Former tenant describes meeting at unusual hour

Kim Smith

Monday, March 12, 2001 | noon

Carol Kawazoe thought it was odd that the first time she met her landlord's wife, it was 2:30 in the morning.

It became even more strange when she found out that her landlord, Ronald Rudin, had disappeared about the same time.

Kawazoe took the stand this morning in the Margaret Rudin murder trial.

Prosecutors Chris Owens and Gary Guymon believe Rudin, 56, and an uncharged accomplice shot her husband, Ronald Rudin, 64, in the head multiple times as he slept on Dec. 18, 1994. They maintain they then decapitated him, placed him in a trunk and set the remains on fire at Nelson's Landing, 45 miles south of Las Vegas on Lake Mohave.

Ronald Rudin's remains were found by fishermen Jan. 21, 1995.

Rudin expected she would get 60 percent of her husband's estate, which was estimated to be worth as much as $11 million, prosecutors contend. They also believe Rudin was upset about her husband's affair with an IRS agent.

Rudin's attorney, Michael Amador, contends that Ronald Rudin was involved in shady land deals and was likely killed at the behest of his trustees, who were in line to get the remaining portion of his estate.

According to court testimony, Harold Boscutti and Sharron Cooper fought Rudin over the estate during a 1996 civil trial -- a trial that ended with Rudin walking away with only $500,000 and Boscutti and Cooper ending up with the lion's share of the estate.

Kawazoe testified this morning that she was working 90 to 100 hours a week at C & C Taxes in December 1994 and often spent the entire night there. The office was located in the same complex as Ronald Rudin Realty on West Charleston Boulevard and just in front of the Rudin home.

On Dec. 19, 1994, Kawazoe said Margaret Rudin pulled up outside her office around 2:30 a.m. and knocked on the door. Although she didn't know her, Kawazoe said, her husband recognized Rudin and let her in.

"She said she was going for coffee, saw our lights on and she wanted to know if we would like some," Kawazoe said.

However, when she offered to make some for her, Kawazoe said Rudin turned her down.

The three of them ended up talking about Rudin's antique store, which had opened that weekend in the same complex.

Kawazoe said Rudin told her that her husband didn't like her working at night, so she had gotten in the habit of waiting until he fell asleep before slipping out to work.

Guymon asked Kawazoe if she had ever seen lights on in the antique store or cars in the parking lot that late at night prior to that evening or morning.

Kawazoe said no, nor had she seen the lights on in the antique store that night.

The trial, which is being held in District Judge Joseph Bonaventure's courtroom, is expected to last four to six weeks.