Episode 170: PART 1- Dorothea Puente

Imagine a quiet, tree-lined street in downtown Sacramento in the 1980s. This is F Street and at 1426 sits a small 2 story powder blue Victorian boarding house. The homeowner is a pillar in her community. Well respected and kind. She tends her garden, hands out cookies, and promises vulnerable people a safe place to stay. To local charities and social workers, she’s a hero who takes in those no one else will.

But beneath the flowers and apricot trees in her garden, and behind the lace curtains in those windows, something sinister is happening. This truth would come to light on Nov 11, 1988 when police would arrive at the home, searching for missing 51 year old Bert Montoya. This boarding house was Montoya’s last known address. Little did police know this disappearance would lead them to an elderly female serial killer. 

Rumors of suspicious activity in the homeowner’s back garden led police to dig. They would ultimately find the human remains of 7 victims. In today’s episode, we’re exploring how a grandmotherly caretaker became one of America’s most infamous serial killers, known as the “Death House Landlady.” We’ll walk through her troubled past, the twisted schemes she used to target society’s most vulnerable, and the investigation that finally exposed the horrors hidden at 1426 F Street.

If you lived in Sacramento, CA in the 80s, you’ll recognize this name. She is one of the most infamous female serial killers in the U.S. This is the story of Dorothea Puente. 

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SOURCES:
“World’s Most Evil Killers” season 2, episode 18
https://csi.pressbooks.pub/darkmindsdeadlydeeds/chapter/dorothea-puente-high-functioning-psychopathy/
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article312136221.html
https://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Serial-Killer-Recipes-Dorothea/dp/1411615441
https://www.capradio.org/articles/2025/10/23/dorothea-puente-tells-all-is-an-intriguing-look-at-one-of-sacramentos-most-famous-notorious-crimes/
https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/serial-killers/dorothea-puente/
https://www.sactownmag.com/the-life-and-deaths-of-dorothea-puente/
Wikipedia
https://the-housewife-did-it.square.site/uploads/b/d52b06e0-07cf-11ee-bc8a-65afc59ccab9/de73b0c0-29b4-11ee-b6c2-1be709ec9e19.pdf
“Corpse Collector” by Genova Ortiz
“The Bone Garden” by William P. Wood
“Buried Beneath the Boarding House” by Ryan Green