Vanessa Richardson

After a series of delays, Dorothea's trial began on February 9th, 1993, when she was 64 years old.

The proceedings ended up being the longest trial in California history at the time.

The prosecution had decided to drop the fraud charges against her because they didn't want to confuse the jury.

So they focused exclusively on the murder charges.

However, there were still more than 150 witnesses and thousands of pages of documents to present to the court.

Dorothea's lawyers tried to rely on character witnesses who reiterated the goodwill Dorothea had built in the community and the number of people she had helped.

The jury ultimately deadlocked on most counts, but convicted Dorothea on three.

For much of the jury, the circumstantial evidence and the heavily decomposed remains made them hesitant to draw certain conclusions.

However, they felt certain about three victims.

They found Dorothea guilty of first-degree murder for two of her tenants, Dorothy Miller and Ben Fink, because the planning and profit were clearly evident.

Then they concluded she committed second-degree murder for Leona Carpenter.

They all agreed Dorothea killed her, but they couldn't prove she'd planned it beforehand.

In the end, Dorothea was sentenced to life without parole.

In the women's prison at Chowchilla, California, Dorothea would continue to claim her innocence.

She was a bit of a celebrity, and she relished in the attention and notoriety.

Finally, on March 27, 2011, at the age of 82, Dorothea Puente died of natural causes.

Of all the things she ever claimed to be, Dorothea never owned up to becoming the monster that she was.

Thanks so much for listening.

We'll be back next time for a deep dive into the mind of another killer.

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