Rudin to stand trial for husband's murder

LAS VEGAS - Margaret Rudin must stand trial for the December 1994 slaying of her millionaire husband.

Rudin had argued that prosecutors had produced insufficient evidence in support of the charges against her.

District Judge Joseph Bonaventure disagreed Friday, citing several pieces of evidence presented to a grand jury. Rudin has been charged with murder with use of a deadly weapon and accessory to murder.

Witnesses said Ron Rudin and his wife were on the outs, and she would lose her $6 million inheritance if the couple divorced, the judge said. He said the evidence indicated that Ron Rudin was slain while sleeping in his own bed, with the murder weapon being a semi-automatic pistol previously stolen from his gun collection.

Witnesses have said that Margaret Rudin cleaned and removed items from the bedroom where Ron Rudin was slain.

''It is the state's contention that the common and only denominator in all of these activities is the defendant, Margaret Rudin. She had motive, opportunity, singular access to the murder weapon, singular access to the murder scene and the victim,'' Bonaventure said.

The judge ruled that there was sufficient evidence for the case to continue. The trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 30.

Margaret Rudin, 56, was arrested in November at a Massachusetts apartment she shared with a retired firefighter. She had been a fugitive since she was indicted in April 1997 on murder and other charges.

Ron Rudin, a 64-year-old real estate magnate, disappeared in December 1994. His charred remains were found Jan. 21, 1995, in a ravine near Lake Mohave. He had been shot in the head.

Also Friday, the judge denied Margaret Rudin's request that she be permitted to wear civilian clothes during pretrial court appearances.