CA CA -Serial Killer Dorothea Puente dies

[believe09]

Anyone else remember this case? Dorothea opened a boarding house and would kill her tenants for their social security checks. They excavated her back yard and found 7 bodies-she was charged with three murders. I wonder why she did not receive the DP?

http://www.kcra.com/r/25150035/detail.html

 

[Gozgals]

Anyone else remember this case? Dorothea opened a boarding house and would kill her tenants for their social security checks. They excavated her back yard and found 7 bodies-she was charged with three murders. I wonder why she did not receive the DP?

http://www.kcra.com/r/25150035/detail.html

Believe, remember the case well. I think they did a Law and Order on it too. Reminds me of "Arsenic and Old Lace" to some degree.

Interested too as to why she did not get the DP. How very horrid.

May her victims rest in peace.

Goz

 

[fran]

I remember this case.

I looked around and it seems she didn't get the DP because she was originally tried for 9 murders and only convicted of 3. As for the DP, perhaps this may explain it:


[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothea_Puente[/ame]
After several days of deliberations, the jury reached a deadlocked. The judge, Michael J. Virga, declared a mistrial when the jury said further deliberations would not change their minds. Under the law, Puente would get Life without the Possibility of Parole, of which the jury eventually agreed on 7-5.


Wow! The jury in her trial deliberated for over a month! I can't even imagine that.

JMHO
fran

 

[passionflower]

Was there ever a book out about her?
Women serial killers were rare in the 180's?
She's my mothers age.

 

[believe09]

I have seen several representations of her story, but mainly on TV. She was stone cold.

 

[luckygirl]

Yes, I sure do remember this case. I lived in the Sacramento area around that time. I also remember having to be in downtown Sac for something and ended up driving by her house. She was definatly one of those people you would never guess just how evil they are. I'm actually surprised to hear she is still alive.

 

[Oblio]

I was just speaking of this with coworkers. When this was on the local Sacramento news they kept calling it "Nightmare on F street" and I remembered it since I keep seeing previews for Nightmare on Elm Street.

 

[tapu]

Yes, I sure do remember this case. I lived in the Sacramento area around that time. I also remember having to be in downtown Sac for something and ended up driving by her house. She was definatly one of those people you would never guess just how evil they are. I'm actually surprised to hear she is still alive.

I took a look at her house when I was in Sacto, too. I was surprised that she was able to do all that burying there. It's right in town. That was an especially freaky story if you were living in CA at the time.

OMG, I just remembered: my ex-girlfriend was a member of that jury! We weren't much in touch then, but she's a writer and I know she was planning a book. I don't think she ever did it, though. There IS a book out, though.

I can't believe I didn't remember that until now. Well, the intervening years have been even more exciting.

 

[SavageGrace]

I've heard that some members of the jury had a hard time seeing past her "grandmotherly" appearance and that is why she was given life instead of death.

 

[impatientredhead]

I've heard that some members of the jury had a hard time seeing past her "grandmotherly" appearance and that is why she was given life instead of death.

I just did some reading on her. There were no witnesses to the deaths, no cause of death for the majority because of the time that had gone by. Her own attorney said the victims died in the house and his client was guilty of hiding the deaths and cashing the checks (which she was not charged for).

The trial took over a year to present.

 

[noZme]

I've heard that some members of the jury had a hard time seeing past her "grandmotherly" appearance and that is why she was given life instead of death.

Welcome to WS!

Overall she may have appeared grandmotherly, but every pic gives me shivers.... she has the coldest eyes since Charles Manson's.

 

[Gozgals]

I've heard that some members of the jury had a hard time seeing past her "grandmotherly" appearance and that is why she was given life instead of death.

I believe this could be a reason too. It would be hard to be on a jury with someone of her age. It took them a month to come to a verdict according to Fran's post. Unreal. I feel that age was a factor.

I can't believe she is still alive.

Goz

 

[tapu]

That's what I was going to say, too, Goz. My first thought when I saw she was "near death" was: My god, Dorothea Puente is just now dying??

I'm going to look up my ex on the net and see if there's anything about her and this. She's published other books, and I'm sure she must be a big blogger. I'll bring links if I find anything of interest.

LATER: She's there, in Salon, and gardening books, and stuff, but nothing about the Puente case. Shoot.

 

[SunnieRN]

Yes, I sure do remember this case. I lived in the Sacramento area around that time. I also remember having to be in downtown Sac for something and ended up driving by her house. She was definatly one of those people you would never guess just how evil they are. I'm actually surprised to hear she is still alive.

I also lived in Sacramento at the time. I couldn't believe the crowds of people around her house, for the longest time. I remember people were taking pieces of her fence and stuff, as 'trophies' to remember her by. I as others have stated, am shocked she is still alive!

 

[txsvicki]

I think this is the lady who played the grandma act, fooled the detective into letting her go get a cup of coffee, but instead ran off and it took them awhile to find her.

 

[SavageGrace]

I think this is the lady who played the grandma act, fooled the detective into letting her go get a cup of coffee, but instead ran off and it took them awhile to find her.

Yeah, that's her. Then while on the run she tried to hook-up with a man; started asking him about his pension. P-S-Y-C-H-O. :crazy:

 

[LinasK]

By Kim Minugh - kminugh@sacbee.com
Dorothea Puente, one of Sacramento's most notorious killers, is close to death, according to authorities.
The 81-year-old is being cared for at an undisclosed hospital, said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Thornton confirmed that Puente is sick with an illness, but said she could not be specific because of patient privacy rights.

Read more: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2010/09/24/1583023/dorothea-puente-close-to-death.html#ixzz10ngh1rmA​

 

[JoeFromLB]

She died this morning at the age of 82:

http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/03/27/2326679/woman-who-buried-tenants-in-yard.html#

 

[chemcopout]

http://www.smh.com.au/world/saga-of...ea-dead-at-82-20110404-1cvzk.html?from=smh_sb

dorothea puente has passed away from baattling cancer at age 82.
i hope she has finally found peace.
she may have been a serial killer, however her last battle was with cancer.
she was serving out her sentence at chowchilla women's prison in cali.

my prayers for her, her victims, and all family and friends.

 

[Quiche]

My prayer is for her victims, their families, and her neighbors. That is all.