Also on This Day
- Lead Story
- World War I ends, 1918
- American Revolution
- Poor leadership leads to Cherry Valley Massacre, 1778
- Automotive
- The General Lee jumps into history, 1978
- Civil War
- Confederate General Benjamin McCulloch is born, 1811
- Cold War
- Soviet Union refuses to play Chile in World Cup Soccer, 1973
- Crime
- Police make a grisly discovery in Dorothea Puente's lawn, 1988
- Disaster
- Skiers die in cable-car fire, 2000
- General Interest
- Nat Turner executed in Virginia, 1831
- George Patton born, 1885
- Dedication of the Tomb of the Unknowns, 1921
- Hollywood
- Interview with the Vampire debuts, 1994
- Literary
- Louisa May Alcott publishes her first story, 1852
- Music
- Donna Summer earns her first #1 pop hit with "MacArthur Park", 1978
- Old West
- Massive dust storm sweeps South Dakota, 1933
- Presidential
- Franklin Pierce marries Jane Appleton, 1834
- James Garfield marries Lucretia Rudolph, 1858
- Sports
- Fernando Valenzuela wins Cy Young Award, 1981
- Vietnam War
- Viet Cong release U.S. prisoners of war, 1967
- Operation Commando Hunt commences, 1968
- Long Binh base turned over to South Vietnam, 1972
- World War I
- World War I ends, 1918
- World War II
- Draft age is lowered to 18, 1942
Nov 11, 1988:
Police make a grisly discovery in Dorothea Puente's lawn
On this day, authorities unearth a corpse buried in the lawn of 59-year-old Dorothea Puente's home in Sacramento, California. Puente operated a residential home for elderly people, and an investigation led to the discovery of six more bodies buried on her property. Puente was a diagnosed schizophrenic who had already been in trouble with the law. She had perviously served prison time for check forgery, as well as drugging and robbing people she met in bars. After her release, she opened a boarding house for elderly people. Beginning in 1986, social worker Peggy Nickerson sent 19 clients to Puente's home. When some of the residents mysteriously disappeared, Nickerson grew suspicious. Puente's neighbors, who reported the smell of rotting flesh emanating from her vicinity, validated Nickerson's concern. Although all the buried bodies were found to contain traces of the sedative Dalmane, the coroner was never able to identify an exact cause of death. Still, during a trial that lasted five months and included 3,100 exhibits, prosecutors were able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Puente had murdered her boarders, most likely to collect their Social Security checks. Though she was formally charged with nine counts of murder and convicted on three, authorities suspected that Puente might have been responsible for as many as 25 deaths.
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This Week in History, Nov 11 - Nov 17
- Nov 11, 1988
- Police make a grisly discovery in Dorothea Puente's lawn
- Nov 12, 1996
- High school sweethearts murder their newborn child
- Nov 12, 2004
- Scott Peterson convicted
- Nov 13, 1955
- Police search John Graham's home and find bomb-making materials
- Nov 14, 1986
- Ivan Boesky confesses to illegal stock trading activity
- Nov 15, 1923
- Accused of rape, James Montgomery's struggle for justice begins
- Nov 16, 1957
- Ed Gein kills final victim Bernice Worden
- Nov 17, 1972
- A wealthy heiress is murdered by her son
- Nov 17, 2003
- Washington, D.C., sniper John Muhammad convicted
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