Despite the guilty verdict of her . Prosecutors said that Puente was one of the most cold and calculating female killers the country had ever seen. Puente ran a boarding house out of a two-story Victorian home on F Street for years . In the 1980s, she ran a boarding house in Sacramento, California, and murdered various elderly and mentally disabled boarders before cashing their Social Security checks. Dorothea often took in the elderly and homeless and placed them as her tenants. The authorities left the cause of death as undetermined, since there was such an excessive amount of both these drugs, and she was bedridden at the time. 1:08. [citation needed], In November 1985, Puente hired a man named Ismael Florez to install some wood paneling in her apartment. According to Female Serial Killers, Monroe didn't know a thing about Puente's legal troubles and had simply agreed to start a catering business with her, since Puente's cooking skills were well-regarded. When Dorothea Puente was 17 years old, she married 22-year-old GI Fred McFaul, and they moved to Gardnerville, Nevada. "Sometimes [he] held a gun to his head and threatened to kill himself in front of his children," wrote the LA Times. After Florez finished the job, Puente had one more request: to build her a six-foot-long box so she could fill it with books and a few other assorted items before the pair of them would bring the box to a storage facility. But on the way to the storage facility, Puente abruptly asked Florez to pull over near a riverbank and just push the box into the water. [citation needed], The defense called several witnesses, who showed Puente had a generous and caring side to her. 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Dorothea Puente was a California landlady who ran a boarding house in Sacramento during the 1980s. The boarding house at 1426 F Street in Sacramento was included in the 2013 home tour held by the Sacramento Old City Association. But, behind the scenes, Puente had embarked on a path that would lead her to murder. She was later charged with two more murders in addition to the seven, bringing the total number of victims she had to nine. But at one point, "a tenant named John Sharp quietly flashed a note to a detective," which read "She wants me to lie to you." Theyd gotten so close that Puente had even told her children to Call me Grandma. But as the police prepared to leave, Sharp slipped them a message. She split with her first husband in 1948. Many of them found dead and buried in the boarding house's yard. Instead, Puente opened up her second boarding house. She was given five years' probation and ordered to pay $4,000 in restitution. But, the next day, as the police started digging up other areas of the garden, she asked permission to go and meet her nephew for a coffee to calm her nerves. Six more corpses would follow, but Puente was still on the run. This story has been shared 122,375 times. For more on Puente's story, watch thenew two-partOxygenspecial "Murders At The Boarding House," airing on Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18 at 7/6c on Oxygen. In 1988, seven bodies were found buried in the backyard of the boarding house she ran for the indigent and elderly. Then, she asked if it would be ok if she went to buy a coffee. This piece follows what appears to be the most accepted timeline of Puente's life, but some things remain known only to Puente herself. Oxygen will air a documentary about Puente, "Murders at the Boarding House," on . During that time, it appears that they had two children together, although one was sent to live with relatives and the other was put up for adoption. Between 1982 and 1989, Puente would take in the vulnerable and homeless poisoning and strangling some of her guests before burying them on her property and cashing their social security checks. Dorothea followed up the drugging by carrying out the . ', Puente died in 2011 aged 82 in her prison cell at the Central California Facility, in Chowchilla. She was the sixth of seven children but didn't grow up in a stable family environment. Sacramento has had more than its share of serial killers, but none as unlikely as grandmotherly Dorothea Puente. Charged with a total of nine murders, Puente was flown back to Sacramento. The children had been placed in an orphanage after their father's death, and Puente remained there until she ran away at the age of 16. Puente died in prison at Chowchilla on March 27, 2011, from natural causes; she was 82. Dorothea Puente died in prison of natural causes on March 27, 2011, at age 82. This Guy Collects Artwork From Serial Killers - VICE, Do not sell or share my personal information. She created a fake persona, calling herself "Teya Singoalla Neyaarda", a Muslim woman of Egyptian and Israeli descent. But 26 years after her conviction - and seven years after her death - a man who claims to Puente's grandson, William Harder, has stepped forward to reaffirm his grandmother's claim that she wasn't always bad. Dorothea Puente fled to Los Angeles. She turned herself into a major figure in the Sacramento community, and by 1977, Puente was a major contributor to both Republican and Democratic candidates. In the 1980s, she worked as a personal caretaker who drugged her clients and stole their valuables. On November 29, 1987, Trujillo wrote a letter to the Social Security Administration detailing her suspicions that Puente was stealing her SSI checks. Multiple murder suspect Dorothea Montalvo Puente, right, is brought back to Sacramento from the LA area in the early morning hours of November 17, 1988. She immediately began doing both of those things." Dorothea Helen Puente (ne Gray; January 9, 1929 March 27, 2011) was an American convicted serial killer. John OMara, the prosecutor, called over 130 witnesses to the stand. [8], Puente told Florez to stop while they were on Garden Highway in Sutter County and dump the box of "junk" on the riverbank at an unofficial household junk dumping site. She was notoriously known as the "Death House Land Lady" after committing nine murders. McFaul left her in late 1948.[5][6]. [3] Her parents were both alcoholics and her father repeatedly threatened to commit suicide in front of his children. They agreed to let her go. Suspicions first arose about Puente in 1988, after Judy, an outreach counsellor with Volunteers of America, noticed 52-year-old Alvaro Montoya someone shed placed at Puentes house had vanished. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. Seven bodies were discovered, belonging to Bert Montoya, Leona Carpenter, Dorothy Miller, Benjamin Fink, James Gallop, Vera Faye Martin, and Betty Palmer. This wasn't the first time she had drugged and robbed someone. 1:29. She took in about $87,000 from the scheme and spent some of the cash on a facelift, prosecutors at her trial alleged, according to a 2011 Los Angeles Times article. Judy Moise, an outreach counselor with Volunteers of America, became suspicious when Montoya vanished. It wasnt until 1988 that suspicions first arose about Puente, after one of her tenants, 52-year old Alvaro Montoya, went missing. For years, the disappearances of these so-called shadow people who lived at the margins of society went unnoticed. Puente and her siblings were subsequently sent to an orphanage, where she was sexually abused. John OMara, the prosecutor, called over 130 witnesses to the stand. The Los Angeles Review of Books writes that Puente was arrested and convicted "of forging her tenants' signatures on their benefits checks." Dorothy Miller, 64. . Ruth Munroe, 61. She was just pure evil, Mildred Ballenger, a social worker who knew her, told Sactown Magazine. SACRAMENTO, CA On November 11, 1988, detectives swarmed a Victorian-style home on F Street in Sacramento where guests had a habit of checking in and then never checking out. Her boarding house provided the opportunityto siphon money from those less fortunate than her and poisonthem with drugs. Puente was supposed to stick around to serve out her probation, but in a sign of things to come she skipped town instead. Here's what you need to know about Dorothea Puente, the subject of the new two-partOxygenspecial "Murders At The Boarding House," airing on Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18 at 7/6c on Oxygen. She never flinched. During her trial, a witness also testified that Puente was sexually abused during her time at the orphanage. It was difficult to determine, though, whether she had poisoned the tenants or if they had taken the fatal overdoses themselves, according to Sactown Magazine. She would later kill them by poisoning or strangling them. On New Years Day, a fisherman spotted the box, noticed that it looked suspiciously like a coffin, and informed the police. Everson Gillmouth is believed to be her next victim. After several days of deliberations, the jury was deadlocked 75; Judge Michael J. Virga declared a mistrial when the jury said further deliberations would not change their minds. [citation needed], A few weeks later, the police returned after Malcolm McKenzie, a 74-year-old pensioner (one of four elderly people Puente was accused of drugging), accused Puente of drugging and stealing from him. Judy also questioned another of Puentes tenants, John Sharp, who told her: Something is wrong. Alvaro had struggled with his mental health and been homeless for years, and Judy didnt buy Puentes explanation that hed left for a holiday in Mexico with his brother especially as she knew he didnt speak to his family. But soon, in the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, Puente started going around as if she were a doctor, offering "vitamin" injections and medical advice to local residents. She had a traumatic childhood after being raised by alcoholic parents. Dorothea Puente right before she fled Sacramento. [6], In April 1982, 53-year-old Ruth Munroe began living with Puente in her upstairs apartment, but soon died from an overdose of codeine and acetaminophen. The Center for Sacramento History writes that although the preliminary hearings took place in Sacramento, Puente's trial was eventually moved to Monterey after a judge determined that a fair trial in Sacramento wasn't possible due to the media coverage. I dont know that she ever did anything good without a bad motive.. She was the sixth of seven children but didnt grow up in a stable family environment. Shes making me lie for her.. She even. During that time, it appears that they had two children together, although one was sent to live with relatives and the other was put up for adoption. She gave birth to a child in 1946 and another one in 1947, but motherhood didn't seem to interest Puente. Her childhood was not an easy one her mother was an abusive alcoholic who died when she was 10 and her father died when she was 8, Sactown Magazine reported in 2008. During the year that they were together, perSerial Killer Timelines, they started a boarding house for alcoholics in Sacramento, known as "the Samaritans,"that took in drifters and alcoholics "who paid for their keep using social security checks.". Vera Faye Martin, 64. She established her reputation as a caregiver, providing young women with a sanctuary from poverty and abuse without charge. Between 1982 and 1988, she killed nine people, all of whom were renting rooms at her boarding house. But her reputation had caught up with her, and her face was all over the news. The boarding house made infamous by Dorothea Puentes murders. Sacramento Bee Two more murders She'd. She was released just three years later, although a state psychologist diagnosed her as a schizophrenic with no remorse or regret who should be closely monitored.. She also suffered a miscarriage. After their deaths, Puente would collect . Soon afterward, Chief disappeared. Shes making me lie for her.. During the preliminary hearing, she was even re-arrested for another set of check forgery charges from an additional victim. One of the bodies was missing its head, hands and feet, Body parts were also found scattered across the property. Victims included Puente's boyfriend Everson Gillmouth, 77, and eight tenants who lived at the . Dorothea Puente was a California landlady who ran a boarding house in Sacramento during the 1980s. In 1993, after several days of deliberations and a deadlocked jury (due in part to her grandmotherly disposition), Dorothea Puente was ultimately convicted of three murders and received back-to-back life sentences. Dalmane, which is a drug used for insomnia, was found in all seven of the exhumed bodies. Juan Ignacio Blanco MALE murderers: . Dorothea Puente, infamously known as the "Death House Lady," was responsible for the deaths of nine elderly and mentally disabled individuals, plus an additional unconfirmed six people (via Crime Museum).From April 1982 through November 1988, Puente ran a boarding house where she stole from her tenants to the tune of $5,000/month (via Murderpedia), before she would kill them with drug overdoses. 'I saw her as a human - despite her crimes.'. Betty Palmer, 78. Dorothea Puente was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in December 1993. When they came to me, they were so sick, they weren't expected to live.". The 1991 film Evil Spirits, starring Karen Black and Arte Johnson, is loosely based on the Puente murders. When police officers first came to search for Montoya in Puente's house, they didn't find anything suspicious. The police returned and searched the house, finding nothing, so they asked permission to dig up the garden so they could tell the social worker theyve done all they can. I can't eat this any more! The union lasted just two years. In 1993, many residents of Sacramento were shocked when they realized that an old woman was behind a series of murders in her own boarding house. 'She Was Just Pure Evil': How Dorothea Puente, 'The Death House Landlady,' Got Caught. But once more, she was released on bail. The episode featured testimonies from detectives and other people close to the case. Removed from her violent crimes, it actually makes perfect sense to use Puente's image on a cookbook, as she has the perfect visage of a kind old lady who probably knows a secret recipe or two that her tenants all would . When she was released in 1985, they moved in together, but he abruptly disappeared. James Gallop, 62. Dalmane, which Puente obtained dozens of prescriptions for, claiming it was to help her boarders sleep. Many of her victims had traces of the drug in them (via The Los Angeles Times ). Who was Dorothea Puente and what happened to her? Ultimately, Puente was convicted of just three murders and sentenced to life in prison. Although Puente was eventually charged with the murder of nine individuals, it's likely that there were more victims. Dorothea was convicted of three out of nine murder counts and sentenced to life in prison in August of 1993. The penalty phase of the prosecution was highlighted by her prior convictions introduced by O'Mara. Puente had Chief dig in the basement and cart soil and rubbish away in a wheelbarrow. Not everybody running them is being nefarious, but nefarious activity can crop up.. Puente took in so-called shadow people people who were marginally homeless without close family or friends. Charged with a total of nine murders, Puente was flown back to Sacramento. Montoya struggled with mental health issues and had been homeless for years. Dorothea often took in the elderly and homeless and placed them as her tenants. In November 1985, Dorothea Puente hired a handyman named Ismael Florez to install some wood paneling in her home. There, she quickly got back to her old tricks. She was the sixth of seven children born to Trudy Mae Gates and Jesse James Gray, whose "lungs were damaged from a gas attack" while fighting in World War I. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! But in fact, it's believed that Puente murdered Gillmouth in late November or early December 1985. How Did Dorothea Puente Kill Her Victims? To many, Dorothea Puente seemed like an angel. Instead, after buying the coffee, she fled immediately to Los Angeles, where she befriended an elderly male pensioner whom she had met in a bar. Under the law, Puente received life without the possibility of parole. The pensioner contacted local law enforcement who then quickly arrested Puente. AboutPressCopyrightContact. Dorothea Puente (birth name Dorothea Gray) was born in 1929 in Redlands, California. Orphaned, Puente and her siblings splintered off in different directions, bouncing between foster care and relatives homes. 'Never judge a book by its cover,' said retired police officer John Cabrera in 2018, the lead investigator on the case. An officer visited the home and spoke with Puente as well as a tenant while in Puente's presence. "In 1948, she stole some government checks and used them to buy clothes" in San Bernardino. Puente struck out on her own when she was 16. & Brucato, Gary, Ph.D., The New Evil: Understanding the Emergence of Modern Violent Crime (Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books), pp. He claims to have had a regular relationship with her, The Founder of MurderAuction, a website that sells serial killer memorabilia, Harder says he sees his grandmother as human, despite her crimes (pictured: Harder with cult leader Charles Manson). In Female Serial Killers, Vronsky writes how Puente's patients often ended up in the hospital, and Puente's name kept coming up to the same doctor who treated the patients. Her lawyers argued that she might be a thief, but not a murderer. According to Sactown Magazine, the jury deliberated for 24 days, "the longest deliberation in a murder case in state history," and convicted Puente on three out of the nine killings in August 1993. The comments below have not been moderated. Grandson of Dorothea Puente, shared a 'real connection' with her - Daily Newshttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGIQ4XcqArGYqiw70QoKcvw?sub_confirmation=1Grand. By 1937, Puente's father had passed away, and her mother lost custody of the children. Puente had a reputation for taking in people considered tough cases recovering alcoholics, drug addicts, the mentally ill, and the elderly. She pled guilty to two counts of forgery, serving four months in jail and three years' probation. On her way back, she insisted to reporters that she hadnt killed anyone, claiming: I used to be a very good person at one time.. 104-107. She collected tenants' monthly mail before they saw it and paid them stipends, pocketing the rest for "expenses". Grandson of killer granny Dorothea Puente, who laced cakes with sleeping pills and then smothered them at her California boarding house, reveals how he shared a 'real connection' with her and. Between 1982 and 1989, Puente would take in the vulnerable and homeless people. The marriage never happened, though in 1986 his body was found in a coffin in the Sacramento River. She took in vulnerable elderly tenants, many of whom struggled with addiction or mental illness, and targeted those "without strong social networks. She was released early in 1990, but not before a state psychiatrist evaluated her and diagnosedher with schizophrenia. The following year, she died in a motorcycle accident. According toLARB, the only person who seemed to notice something was Brenda Trujillo, Puente's former cellmate, who lived at 1426 F Street briefly. Corporate. And I could see Dorothea staring out the window at us, above.. Puente's trial was still looming, so she decided to flee Sacramento after emptying the joint bank account she had shared with Monroe. The country had ever seen calculating female killers the country had ever seen and with. 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