This episode of The Apex and the Abyss contains graphic descriptions, audio and language
that may be unsettling to some individuals. Listener discretion is advised. Have you
ever wondered where saying originated from? The phrase that is coming to mind during
this particular moment is don't judge a book by its cover. This phrase appears
in the African Journal American Speech in nineteen forty four for the first time.
However, the phrase was a little bit different. Back then. It went
you can't judge a book by its bindings. Over time it has evolved to
its current form. It is a very simple phrase that is fairly self explanatory.
Don't judge the outside against the inside. A person can look tattered,
broken and even a little bit mean, but have a heart of gold.
On the flip side, A person can look kind, innocent and unsuspecting,
but have a streak of evil in darkness within them that not even those closest
to them ever knew about it until it was too late. You're listening to
The Apex and the Abyss, and this is the story of Dorothea Puente.
Authorities say they'll go for the death penalty, and the trial of a landlady
suspected of killing seven boarding home tenants. A Sacramento judge today, I reign
Dorothea Puente on one murder account. Prosecutors say additional murder charges will be at
it. Puente did not enter a police and as being held tonight without bail.
Police named the x con as a suspect that they're finding seven bodies buried
in the art of her sacramental boarding house. Authorities say Puente killed her tenants
for their social Security checks. Dorothea Puente is a perfect example of the whole
don't judge by its cover mentality. Our story takes place in nineteen eighty eight.
Dorothea was about sixty years old and she ran a boarding house in Sacramento,
California. On the outside, the petite, older woman looked like a
sweet little grandma. She took people into the boarding house she lived in and
always seemed to offer a helping hand. However, all of this was just
a cover. You see, Dorothia Poente was a schemer and she was also
a serial killer. But before we get into what Dorothea became, let's go
back to the beginning. Do you really think I'm a jilty do you want
to be truthful with You're going to be real truthful with you. Dorothia.
I think you had somehow you're involved in it. Dorothia was born on January
ninth, nineteen twenty nine, in red Lands, California, which is located
near San Bernardino. Dorothea was the sixth child out of seven born to Jesse
and Trudy Gray, though there are reports that state that Dorothea was one of
eighteen children. However, this cannot be proven. What you will discover about
Dorothea Puente is that not only is she a cold and calculated murderer, but
she is also a pathological liar. What we do know about Dorothea thanks to
actual documentation, is that, unfortunately, she did not grow up in a
loving and stable home. Her family had very little money, and her parents
were quite abusive to their children, so much so that Dorothea's mother would eventually
lose custody of her children due to her alcohol abuse and apparent child abandonment.
When Dorothea was just eight years old, her father would die of tuberculosis,
and soon after her mother would be killed in a motorcycle accident, orphaning Dorothea
and all of her siblings. Not much can be said for what happened to
her siblings after the tragedy, but we do know that Dorothea would go between
foster homes and other relatives all throughout her teenage years. She would even spend
time in homes for orphans children, where she stated she was sexually abused.
In nineteen forty five, Dorothea was around sixteen years old and she was tired
of being shuffled around California, so she made her way to Olympia, Washington,
by herself to start a new life. To survive on her own and
to earn income, she would dive into sex work and that is where she
would encounter and meet her first husband, Fred McFall. Fred and Dorothea would
get married fast and head to Nevada to start their family, but this relationship
was not all sunshine and rainbows. Within two years of the couple's union,
they would have two children. However, Dorothea had zero interest in being a
mother. It is said that one child was given to relatives of the couple
and the other was put up for adoption. More conflicting reports would appear when
it comes to what caused Dorothea and Fred's relationship to end in nineteen forty eight.
Some articles suggest that the couple split, other state that Fred mc fall
allegedly died of a heart attack. Either way, after the end of the
relationship, Dorothea would leave Nevada and head back to her California roots. Once
she returned to the San Bernardino area, Dorothea's life of crime would commence soon
after she moved back to California. She would try to pass bad checks under
an alias name. This crime would land her a few months in jail.
Once she was released, she was placed on probation. One of the guidelines
of her release was that she would have to stay within Riverside County, California,
but she left the area anyway. It is rumored that during this time
she would give birth to another child and place this baby up for adoption as
well. At some point, young Dorothea would head to San Francisco. By
nineteen fifty two, she would meet and marry a man by the name of
Axel Johansson. Axel was from Sweden, and those who knew him would describe
him as tough. Axel and Dorothea were together for a grand total of fourteen
years and their relationship was nothing short of violent. The pair fought verbally and
physically on a near daily basis. It got so bad that at one point
Axel would have Dorothea sent to a mental institution where she was evaluated and put
on anti psychotic medication. While they were together, Dorothea would have extramarital affairs,
as well as abuse alcohol and gamble constantly. She would also be arrested
for running a brothel and sacramento. This didnt in jail would only last ninety
days, but practically as soon as she left, she went right back to
jail on another charge, this time again for ninety days. It seemed as
though whenever Dorothea landed herself in jail, she would tell those who inquired as
to where she had gone for such a long amount of time that she simply
had gone out of town to visit a friend. Lying was something that came
natural to Dorothea. In nineteen sixty six, after years of instability and violence,
Axel and Dorothea would get divorced. Two years later, she would marry
a man by the name of Roberto Puente. Roberto was quite a few years
younger than Dorothea. There are a few conflicting reports about the age difference as
well, so to err on the side of caution, let's just say that
he was about fifteen to twenty years her junior. At the time of her
third marriage, Dorothea was around thirty nine years old, yet she looked much
older than her actual age. Dorothea herself and time were not kind, and
her turbulent life showed on her face. It is said that her new husband
used marriage as a way to obtain citizenship in America, and that it was
quite a loveless union. The couple would only stay together for about two years
before separating. Soon after the end of this relationship, Dorothia would begin operating
a boarding house in Sacramento, California, on F Street. Dorothea would have
some back ground in running and caring for individuals in a boarding house. When
she wasn't in jail or prison, she would work as a nurse's aid.
She would typically work in and out of the person's home and assist with whatever
they needed. The house on F Street was around eighteen hundred square feet give
or take a few a decent amount of space, especially if you planned on
taking in people who simply needed a roof over their head. Dorothea would take
in older individuals as well as people who were homeless and disabled. On the
outside, it seemed as though Dorothea was providing a great and commendable service for
her community, helping those in need in giving her home, time, and
heart to those who needed it. But what did we say at the beginning
of this episode, don't judge a book by its cover. While the cover
of this story, especially going into it without knowing anything about who Dorothea Puente
was, it seemed like a great tale. But diving into it, this
story is about to turn into a legend of horror land. Lady of a
boarding house so rested in connection with the murder of seven of her tenants.
What Dorothia like to do was abuse the power that she had over those who
lived in her boarding house. She would take their money, whether it be
by social Security check or what have you. She felt as though she was
entitled to it, so she would either steal it or have them handed over
to her. What needs to be understood is that Dorothea and this home,
for some of the individuals who lived there, was all that they had.
Things began to get increasingly odd and hostile. In the boarding house, Dorothia
would hire a man who is a known alcoholic and a transient. He would
do handywork around the home on Epstreet until one day he simply disappeared, never
to be seen or heard from again. By the mid seventies, Dorothea would
get married yet again, this time to a man named Pedro Montalvough. Pedro
was not a good man and was known his abusive ways. This relationship did
not last very long, and once it was over, Dorothea would spend a
lot of her time at the bars in her neighborhood. Perhaps she was drowning
her sorrows, or maybe just maybe she was on the hunt. While in
these bars, Dorothea would sweet talk some of the men that frequented the establishments.
Ultimately, she would obtain certain bits of information she needed from them and
would then begin stealing their benefits that they would receive from the government. Once
she had that check in hand, she would forge their signatures and cash them.
This was her game, and shockingly, she was good at it,
but not too good, because eventually she would be caught and charged with over
thirty counts of treasury fraud, and she was given five years probation. The
fact that she was caught doing a serious crime and that her criminal record was
constantly growing, it didn't matter to her, nor did it stop her from
stealing all the people around her. What's interesting is that those who lived at
the boarding house during all this were completely divided on how they felt about her.
Some loathed Dorothea and hated living there, but they had little to know
other options. Dorothea was known for stealing the occupant's mail that she dealt with.
It seems as though some would Knowgus more than others would, and those
who knows would go head to head with her quite often about it. And
then on the other side of the coin, there were those who spoke nothing
but praises when it came to Dorothea and how she treated them. How is
it that one person can master the appearance of both a generous and thieving person.
It is very curious as to why she picked and chose which ones saw
each side of her, though the people she tended to be terrible to were
the ones who would call her out on her shady behavior, so maybe it's
not too confusing after all. In nineteen eighty two, Dorothea's behavior would take
a different turn with new occupants coming into the boarding house. She saw it
as more dollars lining her pocket, and somewhere along the way, she decided
that if they didn't give her the money she wanted, then they would have
to die. Sixty one year old Ruth Munroe moved into the boarding house in
April of nineteen eighty two. A little over two weeks after Ruth had moved
in, she was dead. She had overdosed on a mixture of tylonnoll and
codine. When the police and the ambulance were called to the scene, Dorothea
would tell them about Ruth's struggles that she had heard about over the course of
her stay at the boarding house. Ruth, according to Dorothea, was extremely
depressed due to the fact that her husband was terminally ill. Those investigating Ruth's
death believed the story and jotted down the tragedy as suicide. It was a
plausible story. There was no way that a sweet woman like Dorothea Puente would
have anything to do with her death. It wouldn't be long before the police
were knocking on Dorothea's door again. In fact, it was only within a
matter of weeks seventy four year old Malcolm mackenzie would contact police after Dorothea drugged
him while at his apartment after a night of drinking. Malcolm was incredibly dizzy
and lethargic due to whatever Dorothea had slipped him. However, the entire time
he could see what she was doing in his apartment, but he was just
unable to stop her due to the drugs. Dorothea began rummaging through his belongings
and would wind up taking his rare penny collection and a ring that he was
wearing. In August of nineteen eighty two, Dorothea would be convicted for the
crime and she was sentenced to five years in prison. Because Dorothea was in
and out of custody throughout the duration of her life, going back to prison
was not a difficult adjustment for her. However, at one point during this
stint in prison, she would find herself at the end of a vicious beating
from fellow inmates. Dorothea had hold of guard information regarding a separate attack that
occurred in the facility earlier. When the inmates found this out, they made
Dorothea pay for telling the guard the truth. Due to her injuries and concern
for her safety, Dorothia was moved to protective custody. While in the new
areas, she received a letter from a man named Everson Gilmouth. Everson had
an interesting hobby of writing incarcerated women. Over time, this random relationship blossomed.
After three years, Dorothea would be released early from her sentence and Everson
was the person who picked her up from prison. After her release, she
returned to the boarding house. In her absence, he took care of the
house for her, but now she was back. Towards the end of nineteen
eighty five, Dorothia Poente hired a handyman by the name of Ismael Flores.
Aside from doing things around her home, Dorothea asked Flores to build her a
box six feet long, three f wide, and two feet deep. She
told him she needed it for storage. Flora's liked Dorothea. She paid him
well and even sold him a car that belonged to her boyfriend Everson. She
claimed that he no longer needed the vehicle. She was good to him,
so her wish was his command. After building the box, Dorothea filled it
and nailed its shut. She would then ask Flora's to take it to the
local storage place. While on the way, Dorothea told Flora's to drive to
a nearby river bank. She then asked him to take the box and dump
it there instead. At this Flora's finally questioned the whole situation. It seemed
odd that he was building such a large box, and it was a mystery
as to what Dorothea was putting in it. Dorothea simply explained that what was
in the box was nothing valuable and should have been thrown out in the first
place. Trusting her story, he believed her and didn't question her anymore on
the matter. However, a few months later, two fishermen were walking along
the river bank when a foul smell was carried towards them on the wind,
the smell of rot, decay, and death. The smell was coming from
a large box that was half submerged in the water. The two fishermen would
not touch the box, but instead called the police to have them investigated instead.
When authorities opened the box, they found the remains of Everson Gilmouth,
Dorothea's prison penpal turned boyfriend. Everson was wrapped in a bedsheet and the only
clothing on his body were his underwear and he had been bound with electrical tape.
Police were unable to determine his identity at the time, so for years
Everson was just another John Doe, waiting for his name to be returned to
him. Everson Gilmouth was never reported as missing. Dorothea was collecting his pension
and his Social Security money on a monthly basis, and would tell anyone who
asked about him via letter or phone call that he had either fallen ill or
was out of town, and that was the explanation as to why they had
not heard from him in a while. After Everson's murder, Dorothea kept all
moving. She was unfazed by her actions and only had one thing on her
mind. Money, where it was coming from, how much she was going
to get, and how quickly could she spend it. The boarding house was
at capacity and Dorothea was up to her normal schemes of hoarding the mail from
her tenants. It would not be long before Dorothea's actions would become suspicious to
everyone around her. It seemed as though people would just up and vanish around
her constantly, with no rhyme, reason or explanation. The only story inquiring
minds would get would come from Dorothea's lips and hers alone. Betty Palmer and
Leona Carpenter were two women who, within weeks of calling the boarding house on
F Street home, would disappear without a trace. James Gallup was another occupant
that would never be heard from again. In July of nineteen eighty seven,
he moved into the house on F Street after having brain surgery, and that
was the last anyone had ever heard from him. A few months later,
Vera Martin would take up residence in the boarding house run by Dorothea Puente,
and Vera would vanish. In February of nineteen eighty eight. Bert Montoya claimed
a bed in Dorothea's boarding house. She basically took over his entire life the
second he moved in. All of his affairs, especially his money, was
taken care of by Dorothea. But just like the aforementioned residence, he too
would disappear without a trace. When people asked about him, Dorothea said that
he went to Mexico to visit his family. Bert's disappearance would be the straw
that broke the camel's back when it comes to Dorothea's long list of crimes,
However, unbeknownst to her, people were already suspecting her. Of the worst
complaints would come in about Dorothea's stealing money from those she cared for, despite
the fact that she had a criminal record that indicated that she knows how to
do things, and the fact that she was blatantly doing it all the time,
The investigators found these complaints unwarranted. On November seventh, nineteen eighty eight,
a missing person's report was filed in regards to Bert Montoya. Police would
follow up on the complaint and went to Dorothea's house. They questioned her and
briefly looked around the home, and Dorothea would give them the same story she
had given the others, that Montoya had gone to Mexico to visit family.
While at the house, the police questioned other occupants about Bert's whereabouts. One
of them would slip the officer a note that stated something along the lines of
Dorothea asking people to lie for her to cover up something She was lying and
now the police knew that there was something far more nefarious going on in this
boarding house than Dorothea was letting up. A few days later, the officers
returned to the house with a warrant to thoroughly search the house and dig up
the garden. During the search, the police would find seven bodies buried in
the backyard. Dorothea would be brought in for questioning regarding the bodies found in
her yard. What you're about to hear are snippets from that interview. Okay,
Dorothea, first question is how long have you actually lived at that residence.
I think I lived there in seventy eight that I was in prison for
from I mean I was Okay, there's in cars Roy from May to nineteenth,
nineteen seventy eight eighty two until September ninth, eighty five. Okay,
so you actually started living here in nineteen seventy eight, and you lived there
until nineteen eighty two, until May when you were sent away, and then
you got out in September nineteen eighty five, and you've lived there ever since.
Okay, I was hunt to prison in September eighty two. I obviously
find thirty excuse me, obvious nineteen. I was in Carson Rated from May
to nineteenth on. From so from nineteen seventeen nineteen eighty two, you lived
there and was there do you remember who lived there before you. No,
you don't remember. I've only had the downstairs for a year. Well,
I mean I don't. I don't have the downstairs. I in my nephew.
He lived there before. What's his name, Ricardo Puerto Rico. All
our people are I see, does he live in Sacramento? Yes, I
don't remember the policy about fifty something. He's in pacto too. He's the
owner of the property. And you leased the property. Well, I pay
monthly events, you know, okay, But they kept they remembered the place
out while I was on the utility stayed in money. So the utilities of
the property are in your name. Who pays taxes on it? He paid
it. So you paid the all utilities on the properties in your name,
and you have a verbal agreement lead that you are to live there and maintain
and take care of the property. When I was born, he ran in
my apartment out killed. So you have you have Dorothea Montalvo, and you're
also Dorothea Wenday. I was born, I was married to I was married.
You were born Montalbo right one day? Where were you born? California?
The investigator presents a very shaken Dorothea with the facts. Her stories weren't
matching up, and they were glaring inconsistencies to what she was saying versus what
everyone else was claiming in regards to missing people. The questions we need to
ask you, I need, I need, I need all the truth from
you. Okay, Number one is going back, of course. Now this
whole thing got started was because of this last individual, Montoya. Now his
disappearance is very suspicious. I can tell you that even the things that you
said didn't even quite connect with what the other individual polists which he spoke to
you. There are a lot of inconsistencies in this. Well. You know,
I didn't think I was ever going to have to remember everything. And
that's fine. I mean, I can understand that you explain that to us,
But there's just a lot of inconsistencies also they get in touch with you.
I mean, wasn't that I have to I have to physical see Now,
as far as the social worker, he had no relatives known to her
and never mentioned it any, but he had mentioned at one time that he
wanted to move from your place. He didn't want to stay there. And
then we talked to mister Sharp and mister Sharpe says he hasn't seen him for
three months. But you said the other day social worker hasn't seen so who
is lying to me? Who is lying to me? Do with you?
But why not? He was there Saturday and Sunday. How can mister Sharp?
Well, he doesn't need he doesn't even associate with the arf. Mister
Sharpe also told us that you had told him to lie. I did not
about saying that he was there, because he later told us that he him.
In fact, I had asked mister Sharp to move. When did you
ask him him? Um? I see he couldn't paid rent one month October
because he needed to all his money drinking again. I don't know if he
drinks Sunday and that was the second time that he had done since it's been
there, and it makes it hard to come up to the ranch. And
I asked him if if he would move? When? Why would mister Sharp
tell us because he's mad because I'm making him he hasn't seen it for three
months? Also, Ben, how long did Ben live there? Just?
Two months? Okay? So Ben ben Fink lived there two months? Did
obviously? Who did? Uh? Melvine? Noben? Who Melbourne or John
you called him John you mean Murph? Yeah, how do I say Melvin?
I don't know, because he associated with him, you know, he
doesn't associated with hiring anybody. But Ben went Worth's book place. Was Ben
staying at in one of the rooms by himself, okay, because but he
was coming most of the time, because he was always out and drinking and
okay, okay, And he was on he had a bad leg and he
should be go sell his blood every week down Athan plasm right, And he
said, we're gonna go back to Marysville. When did you say that?
When I told her he had to leave? When a couple three months ago,
it was in the summertime, summer time, I see mister Sharp says
that Ben was missing the same time as Montoya. The social worker says she
was up in contact with Montoya up to about three months ago. Okay,
And she says she had not heard hide nor hair from him. Well,
he really didn't want to see him, but he'd always he'd attempted that he
went to dtox on occasion twice. Yeah, and he told him a detox
to take me out of your home. I don't want And the social worker
was on very good terms with him to where she was right and when he
all of a sudden disappeared, she started thinking, what the heck's going on
here? And then she got the inconsistent things about you tell me that the
guy was from you didn't know where he went, And she got a phone
call and she says that you told her he went to Utah. I mean
there's a lot of things the idea that I don't understand. I don't know
where the man was going to take counter, Okay, but I mean there's
a lot You see what I'm saying, there's a lot of inconsistency there,
and it can't explain his disappearance. It can't now coupled with all of that,
okay, coupled with all of that, and then we come and talk.
Could you put could you put a tap on my phone and listen to
my conversation, like if they called me, I would like you to do
that to me for me to be satisfied, I would have to physically see
that. Well, then, couldn't shoot once when the call came to couldn't
you monitor all the calls? And then her tras on the call that I
don't know how that works? Would be truth with you, because I would
be willing to have that time. Know, the investigator continues to press her
on Burt Montoya whereabouts? You know. We we go and talk to you.
You're real good about it. And then we asked you for permission.
You didn't even have to give us permission to look, but you were cooperating.
You said you gave us permission to dig around in the yard and look
around. And then we dig and lo and behold we find what is looks
like the remains of a human being, clothing at all. But if it
was, if it was Alvaro, you know, no, I don't think
it's Alvaro. I don't think Albarrow if we was in the ground, would
be that decay or ben think now, I know that the concrete up in
front of the shed hasn't been on the ground that long. I can tell
you know where the rose bushes are. You put the roses in the little
round circles right in front of the ship, not in back of the shed
where the garden areas, but in front there about it? In think there?
How about this last summer? Maybe you put that down I'm trying to
listen everywhere or something like that, Okay, because there was a trench there.
There was an open trench there at one time. Do you remember that
we were looking for star lines. Okay, So right in front, right
in front of that was an open trench. And the fact, if my
memory serves me right, that trench went this way and then along the fence
on the side of that shed. Am I correct? You mean right where
the concrete is now. Underneath that concrete there used to be you had a
there was a ditch, a little ditch. You say you were looking for
sewer. Okay, Now you know where I'm speaking about. Okay, you
know where the little shit is outdoors, not in the back of the house,
the one on the side of the Okay, Okay, Let's say the
gardens, the garden is okay, Let's do it like this. Here's the
garden area okay. And then there's a concrete here, and then they have
a shed right there, okay. And then in front of the shed you
have a little bit more concrete with little circles, and I believe those are
some kind of bush. Let's see you have another little some kind of a
patio thing here, and then that driveway goes out like that. Here's the
front of the house. You know what shed I'm talking about right here?
Okay, this area you know that with a concrete's only about an inch Think
that looks like it hasn't been that concrete hasn't been there that long. I'm
no expert, but I know when I looked at concrete, I've been around
a moment of that that that has not been there that long. Do you
remember that in the early part of the year. Man? Okay, but
that's what I'm saying. There was at one time a trench there, Am
I wrong? No? Two feet deep and it didn't run in an L
shape like this which way to go? It just went straight across okay,
right in front of the shed area. It wasn't even as long as this
table. Okay. You were looking for sewer there, Okay, Now someone
was that? Was it summertime? Was it early part of the year?
It was probably March March? And you have a shed back here year so
we know that that concrete. Now the concrete in front here, well that
poor at the same time as here. Oh, how long has this concrete
been there? Over a year? Over a year okay, and that's connected
to the shed. And how long has the shed been there over a year?
Okay? What what? What was here? Before? All that was
put down? Plants? Plants and garden and garden there, all dirt and
stuff. Okay, but it was right here, oh I know, yeah,
it would be okay. And then you have a little shed back the
family living downstairs at that time, you know, And how long has that
shed been there? It was a little shad. Did you get it after
you were out in you got out of nineteen eighty five? Did you can
put it up there? Or was it there before it? Then? The
metal chip? Alright, I mean was it after you got out of nineteen
eighty five? Okay, so after nineteen eighty five you put it up the
ship? Now there back of your house, there are some trees planted here.
How long have those trees been here? They seem to be rather new
by the way the roots, Yeah, I could move them with my hand,
and I can see that the roots are not in hearing soil was dying
on Okay. It appears that there was some digging in this back area there.
Did you have any open trench areas? Back? There? Used to
be a chick chicken coop there where now in this whole thing? Yeah,
how long ago, year and a half ago? Okay, when was the
last time there was any digging back here? Because it appears that there has
been some digging here that the summer. Sometimes what did you dig out?
Was there another trend for sewer or any Yeah? But there, John and
John, we're box what area of it? Here are the three? Here
are the trees right here? What are you with this whole thing? Okay?
Now over here you have a couple of big concrete ut a big bad
like my bathtubs to me, Well, that came out of the upstairs.
Yeah. How long have those been there? For? Four years? Okay?
Those are never budged. But the only big in you know of?
Okay, we know there was a trench. You dug a small trench right
here. How deep was that maybe? But nah? Okay, and then
you didn't find anything. You just buried it and then laid on you laid
concrete over there some like if you're looking at my kitchen, I have one
buffet I put my coffee grounds, eggs, shells, and stuff. In
fact, you'll find that all over the yard. Okay. You know a
lot of people do that. Have you ever had any or had the need
for any lie around the house, white powder light. We put some I'm
line line. I forget the lumber jacko or a tap from nursery told me
that the brown is so hard, like if you if you go back and
dig with the grass, you know where we put the grass in the front.
They dug up about that much. If you walk cross to the empty
lot, you'll see the grass sitting there. And they dug about that much,
and we put in. I am put line there, but I put
a bag of fire lighter and I think one bag of hotting soil or something.
And well, I notice I noticed a line back there in the soil.
Well they said that the brown needed Yeah, but I also noticed in
the hole we were digging there was some residue of lime. Would there be
any reason to be line to people ow in the soil? None? You
never put it. How about John who did the digging back there? For
you who dogged all these trenches. I think John does some like I tried,
but I can't. I couldn't write or something. No, I have
a bad heart and I can't. That's anything very heavy. So John did
mostly digging one it needs well, not always. I mean sometimes I had
what do you call it casual waiver. Yeah, getting back to that,
what will you find in this whole year? Do you have any knowledge of
what was in that hole at any time? Did John ever tell you about
anything? John? Sure? Could he have put something in that hole?
I don't think for me. He's had a quad of old white pass or
whatever, you know, whatever he does have to about, mister keunty.
No, he never done. Here's a bad land. The only thing he
ever did was help take up some grass out by the sidewalk, or I
put some icondra. Have you done any digging up here in this area or
mainly all you're digging his back in the side in here, the side because
I always have tomados and doll peppers and squash. Listen, you hear what's
this here? This is a driver when the conquer. You got some plastic
over here? Okay, that's from my graphic. We just planned yesterday,
but that was away built up about this month. It was in the middle
there before graph, but it was it was bad, bad, so you
dug it up. You're planning graph And if people look across the street from
my house, you can say I believe I believe it. Eventually the investigator
asked Dorothea the question of the hour, did she kill Bert Montoya? Okay,
now let's get back to this other thing here. Okay, I've got
a man missing. Nothing seems, everything seems totally. Nothing fits do Withthia.
That's what I'm trying to say, nothing fits Okay, And there's one
or two things I can surmise, okay, and that is mister Montoya,
it's dead. No, no, miss that I'm just saying. I mean
just I'm trying to surmise this, and then we'll try to clear this up.
That he is dead and that either he either either John macaulay or Mr
Melvin or either killed him or that maybe he meant foul played by your hands.
That's that's that's my alternatives. I don't know. But my other alternative
is that the fact that somewhere in that Mackyard North that he's lying, maybe
along with other people. Okay. And I'm also going to tell you that
we had this same information a year ago. A year ago, yes,
a year ago. So what I'm telling you is not new to me.
Monday, Can I hire a contractor to go in and tear everything down and
dig it up to prove to you that there's nobody there. If any digging
has to be done, We're going to do the digging. Okay. What
I'm trying to do is right now, save a lot of painstaking trouble,
a lot of time and a lot of trouble. And what I'm asking you
my bottom line and what I'm truly asking you do to you. I have
never killed anybody, maybe not you. But how about mister McCaulay, what
reason have Well, I know we're going to find out if about the checks,
Okay, this is all security checks. And I know that you're past
you've been in some trouble with right, Okay, And I know I remember
when you were arrested and you were in the beadle that I admitted to that
to get the trial over where okay, but you still were convicted, right
and sins to right. Okay. The similarities are there. The only the
only thing that's different now is the fact rather than take something and let it
go, you get rid of them and nothing's ever found. Now here's a
man from Costa Rica or timbuc two that really nobody cares about. Just like
fact, Just like mister Kelly said, he says, hey, when you're
nobody or nobody nobody cared, so you disappear, you're a transient, or
you're a bum, or you're an alcoholic. A lot of people think nobody
ever cares. I cared for him, my body closed. I treated him
very, very good. Have you seen Ben Fink around? You know?
I told him not to ever come back from the point he was normally a
regular around town. And you know what, but he's look in Marysville,
Dorothea. He'd have been in Marysville, he'd have been arrested. That's how
Ben was. You know how Ben was? No, he get drunk.
He get drunk, you like, get a little goofy, right, and
then you usually end up getting arrested taking the detox or something. Nothing absolutely
nothing gone. What am I to think? What am I to think?
After hearing this a year and falling, falling along, watching, waiting,
and then all of a sudden, lo and behold, I did the body
in your bank? I don't know anything. I didn't even keep the body.
It may be and you maybe that may be true. That's why I'm
asking you. I'm appealing to you, Joe. I don't feel anything.
I'm want to ask you, right now, are there any other bodies you
know in your bankcount I didn't even know that one was there. Did mister
mccaullay bring any other bodies in the background? Ye have testes mccaully Okay.
That's why I'm asking you, because if it has to be said, I
want to said right now and it's cleared up. Let's not get into something
that maybe isn't there. I want to know. I want you to be
truth. I didn't even know that body for there. If I had it,
I would have said, no, I don't fix the yard, you
know, but I had nothing to hide it. I don't want to go
back to prisoner. Well, I realize that I'm old, lady. I
realized that trying for all, I'm trying to get my life together. But
Dorothea, that all the indications, everything doesn't make any sense. Is what
I'm trying to tell you. I'm appealing to you. I'm appealing to you.
That's what I'm saying is nothing makes sense. Nothing. Everything you said
was inconsistent with what somebody else said. When you sat in there, it
was like sticking your foot in your own mouth. I couldn't believe you were
telling me that because I thought, wait a minute, wait a minute,
something is wrong here. And then when I talked to Mitch mcaulay, he
couldn't even substantiate what you were saying. And here's a man that's lived there
four years, almost four years in March. No, he's been there two
years. Well, he says four years in March. Well, he couldn't
remember that. I haven't gotten out in eighty five. He was living there
before you there. Right at this point in the investigation, authorities had only
uncovered the one body. They were curious if they were going to find more
in the garden, and we already know that they will, Dorothea. I
know if we did, we're gonna find more. I know that. I
know that. Well. I didn't put him there. I couldn't drag the
body in any place. I believe that. But I believe there's somebody else
involved here, somebody else, because here's people that are still getting checks and
they haven't him in the scene hiding her hair. Dorothea, you have to
look at it from my view, dear. I look at it, and
I think nothing makes sense. This is absolutely anybody. Maybe you didn't kill
anybody. That may be true, but maybe you know what really happened.
I think you know about mister Montoya because mister Montoya is not in Costa Rica.
Mister Montoya is where is he? He's in that backyard. I believe
Dorothea he is in that backyard or he's been disposed of some other manner,
not by me, by mister McCauley. I don't see. I'm asking her.
I don't know. I don't know. I don't I want to know
what you know. I want to know what you know. You know you
are the leader of the house. You have the background. Okay, you've
been there before. You know what I'm talking about. I have never killed
anybody in line, and who did kill somebody? Mister McCauley, tell me,
no, tell me now, I don't know. Tell me now.
I don't know. When did mister Montoya really disappear? When let's be honest
with me, be real honest with September. That's when the last time you
saw him. I saw him this weekend Sunday. Yes see, that's what
I'm trying to say. Everybody else says, no, he hasn't been around.
Why would they tell us that, I don't know? Why? Why
would they tell us? Why would mister Sharpe tell me that you promised to
do some things for him if you lied for you. I asked mister Sharpe
to move. That's why he's mad going to bring him in here, and
I'm also going to bring mister mcculey. Always look like I'm lying because I'm
nervous, Dorothea. You said where a lot of people are sitting. I
know, and don't I'm not taking the idea. I'm not using that against
you that you've been in prison. Okay, what I say when I say
the police officers not so you know. But I'm saying it's the background.
It's the background. It's not like you're in there for something else. What
I'm asking for is nothing makes sense here, Dorothea. Nothing makes sense.
Everything you said you can't really substantiate. Mister McAuley tells me another thing.
Mister Sharpe kills me another thing. And I've got a guy that's been missing
for at least two and a half three months. I don't I have,
And the social worker that says I've been working with the guy all the time,
and he just up and leaves, and I'm thinking, well, wait
a minute, and then all of a sudden, they didn't want anything to
do with him and didn't. Yeah, no, that's not so, that's
not so. She worked with them. She worked with them. She's the
one that made the report. I know it, and I was going there.
And what I'm saying is, I hear this a year ago. A
year ago, I hear this. I didn't have how in a year ago?
No, not him, I heard about other people, you know what.
I hear it. I heard, Hey, I feel it only fourteen
twenty success streets killing people and bury them in their backgyard. How do you
explain the body in the backyard? I don't want to have feed down.
I know it. When you find out how old it is and see that
I didn't have anything to do with that. What if it's only a year
old? What if it's two years old? What if it goes back and
it's going to be in between that nineteen seventy nineteen eighty two, How do
you even explain that it isn't old enough that it's already the bones are disintegrating.
I can tell you it looked like they're splesh though that you know,
That's what I'm trying to say. Then then what are you going to tell
me if I say hey, they say me at the max maybe at that
time zone where you were there. How do you explain that somebody stuck in
your backyard but a human body and buried other people living there. It was
two of the families that lived downstairs. Finally, towards the end of the
interview, the investigator tells Dorothea how he feels. He believes that she knows
more than she is letting on, and she claims that her niece propelled a
lie about her that caused numerous rumors to pop up regarding her, specifically that
Dorothea Puente was killing people and burying them in her backyard. Do you really
think I'm a jilting You want me to be truthful with you, I'm gonna
be real truthful with you. Dorothea. I think you had somehow you're involved
in it. It may not have been by your hand, but it's by
somebody's hand. And I think you are very very frightened right now. You're
looking and you don't know what to And it's not just because you had any
prior background, because there's been a lot of people, I mean, we
talk most of people. We talked to all the time, so I understand
that point. But the problem is, I think what you realize is this
whole thing is up. I think you realize that whatever has been going on
is up. It's over because we are going to uncover that yard and you've
lived there. And that's why, Dorothy, I'm saying right now, if
this whole thing is up, there's people who have been missing and you can't
even explain why. And then when you tell me it's something that isn't totally
different than what I know? Why am I wrong? Am I lying?
And what I haven't there? My consciousness not bothering me when I confess to
my other stuff and went to prison part I'm as glad to get adultment,
okay. And that's why you'll never rest and you have no intention of going
back to prison. I know that, And I don't know if you would
honestly tell me. I don't know right now if you would tell me that,
if you did, yes, I would tell me. Would I don't
know, because I can't think the pressure and stuff. Well, if you
didn't, somebody else did. And the only other person that I can say
that has remarkably been around when these guys have disappeared against mister mccollege. Question,
mister home, I am, but I think you might have knowledge.
I think what I basically want to know from you is where is mister Montoya?
Where he really don't know? And you said you saw him. During
the interview, police were trying to push Dorothea to tell the truth. At
the time, they did not believe that she had single handedly murdered anyone,
but that she knew more than she was letting on. Dorothea was allowed to
return to her home after her interrogation. However, some time between the day
of November eleventh and November fourteenth, Dorothea fled. She would buy an airplane
ticket to Los Angeles, but it was a false trail. She never got
on the flight. The police were flabbergasted. Why would this woman run if
she claimed her innocence. The police conducted a massive search to find her.
When the police dug around a little bit deeper, they discovered all the bodies
in her yard, as well as evidence that she had been cashing the checks
of the deceased individuals. What would layer come to light is that each victim
had a high level of a drug called florazepam, a drug that is intended
to help those who have difficulties falling and staying asleep. Dorothea had dozens of
prescriptions for the drug in her room. One of the more disturbing facts that
would be later revealed is that the state in which some of the bodies were
found when they were unearthed, Betty Palmer had not only been decapitated, but
her hands and lower legs had also been removed. The reasoning behind this is
unknown. As more and more was uncovered in this case, authorities were getting
increasingly frustrated at the fact that Dorothea was nowhere to be found. While they
tirelessly searched for Dorothea, she was hiding out in the Royal Viking Hotel located
in downtown Los Angeles. Her false trail was actually a true one. She
would book a room under the alias Dorothea Johansson, and she did her best
to keep a low profile. However, after some time, Dorothea was getting
cabin fever, staying in this small hotel room for days on end. She
decided she was in the clear enough to go to a local bar. While
at the bar, she was using the name Donna Johansson. She would strike
up a conversation with a man named Charles, and instantly she was back into
her scheming mode. She found out crucial details of his financial situation and she
began plotting her way to steal from him. Luckily for Charles and unfortunately for
her, Dorothea got a little too drunk and came on way too strong.
She suggest, trusted to the man that they moved in together, and this
sent up red flags all around him. I mean, he only didn't know
her for a few hours at that point. The longer he spent around this
Donna character, the more uneasy Charles became. He couldn't put his finger on
what exactly it was apart from her forwardness, but this feeling in his gut
was something more, and it made him uncomfortable. At some point, Dorothea's
companions said good night to her, and she was very disappointed. When the
gentleman returned to his home, he turned on his TV to hear the news
report. The news was repeating the same thing and had been for the last
hour, about a woman named Dorothea Puente who was a suspect in multiple murders
earlier in the day. The news reporter had shown a phogo and he was
almost sure that the woman he had just shared several drinks with who called herself
Donna, was actually Dorothea Puente. Charles didn't want to call the police on
the off chance that he was wrong, so instead he called a news station
because the news wasn't showing the phogo of the suspect at the time. The
reporter agreed to come to this man and show him a picture of Dorothea Puente.
When Charles saw the phogo, he still wasn't one hundred percent sure that
Donna was Dorothea, but despite that, he still gave all the information to
the news reporter. With this new found information, the reporter called the police
and gather a camera crew and headed to the Royal Viking Hotel gather her around
the door to her room, the news reporter would knock. When Dorothea opened
the door, she was met with a camera in her face and a news
reporter asking her if they could see some identification. At this moment, Dorothea
knew that the jig was up. She would grab her id and show them
who she was. Authorities arrested Plente last night in Los Angeles after receiving a
tip and La Woodour met her at a bar and says Plente seemed friendly,
yet he knew something wasn't right. But in the end, the place the
picture kept coming back from the morning knows. She asked me about my income
and I told her so and I live in a very limited income to live
on social Security disability. She seemed to know all the figures she was interested
and maybe getting together and sharing in a parking No, didn't you think that
was weird or rot? Dorothea was immediately taken back to Sacramento. During the
entire trip, she claimed her innocence. The process of ideing all the bodies
and gathering up all the evidence needed for the trial took quite a long time.
Pre trial hearings would not begin until April of nineteen ninety once everything truly
started. The prosecution presented Dorothea as a deranged woman who cared about nothing except
money and herself. The defense would combat that with claiming that due to the
fact that this case had been all over the news, that Dorothea's right to
a trial was being compromised. Everyone knew who she was the death House landlady.
However, despite the argument of the defense. The judge would grant that
the proceedings could move forward. It would take a few years before the trial
would truly begin due to many delays in the case. When things did begin,
over a hundred and fifty witnesses would take the stand and a multitude of
evidence would be presented to a jury. After all the evidence had been presented,
the jury would decide the verdict. The first debate over her conviction took
days to reach, and they would claim that they were deadlocked on all nine
counts that Dorothea was being tried on. Instead of claiming a mistrial and having
to start all over again, the judge gave the jury an opportunity to converse
about the case one more time. On August twenty sixth, nineteen ninety three,
the jury reached a verdict. Dorothea Poente was guilty on three counts of
murder. Two were first degree and one was a second degree off A mistrial
was the cleared on the other six counts of murder. These counts would never
be tried again. We the jury in the above entitle cause find the defendant,
Dorothea Montalvo Puente, guilty of the crime of murdering the second degree of
Leona Carpenter, a lesser included offense of that charged account four of the information
Verdict. Count five, We the jury in the above ent title cause,
find the defendant Dorothea Montalvo Puente guilty of the crime of murdering the first degree
of Dorothy Miller, as charged in count five of the information Verdict. Count
seven, We the jury in the above ent title cause find the defendant Dorothea
Montalvo puentein guilty of the crime of murdering the first degree of Benjamin Fink,
as charged and count seven of the information special circumstance. We the jury in
the above and title cause, find the special circumstance allegation that the defendant Dorothea
Montalvo Pointe did commit multiple murders to wit at least one crime of murder of
the first degree and one or more crimes of of the first or second degree,
to be true. On December eleventh, nineteen ninety three, Dorothea Puente
was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Dorothea's response,
she said she didn't kill anybody. Dorothea would carry out her sentence at the
Central California Women's Facility. Throughout her time there, she vehemently claimed her innocence
and never once admitted to guilt. On March twenty seventh, twenty eleven,
Dorothea Puente would die of natural causes at the age of eighty two. It
seems fairly clear that Dorothea Puente was at the very least responsible for the deaths
of the tenets of her boarding house. What is uncertain, though, is
how she was able to dispose of all those bodies, even to the point
of mutilating them post mortem, without anybody noticing. It. Begs the question
did she do it alone or did she have help? We will most likely
never know the answer to that question. Not real good, Not real good.
Thank you for listening to this episode of The Apex and the Abyss.
You can find the show on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. If you
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content and much much more. Thank you again for listening. Until next time,
we're asking what had happened? How could a convicted felon end up running
a boarding house? Is one neither Stevenson found out. It's keyser than you
might think, and she joins us right now with Moore on that report.
But don boarding homes are probably the least regulated shelters there are, making it
all too easy for people like Dorothea Poente to operate one. The gruesome tale
began unfolding over the weekend, Sacramento police digging up body after body in the
yard of a boarding home. The landlord of the home, the prime suspect,
a woman who had a police record, A woman who just six years
ago was arrested and convicted of drugging some elderly residents of another boarding home and
stealing their valuables. How could she end up running another facility. Oh,
it could happen easily because she gets out of prison, she comes to Sacramento
or wherever, she gets a license to do business. She's not fingerprinted.
CII check is not done. She sets up her business. Unlike a boarding
care facility, those who want to open a boarding home only need a business
license, and to get a business license, there is no background check,
no finger printing, and no regulations. But we find situations where people are
likely to be abused, neglected, or exploited because there's no regulation within these
facilities. The Department of Social Services is the agency that usually refers to those
who need a place to stay. They are the wholess, the mentally down,