Dorothea Puente house has QR code installed out front for curious visitors
SACRAMENTO — You may know it as The Boarding House Murders, the Puente killings, or the bodies that were dug up on F Street.
Over the years, the story of one of Sacramento's most notorious serial killers, Dorothea Puente, who drugged her tenants, then buried them in her yard, has only grown. Now it has a new addition adding to the intrigue.
As the birds chirp and the cars whiz by, the home where a cold-blooded caretaker-turned-unexpected-killer once lived sits quietly. There are messages finding humor in the horror: a mannequin resembling the woman behind it all and now a QR code for the curious not to get in but to dig into the twisted tale that's given so many people that tragic tug.
To find out more, scan the code. It takes you to one of the more popular documentaries done on the Puente home called "The House Is Innocent."
Tom Williams and his wife, Barbara, bought the Puente house in 2010. From day one, they've lived with its horror story-like history.
"When we bought the house, it was either embrace it or be buried under it," Tom said.
The QR code is the next chapter in this story of acceptance.
"I think it keeps people occupied outside the gate without worrying about coming in," Tom said.
So how many visitors are scanning it?
"It's been crazy successful. We've had well over 3,000 people just signing on to that, not counting the ones that don't sign on to it," Tom said.
It's a house that continues to tell stories long after one of the most horrific ones in Sacramento's history played out. And that QR code may need to be updated soon as more projects documenting the dark history of the Puente house are in the works.