Dorothea Puente
Birth name:	Dorothea Helen Gray
Born:	January 9, 1929
Location:	San Bernardino County, California
Number of victims:	9
Country where killings occurred:	U.S.
States where killings occurred:	California
Span of killings:	1982 through 1988
Date apprehended:	November 11, 1988
Penalty:	Life

Dorothea Puente (born January 9, 1929) is a convicted American killer. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 9th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... San Bernardino County is the largest county in the contiguous United States by area, containing more land than each of nine states. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_California. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime, nominally for the entire remaining life of the prisoner, but in fact for a period which varies between jurisdictions: many countries have a maximum possible period of time (usually 50 years) a prisoner may be incarcerated, or require the... is the 9th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up killer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Puente was born Dorothea Helen Gray in San Bernardino County, California to two alcoholics, Trudy Mae Yates and Jesse James Gray.^[1] Her father was a cotton picker. Both parents abused her, and she often had to scavenge for food. Puente's father died when she was four years old, and her mother died when she was six years old. She was sent to an orphanage until relatives from Fresno, California took her in. In later life, she lied about her childhood, saying that she was one of three children who all were born and raised in Mexico. San Bernardino County is the largest county in the contiguous United States by area, containing more land than each of nine states. ... King Alcohol and his Prime Minister circa 1820 Alcoholism is the consumption of or preoccupation with alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the alcoholics normal personal, family, social, or work life. ... For other uses, see Cotton (disambiguation). ... Child abuse is the physical, sexual, or emotional maltreatment or neglect of children by parents, guardians, or others. ... // The first orphanages, called orphanotrophia, were founded in the 1st century amid various alternative means of orphan support. ... Fresno redirects here. ...

In 1946, she married for the first time, but her husband died of a heart attack within two years. In an attempt to gain an income, she tried to forge checks, but she was eventually caught and sentenced to a year in jail; she was paroled after six months. Soon after her release, she was impregnated by a man she barely knew and gave birth to a daughter, who she gave up for adoption. In 1952, she married a Swede named Axel Johanson and had a violent 14-year marriage. Acute myocardial infarction (AMI or MI), more commonly known as a heart attack, is a disease state that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted. ... It has been suggested that Medical parole be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Adoption (disambiguation). ...

In 1960, she was arrested in a brothel and was sentenced to 90 days in the Sacramento County Jail. After her release, she was arrested again, this time for vagrancy, and sentenced to another 90 days in jail. Following that, she began a criminal career that over time became more serious. She found work as a nurse's aid, caring for disabled and elderly people in private homes. In a short time, she started to manage boarding houses. A brothel, also known as a bordello or whorehouse, is an establishment specifically dedicated to prostitution, providing the prostitutes a place to meet and to have sex with the clients. ... The Sacramento County Jail is the county jail for the Sacramento County area serviced by the Sacramento County Sheriffs Department. ... A vagrant is a person, almost always poor, without a home or regular work. ... Boarding House is a privately owned house,in which individuals or families on vaccation, holidays, deputition,transfered on temporary duties, on some particular training,short&mediun tenure visitors,working professionals & lodgers,rent one or more rooms sets for one or more nights,sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and...

She divorced Johansen in 1966 and married Roberto Puente in Mexico City, a man 19 years her junior. The marriage only lasted two years. Shortly after it ended, Dorothea Puente took over a three-story, 16-bedroom care home at 1426 F Street in Sacramento, California. There, she provided care and comfort to the homeless and destitute of the area. Nickname: Motto: Capital en movimiento Location of Mexico City in south central Mexico Coordinates: , Country Federal entity Boroughs The 16 delegaciones Founded c. ... Sacramento redirects here. ...

Suspicion was aroused when neighbors noticed the odd activities of a homeless alcoholic known only as "Chief," whom Puente stated she had "adopted" and made her personal handyman. Puente had Chief dig in the basement and cart soil and rubbish away in a wheelbarrow. At the time, the basement floor was covered with a concrete slab. Chief later took down a garage in the backyard and installed a fresh concrete slab there as well. Soon afterward, Chief mysteriously disappeared. A homeless man pushes a cart down the street. ... This article is about the construction material. ...

Puente got married for the fourth time in 1976 to Pedro Montalvo, who was a physically abusive alcoholic. The marriage only lasted a few months, and Puente started to spend time in local bars looking for older men who were receiving benefits. She forged their signatures to steal their money, but she eventually was caught and charged with 34 counts of treasury fraud. While on probation, she continued to commit the same fraud. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

According to California Court of Appeal records, in 1981 Puente began renting an upstairs apartment at 1426 F Street in downtown Sacramento. The nine murders with which she was charged in 1988 (she was convicted in 1993 of three of them) were associated with this upstairs apartment and not her previous 16-room boarding house. Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ...

In April 1982, 61-year-old Ruth Monroe began living with Puente in her upstairs apartment at 1426 F Street, but soon died from an overdose of Codeine and Tylenol. Puente told police that the woman was very depressed because her husband was terminally ill. They believed her and judged the incident a suicide. This article or section needs additional references or sources to improve its verifiability. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... Codeine (INN) or methylmorphine is an opiate used for its analgesic, antitussive and antidiarrheal properties. ... Each caplet in this bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol contains a 500 mg dose of acetaminophen (paracetamol). ... On the Threshold of Eternity. ... This article is about incurable disease. ... For other uses, see Suicide (disambiguation). ...

A few weeks later, the police were back after a 74-year-old pensioner named Malcolm McKenzie accused Puente of drugging and stealing from him. She was convicted of three charges of theft on August 18, 1982, and sentenced to five years in jail. While in jail, she started to correspond with a 77-year-old retiree living in Oregon, named Everson Gillmouth. A pen-pal friendship developed, and when Puente was released in 1985 after serving just three years of her sentence, he was waiting for her in a red 1980 Ford pickup. Their relationship developed quickly, and the couple was soon making wedding plans. They opened a joint bank account and paid $600-a-month rent for the upstairs apartment at 1426 F Street in Sacramento. is the 230th day of the year (231st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Official language(s) (none)[1] Capital Salem Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 9th  - Total 98,466 sq mi (255,026 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 2. ... The best selling North American pickup truck, the Ford F-Series. ...

In November 1985, Puente hired Ismael Florez to install some wood paneling in her apartment. For his labor and an additional $800, Puente gave him a red 1980 Ford pickup in good condition, which she stated belonged to her boyfriend in Los Angeles who no longer needed it. Dorothea Puente then asked Florez to do one more thing: build a box 6 feet by 3 feet by 2 feet to store "books and other items." She then asked Florez to transport the filled and nailed-shut box to a storage depot. Florez agreed, and Puente joined him. On the way, however, she told him to stop while they were on Garden Highway in Sutter County and dump the box on the river bank in an unofficial household dumping site. Puente told him that the contents of the box were just junk. For other uses, see November (disambiguation). ... This article is about the year. ... Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... Sutter County is a county located along the Sacramento River in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, north of state capital Sacramento. ...

On January 1, 1986, a fisherman spotted the box sitting about three feet from the bank of the river and informed police. Investigators found a badly decomposed and unidentifiable body of an elderly man inside. Meanwhile, Puente continued to collect Everson Gillmouth's pension and wrote letters to his family, explaining that the reason he had not contacted them was because he was ill. She also maintained a "room and board" business, taking in 40 new tenants (most of whom were alcoholics and drug addicts). Although she was making a good profit doing this, she wanted more money and therefore started to frequent bars looking for new customers. is the 1st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ...

Every month, Puente collected all the tenants' mail before they saw it and gave them only a small amount of their money, pocketing the rest.

On November 11, 1988, police found a body buried in the lawn of 60-year-old Dorothea Puente. Seven bodies were eventually found, and Puente was charged with a total of nine murders, convicted of three, and is now serving two life sentences. is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Life imprisonment is a term used for a particular kind of sentence of imprisonment. ...

In 1998, Dorothea began corresponding with Shane Bugbee, who conducted an extensive interview with her over the course of several years. She began sending him various recipes, and in 2004 the book "Cooking With A Serial Killer" was released. It included a lengthy interview, almost 50 recipes, and various pieces of prison art sent to Bugbee by the convicted murderer.^[2] Shane Bugbee (born November 9, 1968) is an underground publisher, communicator, event promoter, he is the current owner of Radio Free Satan. ...

In popular culture

The U.S. metal band Macabre recorded a song about Dorothea, titled "Dorthea's Dead Folks Home"; it can be found on the Murder Metal album.

If you visit the house now the garden of death is now a concrete parking lot. Do not disturb the tenants.

Media

Dorothea Puente case appeared in criminal documentary, "Crime Stories" at Discovery Channel and Biography Channel. Discovery Channel is a cable and satellite TV channel founded by John Hendricks which is distributed by Discovery Communications. ... Biography Channel is an American and Canadian digital cable television channel owned by A&E and based on the television series of the same name. ...

Footnotes

Amazon. ... is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

External links

• CourtTV's Crime Library - Dorthea Puente: Killing for Profit
• New York Times article on the deaths
• New York Times article on Puente's conviction