Dorothea Puente (1929-2011) was an infamous landlady serial killer.
Dorothea Puente (1929-2011) was an infamous landlady serial killer.
In honor of the spookiest month, we’re revisiting our favorite Womanica episodes featuring villains, troublemakers, magic, and mystery all October. Join host Jenny Kaplan — with a few special introductions — as she takes you back in time, highlighting women like Sadie the Goat, Marie Laveau, Patricia Krenwinkel and more who were ruthless, vengeful, and mystical. The riveting stories of these women are sure to keep you up at night.
History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Ale Tejeda, Sara Schleede, and Alex Jhamb Burns. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Brittany Martinez, a producer here at WMN, and I’m here to introduce this “best of” episode of Womanica.
This episode was originally part of our August 2019 theme, “Villainesses.”
Today’s villainess is known by many names: The Death House Landlady, The Black Widow of Sacramento, and The Grandma Serial Killer.
While she was still at large, she was simply known as a sweet, community-loving
old woman. Once she was caught, it became clear she spent much of her life lying and stealing before murdering victims for their money.
I love that this episode proves the old adage - it’s always the people you don’t expect.
Now, here’s host Jenny Kaplan to talk about Dorothea Puente
Dorothea Helen Gray was born in 1929, in Redlands, California. She was the second-youngest of her seven siblings. Her family was poor and struggled further when Dorothea’s father died of tuberculosis when she was just 8 years old.
The following year, Dorothea and her siblings were removed from their mother’s custody because their mother was an alcoholic. Dorothea’s mom died in a car accident a few months later.
Dorothea’s childhood was spent living with different relatives and foster families. When she turned 16, she moved to Olympia, Washington and worked as a prostitute.
A few years later, she met and married her first husband. The pair moved to Nevada where Dorothea had two kids in two years. But Dorothea quickly decided that life wasn’t for her. In 1948, she put both children up for adoption and divorced her husband.
Despite the failure of her first marriage, Dorothea wasn’t finished with matrimony -- not even close. She moved to San Bernardino, California, spent a few months in jail for falsifying a check and got remarried. Dorothea and her second husband moved to Sacramento.
Dorothea’s second pass at married life was tumultuous, thanks in no small part to her cheating, drinking, and gambling. She got divorced again in 1966.
Two years later, she met and married Roberto Puente, her third and final husband. They, too, separated in 1969. That year, she opened her first boarding house.
Dorothea’s boarding house earned her a place of respect in the community. She housed alcoholics and drug addicts that no one else would. She gained a rapport with social workers for helping with such cases and further bolstered her reputation by donating money to local political campaigns and charities. She met multiple California governors, including Ronald Reagan. She claimed she met Vice President Spiro Agnew and Clint Eastwood.
But underneath it’s altruistic facade, Dorothea’s first boarding house was a much darker place. She stole her tenants’ benefits checks by forging their signatures. Then in 1978, she got caught, was sentenced to 5 years of federal probation, and was banned from owning a boarding house moving forward.
In 1982, Dorothea’s business partner and roommate, Ruth Monroe, mysteriously died from an overdose of codeine and Tylenol. Dorothea claimed that Ruth was depressed and authorities officially ruled the death a suicide. Ruth’s family disagreed and suspected that Dorothea was responsible.
Unable to own a boarding house, Dorothea worked as an in-home caregiver. She drugged multiple clients and stole money and valuables from their homes. She got caught, once again, and wound up in prison. Her sentence was originally five years, but it was reduced to three for good behavior despite the fact a state psychologist warned that Dorothea was dangerous and unapologetic.
When she got out in 1985, Dorothea moved in with 77-year-old Everson Gillmouth, a pen pal from her time in prison.
In November, Dorothea hired a handyman to build her a coffin-sized box. Two months later, a fisherman recovered that box from a nearby river. Inside, police discovered a decomposing body. Three years later, it was eventually identified as Everson Gillmouth. In the meantime, Dorothea impersonated Everson in letters to his family and collected his pension.
The following year Dorothea opened her second boarding house. Social workers continued to refer mentally ill, elderly, and drug-addicted tenants to her. Again, Dorothea read tenants’ mail and stole their social security checks.
She also repeatedly lied to probation officers and dodged trouble by telling them the people staying in the house were only friends or guests. And Dorothea’s web of lies grew. She claimed she was born in Mexico and she said she was a nurse in World War II.
In 1988, one of Dorothea’s tenants, Alvaro Montoya, disappeared. When Alvaro’s social worker reported him missing, police visited Dorothea to question her. They found disturbed soil in the backyard and discovered seven buried bodies.
At first, Dorothea wasn’t a suspect, but she fled to Los Angeles rousing suspicion.
She was eventually charged for nine deaths, including the deaths of Ruth Monroe and Everson Gillmouth. She was found guilty for three of the murders and received two life sentences for her crimes.
Dorothea maintained her claims of innocence until she died in prison in 2011. She was 82 years old.
Dorothea Puente’s meek, motherly demeanor masked her horrific penchant for crime. When her actions came to light, it astounded the nation.
All month, we’re bringing you the best of villainy, magic, and mystery. Tune in tomorrow for another of our favorite episodes.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!