Dorothea Puente’s case made national headlines in the late 1980s when she was accused of killing nine individuals over the course of six years.
‘Call Me Grandma,’ the first episode of Netflix’s ‘Worst Roommate Ever,’ dives into this case and how a lady who was previously regarded as a community leader could have done these crimes.
Dorothea ran a boarding home for the poor at the time, and many of the residents became her victims. So, if you’re wondering what happened to her house since then, you’re in luck.
Recommended: Who Were Dorothea Puente’s Victims?
What is the Dorothea Puente’s House Location?
Dorothea had a difficult upbringing. She was abused as a child and struggled with mental illness as an adult, eventually ending herself in prison.
However, she appeared to have turned her life around in the 1980s, when she moved into a Victorian cottage at 1426 F Street in Sacramento, California.
To the outside world, it appeared to be a welcoming environment. Dorothea takes in the homeless, disabled, and persons struggling with mental health difficulties.
Dorothea also organised regular food drives, made financial contributions to various charities, and frequently attended charity fundraisers. Her house appeared to be a shelter for anyone in need of a place to stay.
However, after one of the tenants went missing in 1988, authorities learned the bungalow was a house of horrors, quickly discovering that the backyard was a burial ground for several people Dorothea was accused of murdering.
Authorities questioned Dorothea after Alvaro “Bert” Montoya went missing, but they didn’t believe she had anything to do with what transpired.
However, they uncovered many decomposing humans remains when they examined the house and later dug up the backyard. There were a total of seven bodies in the end.
Dorothea was suspected of poisoning and killing her tenants while collecting their social security payments, according to the authorities.
Dorothea stood trial in October 1992 after being arrested in Los Angeles, California. All of the victims, she maintained, died of natural causes.
However, the prosecution alleged Dorothea had drugged them, smothered them, and hired others to bury them in the backyard. She was found guilty of only three of the nine murders she was accused of. Dorothea passed away in 2011 while incarcerated.
Does ‘Dorothea Puente’s House Still Exist Or Not?
While most properties where such terrible things happen are demolished, Dorothea’s boarding house, which was erected in 1890, is a recognised historic landmark and cannot be demolished.
Tom Williams and Barbara Holmes, a married couple, purchased it in a public auction in 2011.
For many, it has evolved into a disturbing tourist attraction. “I thought we could just slap a new coat of paint on it and let folks forget,” Barbara explained.
They did, however, opt to incorporate the house’s past by placing visual gags and placards outside. The property where the bodies were buried was turned into a children’s playground in 2020.