Among those believed to have been murdered by Puente was Betty Palmer, who at the time of her death in 1986, would have been 77, according to Screen Rant. On August 19, she left for a doctor’s appointment and was never heard from again.
According to Oxygen (which reports she was 79 not 77), her body was later dug up, albeit with her head, hands and feet missing. Puente was later found in possession of an I.D. belonging to Palmer; however, Puente had put her own photo in place of Palmer’s, and was allegedly using it to cash Palmer’s Social Security checks. According to a court transcript provided by Casetext, Puente may have taken as much as $7,000 in benefits belonging to her boarder. Puente also allegedly forged Palmer’s signature on applications for other government benefits.
In 1993, Dorothea Puente was put on trial for nine murders. After months of testimony, and over 130 witnesses called (per the New York Post), Puente’s case was sent to the jury. Deliberations lasted several days, but the panel was ultimately deadlocked, which the New York Post attributes to some jurors possibly having been duped by Puente’s “sweet grandmother” schtick. After being instructed to continue deliberations, the jury handed down guilty verdicts for three murders: those of Dorothy Miller, Benjamin Fink, and Leona Carpenter, according to Oxygen. Puente was not convicted of Palmer’s murder.
Puente was sent to prison and died a few years later of natural causes, at the age of 83. She maintained her innocence.
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