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Once Upon A Crime | True Crime

Buried Truth: Dorothea Puente

Once Upon A Crime | True Crime

Esther Ludlow

True Crime, Crime, Truecrime, Criminology, History, Criminals

4.65K Ratings

🗓️ 28 June 2021

⏱️ 82 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this final chapter of “Buried Truth” I share a story of one of the most rare categories of criminal - the female serial killer. Behind her grandmotherly exterior, Dorothea Puente was hiding some very dark secrets very close to home. This is the case of “The Killer Landlady”. 

Resources: 
Newspapers.com: Dorothea Puente by Julia Scheeres for TruTV.com, Jailed Landlady: I Didn’t Kill Anyone - The Sacramento Bee - Nov 18, 1988, Puente Guilty of Killing 3 - The Sacramento Bee - Aug 27, 1993, Murderous Landlady Puente Dies - The Sacramento Bee - March 28, 2011

The Life and Deaths of Dorothea Puente by Martin Kuz for Sactown Magazine, 2009. 

"Sacramento serial killer’s former home renovated, ready for visits" - David Bienick for KCRA3, August 29, 2013

"Tours, documentary focus on Sacramento house of murderer Dorothea Puente" - Ryan Lillis for The Sacramento Bee, Sept 1, 2015 

California Superior Court (Sacramento County) case files for The People v. Dorothea Montalvo Puente - Retrieved from The Online Archive of California - oac.cdlib.org 

Links: 
Patreon - www.patreon.com/onceuponacrime

Transcript

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0:00.0

This podcast details true crime cases.

0:03.0

It contains adult themes and may contain descriptions of violence.

0:07.0

It is not intended for children.

0:09.0

Listener discretion is advised. Thank you for joining me for today's episode of Once Upon a Crime.

0:19.8

We're in the series Very True. for today's episode of Once Upon a Crime.

0:23.3

We're in the series Very Truth,

0:25.4

where I share cases of killers who kept their deadly secrets

0:29.0

very close to home.

0:30.9

In this episode, I'll detail the life and crimes of one of the rarest types of criminals, the female serial killer.

0:37.0

Dorothy Apointe seemed like the gentle grandmotherly type as she rented out rooms in her boarding house to marginalized members of the community.

0:44.8

The elderly, the infirm, addicts, and those without homes are families to care for them.

0:50.0

Her local community lauded her for caring for those who are often ignored.

0:53.9

But in reality, no one knew the real Dorothea Puente and could never have guessed that behind

0:59.4

her wholesome image Puente hid some very dark secrets.

1:04.0

This is the final chapter of the series Berry Truth, the story of the killer landlaney,

1:09.2

Dorothy A Puente. And the It was an overcast day on November 11th, 1988 when officers arrived at 1426 F Street. All was quiet inside as Detective John Cabrera approached the front door of a three-story

1:37.4

Victorian early that Friday morning and knocked. An older white-haired woman opened the door still dressed in her house coat.

1:45.2

She stood at just over five feet tall and large round glasses framed her pale blue eyes.

1:51.0

Standing next to the detective on the porch was Officer Harry Brown from the Sacramento Police

1:55.4

Department and Jim Wilson a federal probation officer. Wilson greeted the woman by name.

2:01.5

Good morning Dorothea, he said.

2:04.0

Wilson had been Dorothea Puente's parole officer for several years.

...

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