This podcast details true crime cases. It contains adult themes and may contain descriptions of violence.

It is not intended for children. Listener discretion is advised.

Thank you for joining me for today's episode of Once Upon a Crime.

We're in the series Very Truth, where I share cases of killers who kept their deadly secrets very close to home.

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

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

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

Her local community lauded her for caring for those who are often ignored, but in reality, no one knew the real Dorothy Appuente

and could never have guessed that behind her holds an image when they hid some very dark secrets.

This is the final chapter of the series Very Truth, the story of the killer lamb lady, Dorothy Appuente.

It was an overcast day on November 11, 1988, when officers arrived at 1426 F Street. All was quiet inside, as Detective John Carrera approached the front door of the three-story Victorian early that Friday morning and knocked.

An older white-haired woman opened the door still dressed in her house coat.

She stood at just over five feet tall and large round glasses framed her pale blue eyes. Standing next to the detective on the porch was Officer Terry Brown from the Sacramento Police Department, and Jim Wilson, a federal probation officer.

Wilson greeted the woman by name. Good morning, Dorothy, he said. Wilson had been Dorothy Appuente's parole officer for several years.

The grandmotherly looking woman standing in the need as a pin parlor was a felon who previously served time for theft and forgery.

But that's not why the officers were there that morning. They were following up on a missing persons report.

52-year-old Alvaro Montoya's last known place of residence was 1426 F Street, Dorothy's boarding house.

Dorothy Appuente had been renting out rooms in the house for about three years, mostly to elderly people on fixed incomes.

Dorothy's boarding house became a resource for community organizations that send clients who are more difficult to place.

People who are physically disabled or infirm, those living with mental illness, people addicted to alcohol or drugs, or all of the above.

Dorothy has served as a land lady, house manager, housekeeper, and cook for up to eight tenants at a time.

The man in question, Alvaro Montoya, who everyone called Bert, had been placed in the F Street residence since February.

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