.
31:09Harold Dow:Do you see any big stains down there that struck you as being unusual? No. After Rudin's body was found, the room was searched again, this time by forensic specialist Mike Perkins, and this time a small amount of blood spatter was found. The size of these is consistent with a gunshot wound. But Pataro argues the blood found in the bedroom doesn't make a crime scene. You want to make a right? To prove it, he brings the bedroom to the jury.
31:42We literally rebuilt the bedroom so that the jury could see specifically what we're talking about. The whole body would have to go this way to get the head now facing the back to the east.
31:55Harold Dow:Is that correct? Yes. Pataro also brings in his own expert who says the small amount of blood makes it difficult to prove anything at all. What you're telling us then is that when we put all these stains that are there in total, that we come up with how much volume? I think it's less than a drop. Less than a drop total? Yes. The amount of blood was found was very minute. It would not be consistent with someone that would have been shot in the bed. That would have been a great deal of blood. Nobody ever said that that's all the blood that there was. We just said when the police got there 30 days later after she did a remodel top to bottom, that's what was left.
32:35Harold Dow:Michael Amador says from the very beginning investigators had the wrong person. Were you ever questioned by detectives Vaccaro and Ramos about your whereabouts on December 18th of 1994? I don't recall. Who should they have been following? I mean think about it follow the money. Where does the money lead? Sharon Cooper and Harold Boscutti. Sharon Cooper and Harold Boscutti trustees and beneficiaries of Ron's estate the people Margaret says took control of Ron's fortune. Within a week of Ron's disappearance, the trustees had already started putting every asset that he had in their name. After the trust was dispersed, all the monies were dispersed, how much did you get?
33:17A million and a quarter, a million and a half. The death of Ron Rudin made some people millionaires. One of them was not Margaret Rudin, his wife.
33:24Harold Dow:But prosecutors say Cooper and Biscotti were simply following the instructions in Ron's will. These are not killer people, they're just nice people that got surprised by the situation and dealt with it the best way they could. After almost 100 witnesses, 8 weeks of testimony and more than 500 ,000 taxpayers dollars. Margaret Rudin is a good and decent woman. The trial goes to the jury. Margaret Rudin chooses not to take the stand. The case is now submitted to you ladies and gentlemen. I've been doing this 26 years and the one thing I know is I have no idea what's going through the jury's mind right now.
34:04When we come back... This is wrong. No juror should ever, ever have to go through what I went through.
34:11Harold Dow:An amazing turn of events.
34:28It's still too early to guess what the jury might be thinking at this point.
34:32Harold Dow:Almost nine weeks after her trial began, Margaret Rudin must now wait for the jury to decide her fate. I did not kill my husband and I have total confidence that's what the jury will return. As days pass, it's clear the jury is struggling to reach a verdict. Well, once again, we're hearing about problems in the jury room. But finally, after five long days... They got a verdict and they're gonna announce it at 12. Ms. Rudin, will you stand up for me? The wait is over. Have you arrived at a verdict? Yes, sir, we have. Almost seven years after Ron Rudin was brutally murdered... We find the defendant guilty.
35:13...his wife, Margaret, is guilty of murder. I was numb. I was totally numb.
35:18Harold Dow:And as she has been throughout the trial, Margaret remains stoic. What were you thinking? That I'm dreaming. This isn't real. It can't be real. Through it all, you never showed any emotion. How could you do that? You know, I don't think it's a choice. I don't think you deliberately say, I'm not going to show any emotion to the camera. But you were hurt. Definitely, yeah. It was complete shock and disbelief. Disappointment. I mean, it broke my heart. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is those your verdicts as read, so say you once, so say you all? Yes. For Tom Potaro, it's a disappointing end to an exhausting fight.
36:03In the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln, I'm too old to cry and it hurts too much to laugh.
36:07Harold Dow:But for prosecutor Gary Guymon, justice is served. This was a long time coming and it was nice to see that this jury was now holding her accountable for a premeditated, deliberate act. It all came back to Margaret. Jury Foreman Ron Vest. To me, this was a slam dunk with a stepladder. But was it? It's Mike Amador. Just hours after the verdict, a stunning allegation. I just got off the phone with juror number 11. They forced her into voting that way. I changed my vote. I never changed my mind. Corrine Kovacs is juror number 11, the lone holdout during deliberations. Do you think Margaret Rudin is guilty of murder?
36:47No, I don't. I think I've read these notes a total of 16 times from start to finish.
36:52Harold Dow:Kovacs believes prosecutors failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. They said Margaret killed Ron Rudin in that bed. And I don't believe that happened. She told 48 Hours she was pressured into voting guilty. I was told to my face, we're going to deliberate until we reach a verdict. And when she refused to change her mind, she says the other jurors became nasty and belligerent. They went off on me. I mean, screaming and yelling and pointing and sticking fingers in my face. But the jurors we talked to dispute Kovacs' claims. There was no pointing fingers. There was nobody in her face.
37:38It scared me to think that I had already voted and that wasn't going out of that room. And nothing was going out of that room until I agreed with the other 11 jurors.
37:50Harold Dow:On the fifth day of deliberations, Kovacs changed her vote. Guilty. I'm sorry I buckled. I'm sorry I didn't stick by my guns and I'm sorry I couldn't take it anymore. And I will have to live with that for the rest of my life. Had Corrine Kovacs voted her conscience, it would have meant a hung jury and a new trial, which is what Margaret Rudin wants most. I will keep fighting. I will fight back in every way possible I can to overrule the verdict. Absolutely justice was done. And here's where his mom and dad are. But for Brenda Woods and the rest of Ron Rudin's family, this case is closed. I'd like to see Margaret go to prison and stay there.
38:39It was a horrible, horrible thing. No one should die the way Ron died.
38:50In 2020, Margaret Rudin was released on parole after serving 20 years of her life sentence. In 2022, a federal judge vacated her conviction, citing ineffective counsel at trial that violated her constitutional rights.
From the publisher
On December 18, 1994, a wealthy real-estate developer mysteriously disappeared from his home in Las Vegas. A month later, the charred remains of his decapitated body were found. Authorities suspected his wife, Margaret Rudin, but she fled to Mexico before they could arrest her. “48 Hours" Correspondent Harold Dow reports.
This classic "48 Hours" episode last aired on 6/3/2002. Watch all-new episodes of “48 Hours” on Saturdays, and stream on demand on Paramount+.
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