Police uncovered seven bodies buried in the backyard of Dorothea Puente s Sacramento home in 1988
Officers did not initially suspect the seemingly-sweet grandmother had anything to do with the crime and let her take off for a coffee
Puente fled, prompting a four-day nationwide manhunt that ended in her capture
She was put on trial for the deaths of nine people, seven of whom were tenants who had leased bedrooms in her home
Puente was convicted of three murders and sentenced to life in prison; she died in 2011 having refused to confess to her crimes
A new documentary airing on Oxygen, titled Murders At The Boarding House, explores the infamous case