Gillmouth's body remained unidentified for three years. Not yet considering the sweet lady to be a suspect, the officers obliged at the 59-year-old's request to go down the street to buy a cup of coffee - but she had no intention of returning. LIFTING her apron over her head, Dorothea Puente beamed with pride at the freshly-baked cakes in front of her knowing her unsuspecting victims would be at her mercy moments after biting into But to the end of her life, Dorothea Puente insisted that she was innocent and that she had been taking good care of the people under her charge. Puente struck out on her own when she was 16. Dorothea was convicted of three out of nine murder counts and sentenced to life in prison in August of 1993. But once more, she was released on bail. Her time in prison was spent visiting the prison chapel, reading John Grisham books, and watching TV. Shes making me lie for her.. Manager at radical French publisher is arrested at London St Pancras by British counter-terror police after Labour plans to give young asylum-seekers in Wales 1,600 a MONTH and taxpayers' cash to fight deportation. This story originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced here with permission. Dorothea Puente is an American serial killer. A pen pal friendship developed, and when Puente was released in 1985 after serving three years of her five-year sentence, he met her outside the prison, driving a red 1980 Ford pickup. Benjamin Fink, 55. She was put on trial in 1993 for the nine murders. In November 1985, Dorothea Puente hired a handyman named Ismael Florez to install some wood paneling in her home. Dorothea Helen Puente (ne Gray; January 9, 1929 March 27, 2011) was an American convicted serial killer. I can't eat this any more! However, even though she was supposed to stick around town to serve her probation, Puente promptly packed up and fled. Dorothea Puente, who ran an unlicensed Sacramento boarding house, became infamous for actually killing residents in the 1980s. Trial began in October 1992 and ended a year later. Puente's heinous crimes were eventually discovered in 1988, when Alberto Montoya, a mentally disabled and schizophrenic tenant, was reported missing by a social worker. Genaro Molina/Sacramento Bee/MCT/Getty Images. Judy Moise, an outreach counselor with Volunteers of America, became suspicious when Montoya vanished. Peter Vlautin addressed the jurors in confidential tones, contrasting with O'Mara's shouting: We are here today to determine one thing: What is the value of Dorothea Puente's life? She was just pure evil, Mildred Ballenger, a social worker who knew her, told Sactown Magazine. She denied everything.. Mental health experts testified of Puente's abusive upbringing and how it motivated her to help the less fortunate. The union lasted just two years. Bloodsoaked mum screamed 'my baby, my baby' after her daughter, 1, fell from second-floor window of London home, Similac PM baby formula recalled after second tot dies from bacteria infection, Boy, 9, stows away alone on 1,600-mile flight while his parents are asleep after Googling how to sneak onto a plane, Russia issues chilling warning for Ukrainians to flee parts of Kyiv NOW as Putin blitzes Holocaust memorial, Ukrainian TikToker teaches how to drive captured Russian TANKS as guide shows best way to attack with Molotov cocktails. Together, they moved back to Sacramento. She spent her teen years bouncing between foster homes and orphanages, and was allegedly sexually abused at one point, according to a 2011 Los Angeles Times article. The penalty phase of the prosecution was highlighted by her prior convictions introduced by O'Mara. However, it would be three more years before authorities could identify the body as Everson only happening due to the similarities between him and the bodies being found in Puentes backyard. Dorothea Puente (birth name Dorothea Gray) was born in 1929 in Redlands, California. When Puente offered to perform a sex act on an undercover cop at a house of ill-repute, her husband sent her to a psychiatric ward. On November 11, 1988, Dorothea was arrested and detained by Sacramento police officials. Being escorted to a police car after her capture in 1988, serial killer Dorothea Puente told gathering reporters 'I used to be a very good person, at one time'. For the rest of her life, she maintained her innocence, insisting that all of her boarders had died of "natural causes". 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. 1:08. Puente had become interested in him after learning he received disability checks, The Los Angeles Times reported. Finally, they found the body of78-year-old Leona Carpenter, and the police realized what they thought was beef jerky was actually human flesh. 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. Dorothea Puente, the Sacramento Victorian boarding house Landlady where police found seven bodies buried in her yard. John OMara, the prosecutor, called over 130 witnesses to the stand. 'We had a real connection,' Harder told VICE. Season 1 Episode 2 - Videos. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! [6], Gray and Johansson divorced in 1966, although she continued to use Johansson's name for some time following their separation. Theyd gotten so close that Puente had even told her children to Call me Grandma. [citation needed], Granting a change of venue motion filed by Puente's lawyers, Kevin Clymo and Peter Vlautin III, a judge transferred the trial to Monterey County. [2], Puente was born Dorothea Helen Gray on January 9, 1929, in Redlands, California, to Trudy Mae (ne Yates) and Jesse James Gray. & Brucato, Gary, Ph.D., The New Evil: Understanding the Emergence of Modern Violent Crime (Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books), pp. Not everybody running them is being nefarious, but nefarious activity can crop up.. John OMara, the prosecutor, called over 130 witnesses to the stand. 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. [10] According to investigators, most of her victims had been drugged until they overdosed; Puente then wrapped them in bed-sheets and plastic lining before dragging them to open pits in the backyard for burial. I had been removing it from the bone, one says in the documentary. 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. "Yet despite the fact that Dorothea was on everybody's radar, nothing was done. When they came to me, they were so sick, they weren't expected to live.". She spent her teen years bouncing between foster homes and orphanages, and was allegedly sexually abused at one point, according to a 2011 . 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. Pathologists testified that they hadnt been able to fix the cause of death for any of the corpses. "She is to be considered dangerous, and her living environment and/or employment should be closely monitored.". The two would continue to have a turbulent relationship, and Gray filed a restraining order in 1975. But the police could never have imagined theyd go on to find six bodies buried in the backyard of this little old lady.. Dorothea followed up the drugging by carrying out the . The pensioner contacted local law enforcement who then quickly arrested Puente. While there, doctors diagnosed her as a pathological liar with an unstable personality. This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 18:08. Puente, who took in people who were older, disabled, or otherwise ailing, would steal their Social Security and benefits checks and poison them by lacing their food with prescription medicine, according to The Los Angeles Times. By 1937, Puente's father had passed away, and her mother lost custody of the children. Puente told police that the woman was very depressed because her husband was terminally ill. ", They added: "You can not judge a book by its cover and she had one heck of a cover.". During one fundraiser, she even danced with California Governor Jerry Brown. She was given five years' probation and ordered to pay $4,000 in restitution. AboutPressCopyrightContact. Preview. James Gallop, 62. The prosecutor, John O'Mara, was the homicide supervisor in the Sacramento County District Attorney's office. Ultimately, Puente was never convicted in relation to Monroe's death. She asked Florez to build a 6-by-3-by-2-foot box to store "books and other items". 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.". After their deaths, Puente collected . But God always puts obstacles in peoples way.". 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.. When Dorothea Puente was 17 years old, she married 22-year-old GI Fred McFaul, and they moved to Gardnerville, Nevada. She served four months in prison for writing a check under a false name, and spent another 90 days behind bars after being caught in a police raid at a brothel, according to Sactown Magazine. They dont have all the facts, she told Sactown Magazine in 2009. Petitioner raises several claims and a request for a federal evidentiary hearing. Dorothea Puente died in prison of natural causes on March 27, 2011, at age 82. She had been drinking at a bar with a man who thought she was acting oddly,later realizingit was Puente, a wanted woman. For his labor and $800, Puente gave him the red Ford pickup, which she stated belonged to her boyfriend in Los Angeles, who no longer needed it. Gray assumed the identity of "Sharon Johansson", hiding her delinquent behavior by portraying herself as a devout Christian woman. Dalmane, which Puente obtained dozens of prescriptions for, claiming it was to help her boarders sleep. Sadiq Khan confirms plans for new West London Orbital rail link between Hounslow and Hendon that will open Police release CCTV in hunt for a man after a woman in her 30s was raped behind a library. In fact, Puente was a serial killer who committed at least nine murders inside her boarding house in Sacramento, California throughout the 1980s. She maintained her innocence until her death. Vera Faye Martin, 64. Some social workers and doctors, aware of the problem, steered their clients and patients away from Dorothea, but officially absolutely nothing was done.". The following year, she died in a motorcycle accident. Juan Ignacio Blanco MALE murderers: . Bombs explained: What is the difference between a vacuum and a cluster bomb? Hed been referred to Dorothea Puentes house because of her sterling reputation welcoming people like him. She eventually opened an unlicensed boarding house that she operated throughout the '70s, catering to disabled, elderly, and homeless people. Between 1982 and 1989, Puente would take in the vulnerable and homeless people. Next, Dorothea Puente went to San Francisco, where she married her second husband, Axel Bren Johansson, in 1952. Dorothea Puente was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in December 1993. Puente was charged with a total of nine murders: Puente's boyfriend, Everson Gillmouth, 77; and eight tenants who lived at the boarding house: Ruth Munroe, 61; Leona Carpenter, 78; Alvaro "Bert/Alberto" Gonzales Montoya, 51; Dorothy Miller, 64; Benjamin Fink, 55; James Gallop, 62; Vera Faye Martin, 64; and Betty Palmer, 78. But police tracked her down in Los Angeles after a man in a bar recognized her from TV. She lost her first boarding house after getting caught signing her own name to tenants benefit checks. Puente was undaunted. These people were human beings, they had a right to live-they did not have a lot of possessions-no houses-no cars-only their social security checks and their lives. In her absence, investigators dug up the whole yard and discovered the body of 78-year-old Leona Carpenter. In total, seven bodies were found in Puente's yard. I dont know that she ever did anything good without a bad motive.. 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. In 1982, Puente picked up a man in a bar, and they went back to his apartment together. [citation needed], In November 1985, Puente hired a man named Ismael Florez to install some wood paneling in her apartment. She was a tenant of Puente's when she vanished. In 1952, Gray married merchant seaman Axel Bren Johansson in San Francisco. But, behind the scenes, Puente had embarked on a path that would lead her to murder. Shed also been linked to another two previous deaths that were now seen as too similar to ignore. She was the sixth of seven children but didnt grow up in a stable family environment. After noticing disturbed soil on the property, they uncovered the body of tenant Leona Carpenter, 78. This story has been shared 122,375 times. Meanwhile, another six bodies had been found in Puentes back garden, including those of 51-year-old Alberto Montoya, 64-year-old Dorothy Miller, 55-year-old Benjamin Fink, 62-year-old James Gallop, 64-year-old Vera Faye Martin and 78-year-old Betty Palmer. But the jury had a difficult time believe the matronly grandmother was capable of carrying out such menacing crimes. Pathologists testified that they hadnt been able to fix the cause of death for any of the corpses. In April of 1982, a 61-year-old woman named Ruth Monroe moved into Dorothea Puentes house. At the time, the basement floor was covered with a concrete slab. After Puente opened up her boarding house at 1426 F Street, a string of people died there. Eventually, the "Death House Landlady" would then drug her tenants to the point of rendering them incapacitated. On New Years Day, a fisherman spotted the box, noticed that it looked suspiciously like a coffin, and informed the police. Puente continued to collect Gillmouth's pension and wrote letters to his family, explaining that the reason he had not contacted them was because he was ill. She continued to maintain a boarding house, taking in forty new tenants. . Despite the guilty verdict of her trial, she maintained her innocence until her death. Dorothea often took in the elderly and homeless and placed them as her tenants. 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. 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. Since she wasn't a suspect at the time, police said yes, at which point Puente promptly left the house and fled to Los Angeles. And since she never reported their deaths, "their social security checks continued to come in, and Puente continued to forge their signatures and collect the cash.". Some reports say that McFaul died of a heart attack, while others state that he left Puente, possibly after she had a miscarriage. After her conviction, Dorothea Puente started working as an in-home caregiver, and over the next four years, shekept coming up on people's radar. In 1967, she attempted to serve him with a divorce petition[inconsistent], but Puente fled to Mexico; the divorce wouldn't be finalized until 1973. Many of them found dead and buried in the boarding house's yard. Eventually, the "Death House Landlady" would then drug her tenants to the point of rendering them incapacitated. But eventually, police searching for a missing tenant spotted a patch of disturbed dirt near the boarding house and uncovered the first of several bodies. [citation needed], O'Mara called over 130 witnesses; he argued to the jury that Puente had used sleeping pills to put her tenants to sleep, then suffocated them, and hired convicts to dig the holes in her yard. She had vanished, according to "Murders At The Boarding House.". The Los Angeles Review of Books writes that Puente was arrested and convicted "of forging her tenants' signatures on their benefits checks." After learning about the murders inside Dorothea Puentes house, read about the serial killer known as the Angel of Death. Her crimes ranged from drugging and robbery to check forgery and murder, and even when she was blatantly violating her parole, she managed to fly under the radar. Bride ditches flower girls for Fireball fairies in v Woman fatally shot by upstate NY homeowner after pulling into wrong driveway: sheriff, Haribo fans shocked to learn green gummy bear flavor: 'Calling the police', 'Yellowstone' to end after 5 seasons but no one knows when it will air or even film as star and creator go to war, Victoria Justice addresses longtime rumor that shes jealous of Ariana Grande, Billie Lee defends Tom Sandoval hangout, claps back at Kristen Doute, Jessie James Deckers sister trolls United after being humiliated on flight, Todays Iconic Moment in NY Sports: Wayne Gretzky plays final NHL game, 'Mike & Molly' star Billy Gardell details 150-pound weight loss: My diabetes is 'gone'. Dorothea Puente got married two more times after her divorce from Johansson, but neither one of those marriages lasted long. Seven bodies were eventually found buried on the property belonging to the"Death House Landlady," and she was ultimately accused of killing nine people total. The boarding house made infamous by Dorothea Puentes murders. When police arrived at 1426 F Street in Sacramento, they noticed some disturbed soil in a vegetable patch, but not thinking Puente to be a suspect they allowed the grandmother to flee the scene, In her absence, the officers dug-up the entire garden (left) where they discovered seven bodies. The fourth episode titled "Call Me Grandma" detailed her killings and how Dorothea was ultimately caught and convicted by law officials. According to California Dreaming, Puente kept cashing his pension checks and writing to his family as though Gillmouth was alive. In the documentary, police say: This could be my grandma, she was the little old lady next door. She would later kill them by poisoning or strangling them. Dorothea Puente was a convicted serial killer who ran a boarding house in Sacramento, California in the 1980s. Dorothea Puente, ne Dorothea Helen Gray, was born on January 9, 1929, in Redlands, California. Some of them began to disappear. Known as the "Death House Landlady," Dorothea Puente targeted elderly and disabled people, especially those who were already houseless or didn't have a strong support system. Although their marriage lasted over ten years, most accounts agree that it was an unhappy and violent relationship. In Olympia, Washington, she tried to make a living as a prostitute. After an autopsy was done, medical examiners found a large amount of codeine in her system, and although her death was labeled "undetermined cause," it was believed to be a suicide. Their dismembered bodies were then placed in holes in the garden she'd paid ex-convicts to dig. She immediately began doing both of those things." Puente's deceptive appearance would later go on to confuse the jury presiding over her trial. According to Serial Killer Timelines by Chris McNab, after her first marriage ended, Puente became involved in criminal activity. 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. [1] Montoya struggled with mental health issues and had been homeless for years. I dont think anyone would pick this kind of life. A manhunt ensued for the 59-year-old woman, and she was eventually foundfour days later at a California motel. Vera Martin, 64. Sacramento, California, serial killer Dorothea Puente. And I could see Dorothea staring out the window at us, above.. [citation needed]. However, "it's unlikely Dorothea received any psychological counseling," and there's no record of a clear diagnosis from the facility. 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. When police officers first came to search for Montoya in Puente's house, they didn't find anything suspicious. However, since many of her victims were houseless or otherwise vulnerable individuals, it's impossible to determine an exact number. Dorothea Puente, also known as the Death House Landlady, was a little-old-lady serial killer who preyed on the elderly and drug-addicted men and women of Sacramento, CA in the 1980s. EXCLUSIVE: Grandmother, 86, who arranged for her daughter-in-law, 27, to be lured to India and murdered in Could WhatsApp be BANNED in Britain? She gave birth to a child in 1946 and another one in 1947, but motherhood didn't seem to interest Puente. Dick Schmidt/Sacramento Bee/Tribune News Service via Getty ImagesDorothea Puente after her arrest in Los Angeles, en route back to Sacramento. Investigators opened the box and found the badly decomposed and unidentifiable body of an elderly man inside. Serial killer Dorothea Puente House Now- where she buried her victim is notably famous for paranormal activities. Her father died of tuberculosis in 1937; her mother, who worked as a sex worker, lost custody of her children in 1938 and died in a motorcycle accident by the end of the year. I dont think anyone would pick this kind of life. Thanks for contacting us. Miller was an Army veteran and Puente used Miller's veteran identification card to get medical treatment. Dorothy Miller was a 64-year-old woman who was last seen alive in October 1987, The Los Angeles Times reported in 1993. "In 1948, she stole some government checks and used them to buy clothes" in San Bernardino. In 2015, the Ghost Adventures crew investigated the house, due to reports of hauntings by the victims and Puente herself. has sold out to audiences at the California Stage, Wilkerson Theatre, UC Davis, and in January 2023 at Saramento Theatre Company. Unlike many who passed through Puentes boarding house, however, someone had their eye on Montoya. The 59-year-old looked like an ordinary grandmother when she was arrested after a five day hunt across California. The social workers knew that Puente had a tendency to exaggerate, but they didn't realize that she was also pretending to be a doctor. It wasn't until Alvaro "Bert" Montoya disappeared that Dorothea Puente's house of death was finally addressed. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Prosecutors would later allege she pulled in over $87,000 from her scam and spent some of the cash on a facelift, the outlet reported. They had two daughters between 1946 and 1948; Gray sent one child to live with relatives in Sacramento, and placed the other for adoption. Using the name Donna Johnson, she approached Charles Willgraves at a bar, but once Willgraves realized why "Donna" looked familiar, he called the police. Gray-haired landlady, Dorothea Puente, made headlines as one of the most shocking serial killers in Sacramento history. In 1988, seven bodies were found buried in the backyard of the boarding house she ran for the indigent and elderly. 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 . The Los Angeles Review of Bookswrites that "Puente was released in 1985, under the terms of parole that she not handle other people's social security checks or work with the elderly. But John slipped them a message. Now Playing. Florida family found dead in pool identified as mom reveals dad and kids went on daily swim that came to a 'sudden end'. [citation needed], On November 11, 1988, police inquired after the disappearance of tenant Alvaro "Bert" Montoya, a developmentally disabled man with schizophrenia, who had been reported missing by his social worker. 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. [19] It was then the subject of the 2015 documentary short The House Is Innocent and was again opened to tours for one day in conjunction with a local film festival's showing of the film.[20]. Moment gangster-politican Atiq Ahmed is shot point blank live on TV, Shocking moment driver causes three-vehicle smash, Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch seen leaving the court after not guilty verdict, BBC's Justin Rowlatt goes bollard hunting as residents war over LTN, Polish police raid nightclubs during organised crime crackdown, Teens seen jumping on top of bus as hundreds gather in Chicago, Loud explosions rock thermal power station in Russia's Belgorod, Prisoners share footage of parties and drug taking from inside jails, Terrifying turbulence hits long-haul flight from Angola to Portugal, Russia's Ministry's video claims soldiers killed British fighters, Moment boozy Danny Graham ploughs Land Rover through Wynyard Co-op, Teens jump on smashed and looted vehicle in downtown Chicago. FacebookDorothea Puente right before she fled Sacramento. Their relationship developed quickly, and the couple was soon making wedding plans. [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. Volunteers of America had placed him at Puente's boarding houseand she was alarmed to learn he had seemingly vanished in October 1988, according to Sactown Magazine. In April 2020, the house and current owners were showcased in the Quibi series Murder House Flip. While the police were digging, Dorothea Puente asked if she could run out to buy a coffee. Even probation officers who stopped by accepted Puentes explanation that the people living at her house were guests or friends not boarders. The book also featured artwork that she'd done in prison as well as stories from her life. 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