Freedom delayed for convicted Las Vegas killer Margaret Rudin

The scheduled release from prison of a woman convicted of killing her millionaire husband in Las Vegas a quarter century ago is on hold pending approval of a parole plan.

Margaret Rudin, 76, was granted parole by the Nevada Parole Board in October and the proposed release date for Rudin was set for Dec. 15. However, one of Rudin’s attorneys cautioned at the time there was no guarantee she would be released on that date because Nevada’s Department of Parole and Probation had to sign off on her plans for life outside of prison walls.

Rudin attorney Greg Mullanax said Wednesday he was under the impression Rudin would be released on Wednesday, but she remained in custody at the Florence McClure Womens Correctional Center in northeast Las Vegas. He said Rudin’s family informed him that her release has been delayed, apparently because she wants to move to Illinois to be with her kin and such a move requires approval from parole officials in Illinois.

“She is still in custody,” Mullanax said. “It has to do with an interstate compact.”

Scott Kelley, a spokesman for the Nevada Department of Corrections, did not confirm that, but said in a statement that setting a firm release date is awaiting final approval of a parole plan for Rudin.

“When an inmate is up for parole they must have an approved plan in place (possible job, a place to stay) before they are released,” he said in a statement. “… Inmate Rudin has been granted parole, however we are currently waiting for an approved parole plan before she can be released on parole. Once that is in place, the inmate will have a locked in parole release date.”

A spokesman for the Nevada Department of Parole and Probation declined comment, as did a spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Public Safety.

Rudin’s murder case was the subject of a book and national true crime television shows. Dubbed “the Black Widow,” she was convicted of murder in the 1994 death of her husband, Ron Rudin. Las Vegas police said the real estate developer was shot in the head as he slept. His remains were later found burned near Nelson’s Landing at Lake Mead.

Authorities said Ron Rudin was slain as part of a plot by Margaret Rudin to inherit his fortune. Margaret Rudin always maintained her innocence.

Margaret Rudin was eventually indicted by a Clark County grand jury and promptly fled the state. She was apprehended in Revere, Massachusetts, brought back to Nevada and convicted at trial in 2001.

She was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison but appealed and was granted a new trial in 2008 on the grounds she was denied effective counsel. That ruling was later overturned by the Nevada Supreme Court.

Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0390. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.