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Conviction 1986 Homicide

Dorothy Miller

Status Conviction
Type Homicide
Date 1986
Location Sacramento, California
Victim Age Unknown
Gender Female

Dorothy Miller was one of Dorothy Puente's victims at the Sacramento boarding house. Her death was among those discovered when seven bodies were found buried in Puente's yard in 1988. Puente's conviction covered three murders with the remaining deaths treated as circumstantial.

Dorothy Miller is documented in the ColdCaseIndex database as a homicide case in Sacramento, California. The events are dated to 1986. The victim is recorded as female. The last known information on record places the case at 1986, Puente's boarding house, Sacramento, CA.

Within the ColdCaseIndex taxonomy, Dorothy Miller is filed under Homicide with a status of Conviction. A homicide entry documents a killing in which the perpetrator has not been identified, has not been convicted, or where the case is otherwise historically notable. The record is cross-referenced under the themes homicide, California, serial killer, Dorothy Puente, conviction, which connect it to related cases across the database.

The Dorothy Miller case ended in a criminal conviction. It is retained in this index as a historically significant case — one whose investigation, prosecution, or aftermath shaped forensic practice, criminal law, or the public understanding of violent crime.

Primary jurisdiction for the Dorothy Miller case rests with local law enforcement in Sacramento, supported by California state investigative authorities. The case sits within a wider national picture: the U.S. homicide clearance rate has fallen from roughly 90% in the 1960s to about 54% today, and more than 346,000 homicides recorded since 1965 remain unsolved. ColdCaseIndex documents individual cases like this one to keep them publicly visible and searchable.

homicide California serial killer Dorothy Puente conviction
Last Known Information
1986, Puente's boarding house, Sacramento, CA
Date of Incident
1986
Current Status
Conviction

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