The 2022 documentary Worst Rommate Ever covered the story of Dorothea Puente, a mother of two daughters, who pleaded guilty to three homicides, though her total count of homicide had reached nine.
Death House Landlady, aka Dorothea, born as the sixth of seven children, passed away in prison on March 27, 2011, from natural causes at the age of 82.
Season 1 of Worst Rommate Ever covered four cases of Dorothea, K.C. Joy, Youssef Khater, and Jamison Bachman. Meanwhile, season 2 of the docuseries is set to premiere today on June 26, 2024.
Worst Roommate Ever
IMDb DocumentaryCrime ThrillerWhen Alex Miller let Jed Creek rent her room via Craigslist, she had no idea that he was a notorious serial squatter and that he would slowly use his knowledge of tenancy laws to kick her out of her own home.
| Director | Domini Hofmann |
| Release Date | March 1, 2022 |
| Studio | Blumhouse Television |
| Cast | Alex Miller, Susan Miller, Arleen Hairbaedian |
| Runtime | 47 minutes |
| Writers | Domini Hofmann |
| Rating | TV-MA |
Dorothea Puente’s daughter, Linda Bloom, didn’t know about her until 1982!
The American serial criminal Dorothea Puente married Fred McFaul, a soldier when she was 16 years old after running from a relative’s house.
The couple reportedly welcomed two daughters between 1946 and 1948 but didn’t raise them.
She sent her elder daughter to live with relatives in Sacramento and placed her younger child, Linda Bloom, for adoption.
Dorothea Puente’s daughter, Linda Bloom, the youngest of two, is a South Pasadena property manager and space planner.
Reportedly, Linda testified before the court, saying Dorothea put her up for adoption when she was just 3 months old.
Unfortunately, Linda had no idea about the identity of her birth mother, Dorothea, until 1982, when she was expecting her own child.
Later, Dorothy’s brother, James G. Gray, the oldest of her six siblings, contacted Linda and provided exclusive details about her birth mother.
Linda revealed that Dorothea had a warm and welcoming aura, reminiscing the time when they first started talking.
Dorothea Puente may have looked every bit the placid old lady she played. But, in reality, she was in her early fifties and using her self-made status as a ‘pillar of the community’ to divert attention away… from what was buried and rotting in her garden. pic.twitter.com/kk45VMO0Wz
— RedHanded (@RedHandedthepod) February 9, 2023
They finally met in August 1988 at Dorothea’s house on F Street when Linda stopped briefly at her mother’s house while visiting Sacramento with her family.
During the meeting, Dorothea confessed she loved Linda very much; however, she gave her up for adoption because of the lack of resources.
Similarly, she also confronted about her troubled childhood but didn’t go deep into the intricate details.
Later, Linda learned much about the family history from the daughter of one of Dorothea’s brothers.
Although Dorothea had four husbands, Fred McFaul, Axel Bren Johansson, Roberto Jose Puente, and Pedro Montalvo, she had only children with Fred.
Born as Dorothea Helen Gray, the mother of two took the last name of her third husband, Roberto Jose Puente.
Additional Information
- William Harder, a man who claims to be Dorothea’s grandson, says he had a great relationship with her.
- Dorothea Puente lost her parents, father, Jesse James Gray, and mother, Trudie Mae Gray, and older sister in less than three years.
- Dorothea’s father, Jesse James Gray, had been exposed to mustard gas during World War I and returned troubled with tuberculosis and a severe depression.
- Her mother, Trudie Mae Gray, passed away in a motorcycle accident when she was 9.
