Vanessa Richardson

But when it comes to someone as cold and calculated as Dorothea Puente, the deceit can leave scars that last a lifetime.

Dorothea spent decades perfecting her innocent act.

She convinced everyone around her that she was a respectable, charitable woman.

Some people even viewed her as a savior.

But Dorothea was the opposite.

And when she finally crossed paths with someone she couldn't trick, the world learned she was nothing more than a cold-hearted killer.

The human mind is powerful.

It shapes how we think, feel, love, and hate.

But sometimes it drives people to commit the unthinkable.

This is Killer Minds, a Crime House original.

I'm Vanessa Richardson.

Crime House is made possible by you.

Follow Killer Minds and subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts for ad-free early access to each two-part series.

Before we get started, you should know this episode contains descriptions of child abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence, and murder.

Today we conclude our deep dive on Dorothea Puente, a scammer turned serial killer who posed as a caretaker to gain people's trust and bleed them dry.

Dorothea hid her crimes in plain sight, but eventually people caught on to the woman known as the Death House Landlady, and the true extent of her heartless crimes was revealed.

And as always, we'll be asking the question, what makes a killer?

By 1982, 53-year-old Dorothea Puente had drugged and killed one of her boarding house tenants, a woman in her 60s named Ruth Monroe.

Shortly afterward, Dorothea drugged and robbed a man in his 70s named Malcolm McKenzie after meeting him at a bar.

Dorothea thought she was getting away with her escalating crimes.