Dorothea Puente was born as Dorothea Helen Gray on January 9, 1929, in Redlands, California. Her parents were Trudy Mae Yates and Jesse James Gray. Both of her parents struggled with alcoholism. Her father often threatened to harm himself in front of his children. He passed away from tuberculosis in 1937. In 1938, her mother, who worked as a sex worker, lost custody of her children and tragically died in a motorcycle accident later that same year. Following these events, Dorothea and her siblings were placed in an orphanage, where she experienced sexual abuse.

At the age of 16, in 1945, Dorothea got married for the first time to Fred McFaul, a soldier who had just returned from World War II. They had two daughters between 1946 and 1948. Puente made the decision to send one daughter to live with relatives in Sacramento and placed the other for adoption. During this time, she also suffered a miscarriage.

In the spring of 1948, she faced legal trouble for forging checks to buy women's accessories in Riverside. She pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery and served four months in jail, followed by three years on probation. Six months after her release, Puente left Riverside. Later that same year, her first marriage ended when Fred McFaul left her.

In 1952, she reportedly married a man named Axel Bren Johansson in San Francisco. During this time, she invented a fake identity, calling herself "Teya Singoalla Neyaarda." Their marriage was marked by turbulence, as Puente used Johansson's absence to invite other men into their home and mismanage his finances. In 1960, she was arrested for using her bookkeeping business as a front for a brothel in Sacramento. She received a sentence of ninety days in jail.

Johansson had Puente committed to DeWitt State Hospital in 1961 due to her drinking and erratic behavior. While there, doctors labeled her a pathological liar with an unstable personality. After her divorce from Johansson in 1966, she still used his name for a time. Dorothea adopted the identity of "Sharon Johansson" to create the image of a devout Christian woman and gained a reputation as a caregiver, helping young women escape hard situations without charge.

In 1968, she married Roberto Jose Puente but they separated after sixteen months, citing domestic abuse. She attempted to divorce him. However, Roberto fled to Mexico, and the divorce was not finalized until 1973. Dorothea continued using the Puente surname for many years.

After her divorce, Puente began to run a boarding house in Sacramento. She positioned herself as a resource for the local community, assisting those who were poor, homeless, or mentally ill. She also organized Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and helped individuals sign up for Social Security benefits. Puente transformed her public image by dressing in vintage clothes, wearing large glasses, and letting her hair go gray. She became known in the local Hispanic community for her charity work, which included funding scholarships and radio programs.

Dorothea eventually married Pedro Angel Montalvo, but he left her just a week after their wedding. In 1978, she was convicted for cashing checks that belonged to her boarding house tenants and was sentenced to five years' probation. This streak of legal troubles marked a significant period in her early life.

On January 16, 1982, Dorothea Puente picked up a 74-year-old man named Malcolm McKenzie from a bar. She took him to her apartment, where he later reported that she slipped something into his drink. While he was incapacitated, she robbed him of his valuables, including a diamond ring that belonged to his mother.

On April 28, 1982, the body of 61-year-old Ruth Munroe was found. She had died from respiratory depression caused by an overdose of codeine. Munroe was reported to be in good health before arriving at Puente's home. Just three days before her death, she expressed to a friend that she felt very sick.

On May 16, 1982, another woman named Dorothy Osborne, who was 49, discovered that checks and credit cards were missing from her home shortly after Puente visited her and prepared a drink.

In July 1982, Puente was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of three grand theft charges. While in prison, she corresponded with 77-year-old Everson Theodore Gillmouth. After her release on September 9, 1985, she hired a handyman to make a large storage box. The box became too heavy for him to carry, and Puente eventually discarded it near a river. Gillmouth’s body was later found inside this box. His body had been wrapped in multiple plastic bags and covered with a sheet.

In the fall of 1986, 78-year-old Betty Mae Palmer moved into Puente's boarding house. Puente forged documents to cash Palmer's Social Security checks, which amounted to nearly $7,000. In November 1988, Palmer’s dismembered body was discovered in Puente’s yard.

Another victim, Leona Carpenter, 78, was added to the list. Puente obtained power of attorney over her after a flurazepam overdose and began cashing her checks. Carpenter disappeared a short time after returning to live with Puente, and her body was later found on the property.

In 1987, James Gallop, 62, entered Puente's home. He had health issues, but Puente told his doctor that Gallop had left for Los Angeles. His body was uncovered under a gazebo on Puente's property.

Eugene Gamel, 58, was believed to have died from a suicide, but Puente was still thought to be involved due to his close ties to her.

In 1987, Vera Faye Martin, 61, and Dorothy Miller, 65, also went missing after living in Puente's home. Their bodies were later discovered buried in her yard, revealing that they had both been victims.

Alvaro Gonzales Montoya, 51, was another resident whose case raised suspicion. When a social worker could not contact him, it led to further investigation into Puente's activities. Montoya's body was eventually found buried on her property with toxic substances in his system.

On November 11, 1988, police began digging into the backyard of Puente's home after a tip-off regarding Montoya's disappearance. They uncovered multiple bodies, leading to an arrest of Puente, who fled but was eventually captured at a motel.

Puente faced trial for nine counts of murder, with evidence showing that she drugged her victims before killing them. After years of delays, she was convicted of three murders in August 1993. Eventually, she received a life sentence without parole.

Puente passed away from natural causes in prison on March 27, 2011, at the age of 82.