Episode 400: The Life and Crimes of Dorothea Puente
Dorothea Puente is one of the most prolific female serial killers. Using her grandmotherly demeanor and image, she used the boarding house she ran to murder her residents and cash in on their social security checks. A search of her backyard led to the discovery of seven bodies, but Puente was able to slip out of investigators’ grasp by going out “for a cup of coffee”. Thankfully she was found in Southern California just days later and was charged with 9 murders in all. Her true victim count is unknown, as she maintained her innocence for her entire life. But the truth behind her crimes are more sinister than anyone who knew her could have ever imagined. Puente’s known victims were Benjamin Fink, Leona Carpenter, Dorothy Miller, Betty Mae Palmer, James Gallop, Vera Faye Martin, Alvaro “Bert” Gonzales Montoya, Ruth Monroe, and Everson Gillmouth.
Sources for this episode:
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article294549274.html
https://allthatsinteresting.com/dorothea-puente
https://people.com/dorothea-puente-boarding-house-serial-killer-case-8774972
https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-0328-dorothea-puente-20110328-story.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/574510/dorothea-puente/
https://deadline.com/2025/02/dorothea-puente-michael-rosenbaum-jeff-frost-1236278580/
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/killing-her-boarders-burying-them-194503281.html
Dorothea Puente: Killer Landlord
World’s Most Evil Killers: Dorothea Puente (Season 2 Episode 8)
