Buried Beneath the Boarding House
Ryan Green
A book-length account for readers who want more detail.
1982–1988 · Sacramento, California
Dorothea Puente’s boarding house
The story behind Buried Beneath the Boarding House
Photo credit
Sacramento Police Department / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (U.S.). Cropped/resized.Photographs are cropped to fit. Photo dates and original images are available through the source credits.
Police searching Dorothea Puente’s Sacramento boarding house in 1988 found bodies buried in the yard. Puente had been collecting benefit checks belonging to vulnerable tenants, some of whom had disappeared. The discoveries contradicted her image as a caring landlady. She was ultimately convicted of three murders.
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The Story
When1982–1988
WhereSacramento, California
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Worst Roommate Ever — Call Me Grandma: Netflix episode guide
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Dorothea Puente Part 2
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Blogs & essays
1 itemsAbout these sources
Outside essays and reading guides reflect their authors’ perspectives. Compare claims with reported and primary sources.
Crime Library · Blog / essay
Dorothea Puente, Killing for Profit
An outside blog or essay discussing Dorothea Puente’s boarding house. Read the author’s analysis alongside the dated reporting and court sources in this case guide. Some publishers require a subscription.
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Books
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Books
1 itemsRyan Green
Buried Beneath the Boarding House
A nonfiction account of this case. See the linked edition for publication details and available formats.
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Movies & TV
Movies
1 itemsAbout these sources
Watch links, previews and title listings are identified below. Rentals or subscriptions may be required.
IMDb · Screen title
Dorothea (2025)
A fictionalized horror treatment of Dorothea Puente, directed by Chad Ferrin. The film’s imagined personal history and dramatic scenes are not established evidence. The cinematheque listing identifies it as fiction.
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TV & documentaries
3 itemsAbout these sources
Episodes, documentaries and title listings. Season and episode numbers follow the linked catalog and can differ by service. Air dates are separate from crime dates. Playback availability varies by service and region.
Netflix
Worst Roommate Ever — Call Me Grandma: Netflix episode guide
Nonfiction screen coverage of this case. The linked page identifies the program or episode; playback, subscriptions, and regional availability vary.
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IMDb · TV episode
World's Most Evil Killers — Dorothea Puente (2018)
IMDb episode reference connected to the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Listed release: 2018. Cast, credits, and title information; viewing availability is separate.
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Investigation Discovery · Season 2, Episode 6 · Listed air date 2008-11-13
Deadly Women — Predators
Includes coverage of Dorothea Puente’s boarding house. This is one segment in a multi-case episode; other segments may cover cases outside the United States.
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Search Amazon · paid linkEpisode details on TVmaze
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Episode data: TVmaze · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Audiobooks
Listen to a book connected to this story. Each edition below is matched to its author and audiobook source.
Audiobook
Buried Beneath the Boarding House: A Shocking True Story of Deception, Exploitation and Murder
Unabridged
Audio edition verified at the linked source. The Amazon button is a title search; Amazon availability is not confirmed.
Edition checked 2026-10-12
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Fiction Work
Fiction Work
Browse all →Scripted stories and fictional inspirations. Scenes, characters, and dialogue can differ from the record.
IMDb · Screen title
Dorothea (2025)
A fictionalized horror treatment of Dorothea Puente, directed by Chad Ferrin. The film’s imagined personal history and dramatic scenes are not established evidence. The cinematheque listing identifies it as fiction.
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Search Amazon · paid linkViewing options & film details
Title search; Amazon availability is not confirmed. Check the edition, format, and viewing region.
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Podcasts
Podcasts
16 itemsAbout these sources
Audio episodes and oral histories. Personal recollections are attributed perspectives; some services require sign-in.
Morbid
Dorothea Puente Part 2
Podcast coverage of the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Released December 7, 2021. About 68 minutes.
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Morbid
Dorothea Puente Part 1 AKA Hell's House Mother
Podcast coverage of the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Released December 6, 2021. About 76 minutes.
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True Crime Conversations
Dorothea Puente: The Serial Killer Granny
Podcast coverage of the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Released April 3, 2024. About 47 minutes.
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RedHanded
Episode 284 - Dorothea Puente: The Boarding House of Death
Podcast coverage of the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Released February 9, 2023. About 53 minutes.
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Killer Psyche
Encore - Dorothea Puente: Killer Landlord
Podcast coverage of the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Released August 27, 2024. About 43 minutes.
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California True Crime
Dorothea Puente Part 1
Podcast coverage of the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Released May 10, 2018. About 63 minutes.
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True Crime All The Time
Dorothea Puente "The Death House Landlady"
Podcast coverage of the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Released June 12, 2017. About 77 minutes.
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Outlore with Eleanor Neale
41: The Death House Landlady, Dorothea Puente (Part 1)
Podcast coverage of the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Released September 5, 2023. About 48 minutes.
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Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast
[Serial Killer] The Crimes of Dorothea Puente: The Boarding House of Horrors
Podcast coverage of the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Released September 24, 2019. About 39 minutes.
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This Is Monsters
The Story of Dorothea Puente
Podcast coverage of the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Released April 4, 2021. About 13 minutes.
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Every Town
Sacramento, CA - Death House Landlady - Dorothea Puente
Podcast coverage of the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Released September 12, 2021. About 30 minutes.
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Lights Out
Dorothea Puente: The Demented Granny Who Buried Bodies In The Yard
Podcast coverage of the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Released July 16, 2021. About 52 minutes.
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Outlore with Eleanor Neale
43: The Death House Landlady, Dorothea Puente (Part 3)
Podcast coverage of the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Released September 12, 2023. About 45 minutes.
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Rotten Mango
#60: The Death Room Murders (Serial Killer - Dorothea Puente)
Podcast coverage of the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Released May 3, 2021. About 84 minutes.
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Rotten Mango · Stephanie Soo
Rotten Mango — Dorothea Puente’s boarding house (Episode 60)
Episode 60 discusses Dorothea Puente’s boarding house. The official episode page identifies this case and provides the show’s listening options. Contains descriptions of violence; this is podcast commentary, not a court record.
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Murder Phone · Tony & Al Ciaglia · November 28, 2022
Murder Phone — Dorothea Puente Mention (S3 E9)
Puente receives a short discussion in an episode mainly about Arthur Shawcross, poetry and prison correspondence. This is a related mention rather than a full Puente episode. Explicit content.
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Social Media
BRING YOUR PERSPECTIVE
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News & Reading
More Reading & Audio
2 sourcesExplore book records, previews, library audiobooks and selected documents. Access labels distinguish free material from library loans and paid subscriptions.
Open Library · Catalog / Availability
The bone garden by Wood, William P.
Bibliographic record for related reading. Check the edition page for previews, lending and other access options; full text has not been confirmed.
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Google Books · Catalog / Availability
Disturbed Ground
Related book record. Google may offer selected pages or another edition; full-book access is not confirmed.
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Reading Access Notes
Search reviewed 2026-09-16. Sources searched: Google Books, Internet Archive, Open Library, Library of Congress, Smithsonian Magazine, The Atavist Magazine, Google Books (case/title search), Scribd, Everand, OverDrive and hoopla (combined title search). Search indexing is incomplete; this is not an exhaustive list of the web. Access can change by edition, country and library membership. Library loans may require sign-in or a wait. Everand titles may need a paid subscription; a trial is not permanent free access. Scribd documents are third-party uploads, with uploader details noted where checked. We link to source pages and write our own descriptions rather than reproducing copyrighted books.
A separate Texas Monthly search was blocked by the publisher’s automated-access rules and could not be verified.
News & reporting
1 itemscapitolweekly.net
Reporting and case background
Linked reporting or commentary. Read the source date for its historical context; access may require a subscription.
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Newspaper clippings
1 itemsFeatured newspaper clipping
Read our original summary below. The archive link opens the newspaper’s own clipping viewer.
The Sacramento Bee · 1993-08-27 · Page 1
Puente convicted of three murders
The local verdict report explains the three convictions and the jury’s deadlock on six other charges.
Historical reporting; read in the context of its publication date.
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Internet Archive
2 itemsAbout these sources
Library records and preserved media. A catalog listing does not guarantee full reading or playback.
Internet Archive · Library record · 2004
The bone garden : the Sacramento boardinghouse murders
Wood, William P. A library catalog record for a book connected with Dorothea Puente’s boarding house. The record may offer a preview or borrowing options; full reading access is not guaranteed.
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Internet Archive · Library record · 2014
Bodies in the back garden : true stories of brutal murders close to home
Cawthorne, Nigel, 1951- author. A library catalog record for a book connected with Dorothea Puente’s boarding house. The record may offer a preview or borrowing options; full reading access is not guaranteed.
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Court & Files
Court records & documents
1 itemsAbout these sources
Documents are labeled by type and scope. Allegations in filings are not findings of guilt. This collection is not the complete case file.
Habeas orderGovernment repository
Puente v. Mitchell — order denying federal habeas relief
The court reviews Dorothea Montalvo Puente’s challenges to her murder convictions, including the evidence, jury instructions, and alleged juror misconduct. The opinion includes an extensive account of the underlying prosecution.
- Court / agency
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- Document date
- March 10, 2006
- Case / citation
- C 02-4129 JSW · Document 45
- Hosted by
- GovInfo
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Positive Outcome
Positive Outcome
0 itemsAbout these sources
Documented laws, advocacy and reforms. Listing a change does not claim it is effective or universally supported.
No case-specific reform has been verified for this collection yet.
Social Media
12 itemsAbout these sources
Case-specific posts, videos and communities. Community opinions are separate from verified reporting. Platforms may require sign-in.
The New Detectives
The Landlady Killer: Dorothea Puente | The New Detectives
Video from The New Detectives covering the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Length: 50:03.
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SWOOP
The Most AWFUL Woman Ever: Dorothea Puente's House of Horror | Making a Monster
Video from SWOOP covering the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Length: 1:22:24.
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The Casual Criminalist
Dorothea Puente: The Devil's Golden Girl
Video from The Casual Criminalist covering the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Length: 1:31:03.
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Absolute Crime
The Landlady Of Death: Dorothea Puente's House Of Horrors | Most Evil Killers | Absolute Crime
Video from Absolute Crime covering the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Length: 43:41.
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Banijay Crime - Crime Documentary
Dorothea Puente's Dark Secrets - Deadly Women - S02 EP06
Video from Banijay Crime - Crime Documentary covering the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Length: 1:00:23.
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OUTLORE with Eleanor Neale
DOROTHEA PUENTE'S GARDEN OF CORPSES
Video from OUTLORE with Eleanor Neale covering the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Length: 44:49.
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Show 6 more social media
FilmRise True Crime
World's Most Evil Killers - Season 2, Episode 8 - Dorothea Puente - Full Episode
Full episode or film as labeled by the publisher from FilmRise True Crime covering the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Length: 43:55.
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Dr. Todd Grande
Boarding House Serial Killer | Dorothea Puente Case Analysis
Video from Dr. Todd Grande covering the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Length: 12:04.
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Oxygen
Detectives Find Body In Dorothea Puente’s Yard | Murders at the Boarding House | Oxygen
Video from Oxygen covering the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Length: 7:59.
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Murdered and Missing News
This Week in True Crime History: The Victims of Dorothea Puente
Video from Murdered and Missing News covering the Dorothea Puente’s boarding house case. Length: 1:12:42.
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Reddit · r/Sacramento
Discussion: Worst Roommate Ever (Netflix) - our very own Dorothea Puente is featured!
Public community discussion connected to Dorothea Puente’s boarding house. Posts and comments are reader perspectives, not independently verified reporting.
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Reddit · r/Sacramento
Discussion: It was 35 years ago today, on November 11, 1988, that the first of several bodies were discovered buried in the yard of…
Public community discussion connected to Dorothea Puente’s boarding house. Posts and comments are reader perspectives, not independently verified reporting.
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