Leona Carpenter was 78 when she died in Sacramento in 1987 while in the care of boarding house operator Dorothea Puente at 1426 F Street. Carpenter had been recently discharged from the hospital, was described as frail and barely able to move, and spent weeks in visible agony on a sofa before she disappeared. Her remains were uncovered in the backyard during a November 1988 excavation; detectives found a buried, decomposing body later identified as Carpenter, and one detective reportedly mistook a leg bone for a tree root during the dig.

Authorities charged Puente with multiple murders after discovering Carpenter and other buried victims. At trial, the jury convicted Puente of three murders, including second-degree murder in Carpenter’s death, finding that Carpenter died from a drug overdose administered by Puente though the exact method of administration was not established. Carpenter’s grave was the first found on the property and prompted the search that revealed additional bodies.

If anyone knew Carpenter, her time at the F Street boarding house, or observed activity at that address in 1987–1988, please share what you remember.