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In Female Serial Killers, Peter Vronsky details how Puente hosted a dinner for social workers and the residents who suffered from alcoholism every few weeks "where the quality of her food and care was put on display.". She was put on trial in 1993 for the nine murders. However, "it's unlikely Dorothea received any psychological counseling," and there's no record of a clear diagnosis from the facility. Multiple murder suspect Dorothea Montalvo Puente, right, is brought back to Sacramento from the LA area in the early morning hours of November 17, 1988. Her trial commenced in February of 1993 and she was tried for the killings of the following people - which include her former boyfriend and her eight tenants: Dorothea was convicted of three out of nine murder counts and sentenced to life in prison in August of 1993. In 1993, after several days of deliberations and a deadlocked jury (due in part to her grandmotherly disposition), Dorothea Puente was ultimately convicted of three murders and received back-to-back life sentences. But after installing a concrete slab in the boarding house basement and one over the foundation of the garage, "Chief" disappeared. The following year, she died in a motorcycle accident. Seven bodies were discovered, belonging to Bert Montoya, Leona Carpenter, Dorothy Miller, Benjamin Fink, James Gallop, Vera Faye Martin, and Betty Palmer. This story originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced here with permission. Florida family found dead in pool identified as mom reveals dad and kids went on daily swim that came to a 'sudden end'. Satisfied, the authorities ruled Monroes death a suicide and moved on. When Dorothea Puente was 17 years old, she married 22-year-old GI Fred McFaul, and they moved to Gardnerville, Nevada. A human leg and a badly discomposed foot were dug up separately in another part of the yard. Florez agreed, and Puente assisted him. These entities fall through the cracks, said Kathleen Lammers, executive director of the California Law Center on Longterm Care, about boarding houses like Puentes. All the tenants had died from a cocktail of drugs, including the sedativeDalmane, which Puente obtained dozens of prescriptions for, claiming it was to help her boarders sleep. She never said anything. Here's what you need to know about Dorothea Puente, the subject of the new two-partOxygenspecial "Murders At The Boarding House," airing on Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18 at 7/6c on Oxygen. Her boarding house provided the opportunityto siphon money from those less fortunate than her and poisonthem with drugs. She established her reputation as a caregiver, providing young women with a sanctuary from poverty and abuse without charge. ", They added: "You can not judge a book by its cover and she had one heck of a cover.". She was incarcerated at Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla, California. She denied everything.. She was given five years of probation, which included the stipulation that she was forbidden from running a boarding house. Charged with a total of nine murders, Puente was flown back to Sacramento. She established herself as a genuine resource to the community to aid alcoholics, homeless people, and mentally ill people by holding Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and assisting individuals to sign up to receive Social Security benefits. [3] Her parents were both alcoholics and her father repeatedly threatened to commit suicide in front of his children. Prosecutors said that Puente was one of the most cold and calculating female killers the country had ever seen. Dorothea Puente, the Sacramento Victorian boarding house Landlady where police found seven bodies buried in her yard. The police returned and searched the house. This piece follows what appears to be the most accepted timeline of Puente's life, but some things remain known only to Puente herself. Puente ran a boarding house out of a two-story Victorian home on F Street for years . Puente was charged for seven murders, but her trial wouldn't begin for another four years. [1] Her childhood was not an easy one her mother was an abusive alcoholic who died when she was 10 and her father died when she was 8, Sactown Magazine reported in 2008. If anyone had their suspicions, they didn't voice them. The man was left conscious but paralyzed, and he watched Puente rob his apartment. Despite maintaining her innocence until the day she died, Puente has been immortalized as one of America's most notorious female serial killers. One of these was of a 61-year-old woman named Ruth Monroe, who Puente persuaded to move into her house in April 1982, when her husband died. Given Dorothea Puente's image, this meant the controversial artist, Shane Bugbee, would collaborate with her on a cookbook. These were people the Salvation Army wouldn't take them. Bride ditches flower girls for Fireball fairies in v Woman fatally shot by upstate NY homeowner after pulling into wrong driveway: sheriff, Haribo fans shocked to learn green gummy bear flavor: 'Calling the police', 'Yellowstone' to end after 5 seasons but no one knows when it will air or even film as star and creator go to war, Victoria Justice addresses longtime rumor that shes jealous of Ariana Grande, Billie Lee defends Tom Sandoval hangout, claps back at Kristen Doute, Jessie James Deckers sister trolls United after being humiliated on flight, Todays Iconic Moment in NY Sports: Wayne Gretzky plays final NHL game, 'Mike & Molly' star Billy Gardell details 150-pound weight loss: My diabetes is 'gone'. Dorothea Puente (birth name Dorothea Gray) was born in 1929 in Redlands, California. Moise initially asked Puente where Montoya was, but Puente gave conflicting stories. The Los Angeles Review of Books writes that Puente was arrested and convicted "of forging her tenants' signatures on their benefits checks." [citation needed], Granting a change of venue motion filed by Puente's lawyers, Kevin Clymo and Peter Vlautin III, a judge transferred the trial to Monterey County. They had two daughters between 1946 and 1948; Gray sent one child to live with relatives in Sacramento, and placed the other for adoption. I dont think anyone would pick this kind of life. cold and calculating female killers the country had ever seen., serial killer known as the Angel of Death, Aileen Wuornos, historys most terrifying female serial killer. The tenant backed Puente up but then slipped the cop a note saying thatPuente was forcing him to lie, the magazine reported. Puente struck out on her own when she was 16. Monroe had just moved in with Puente when she died of an overdose but a coroner couldn't determine if it was homicide or suicide,The Los Angeles Times reported in 1993. 104-107. Puente's alleged grandson, William Harder (pictured), insists his grandmother wasn't all bad. And since she never reported their deaths, "their social security checks continued to come in, and Puente continued to forge their signatures and collect the cash.". At one moment, he was said to be in Utah, while at another, she claimed that he went back to Mexico, despite the fact that he was from Costa Rica, writes LARB. Puente cashed in the Social Security checks of the elderly and disabled boarders living in her house. And she didnt buy Puentes explanation that hed left on vacation. She immediately began doing both of those things." Johansson wasn't pleased to find this out when he returned, so they would frequently argue as a result, often about Puente's gambling and drinking as well. While in prison, Dorothea Puente started corresponding with 77-year-old Everson Gillmouth through a pen pal exchange for imprisoned women. On November 29, 1987, Trujillo wrote a letter to the Social Security Administration detailing her suspicions that Puente was stealing her SSI checks. Preview. On New Years Day, a fisherman spotted the box, noticed that it looked suspiciously like a coffin, and informed the police. But her behavior didn't change. By 1982, Puente was sent to prison for her thefts. However, since many of her victims were houseless or otherwise vulnerable individuals, it's impossible to determine an exact number. Puente's heinous crimes were eventually discovered in 1988, when Alberto Montoya, a mentally disabled and schizophrenic tenant, was reported missing by a social worker. After declaring "the Samaritans" bankrupt, Dorothea Puente promptly set up a new boarding house on 2100 F Street in a large 16-bedroom Victorian house in the early 1970s. In 2015, the Ghost Adventures crew investigated the house, due to reports of hauntings by the victims and Puente herself. I made them change their clothes every day, take a bath every day and eat three meals a day When they came to me, they were so sick, they werent expected to live.. She was given five years probation and ordered to pay $4,000 in restitution. Puente's first victimmay not have been one of her boarders, though. The 1991 film Evil Spirits, starring Karen Black and Arte Johnson, is loosely based on the Puente murders. Dorothea Puente was captured in 1988 after killing seven residents and burying their dismembered bodies his her backyard, in Sacramento, California The seemingly sweet old lady proves looks can. It was difficult to determine, though, whether she had poisoned the tenants or if they had taken the fatal overdoses themselves, according to Sactown Magazine. But, the next day, as the police started digging up other areas of the garden, she asked permission to go and meet her nephew for a coffee to calm her nerves. Those who stayed at the boarding house signed their checks directly over to her, while Puente claimed that she was doing this to protect the residents. Pathologists testified that they hadnt been able to fix the cause of death for any of the corpses. Finally, they found the body of78-year-old Leona Carpenter, and the police realized what they thought was beef jerky was actually human flesh. But eventually, police searching for a missing tenant spotted a patch of disturbed dirt near the boarding house and uncovered the first of several bodies. The boarders who were found dead on her property include Dorothy Miller, a 64-year-old war veteran who died in October 1987; Benjamin Fink, a 55-year-old alcoholic who died in April 1988;Leona Carpenter, a very ill widow who died in 1987; Bert Montoya, a man with intellectual disabilities who died in 1988; Betty Palmer, 78; James Gallop, a 62-year-old with various health issues; and Vera Faye Martin, 64. I can't eat this any more! She also established herself as a respected member in Sacramento's Hispanic community, funding charities, scholarships, and radio programs. Dorothea often took in the elderly and homeless and placed them as her tenants. According to Sactown Magazine, the jury deliberated for 24 days, "the longest deliberation in a murder case in state history," and convicted Puente on three out of the nine killings in August 1993. This is the disturbing story of Dorothea Puente, the Death House Landlady.. Her father died of tuberculosis when Puente was eight while her mother, an alcoholic, routinely abused her children and died in a motorcycle accident a year later. In Olympia, Washington, she tried to make a living as a prostitute. Grandson of killer granny Dorothea Puente, who laced cakes with sleeping pills and then smothered them at her California boarding house, reveals how he shared a 'real connection' with her and . By 1937, Puente's father had passed away, and her mother lost custody of the children. But John slipped them a message. [11], Puente has been featured on numerous true crime television shows, including Crime Stories,[12] Deadly Women,[13] A Stranger in My Home,[14] World's Most Evil Killers,[15] and Worst Roommate Ever.[16]. At one point, she tried to earn a living as a sex worker in Washington state. As King Charles announces his Coronation meal, FEMAIL reveals how eggy dish 'Have they seen the supermarket shelves recently? Dorothea Puente looked like a sweet grandmother but looks can be deceiving. Suspicions first arose about Puente in 1988, after Judy, an outreach counsellor with Volunteers of America, noticed 52-year-old Alvaro Montoya someone shed placed at Puentes house had vanished. [citation needed], O'Mara called over 130 witnesses; he argued to the jury that Puente had used sleeping pills to put her tenants to sleep, then suffocated them, and hired convicts to dig the holes in her yard. She then asked Florez to transport the filled, sealed box to a storage depot. Puente continued to collect Gillmouth's pension and wrote letters to his family, explaining that the reason he had not contacted them was because he was ill. She continued to maintain a boarding house, taking in forty new tenants. We've received your submission. Despite the fact that parole officers visited Dorothea Puente's boarding house numerous times and were aware of the stipulation that she stay away from elderly people and not handle government checks, nothing ever happened. Dorothea Puente right before she fled Sacramento. Eventually, the "Death House Landlady" would then drug her tenants to the point of rendering them incapacitated. On March 27, 2011, Dorothea died at the age of 82 from natural causes. 1:29. She asked Florez to build a 6-by-3-by-2-foot box to store "books and other items". Dorothea Puente ran a boarding house for the elderly, disabled, or otherwise ailing in Sacramento, California, but her motives were anything but altruistic. She eventually met and married Pedro Angel Montalvo, though Montalvo abruptly left the relationship a week after their marriage. Although Puente was eventually charged with the murder of nine individuals, it's likely that there were more victims. Dorothea Puente, also known as the Death House Landlady, was a little-old-lady serial killer who preyed on the elderly and drug-addicted men and women of Sacramento, CA in the 1980s. Everson Gillmouth, 77. 1:08. Once there, Puente drugged him. Although their marriage lasted over ten years, most accounts agree that it was an unhappy and violent relationship. There, Puente was described as having an unstable personality, and she was prescribed an antipsychotic for the first time. Six more corpses would follow, but Puente was still on the run. But God always puts obstacles in peoples way.". Email us atexclusive@the-sun.comor call212 416 4552. Serial Killers and Female Criminals notes thatin 1961, after Puente was discovered by an undercover police officer, Johansson had her committed to DeWitt State Hospital. But the jury had a difficult time believe the matronly grandmother was capable of carrying out such menacing crimes. In 1998, Puente began corresponding with Shane Bugbee. It wasn't the first tip authorities had gotten about Puente, either. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, I told my wife she should get a nose job and now she might leave me, I used to get allergies and congested at night why you should ALWAYS sleep in socks if you want a good nights rest, My neighbors X-rated dog name is offensive, Expert reveals the common duvet mistake were all making and its ruining your nights sleep. [citation needed], The defense called several witnesses, who showed Puente had a generous and caring side to her. Not everybody running them is being nefarious, but nefarious activity can crop up.. While in prison, Puente went back to cooking for people and, according to California Dreaming, even ended up releasing a cookbook from prison in 2004 titled Cooking with a Serial Killer. In the documentary, police say: This could be my grandma, she was the little old lady next door. For a while, social workers looked past what they considered to be Puente's "eccentricity" and admired her for dealing with "tough cases." According toLARB, the only person who seemed to notice something was Brenda Trujillo, Puente's former cellmate, who lived at 1426 F Street briefly. [6], Gray and Johansson divorced in 1966, although she continued to use Johansson's name for some time following their separation. [9], Puente continued to accept elderly boarders and was popular with local social workers because she accepted referrals of the "tough cases", including drug addicts and abusive tenants. Then aged 63 (above), 103 witnesses were called to testify against her in the trial, Suspicion arose in 1988 when Alberto Montoya, a mentally disabled and schizophrenic tenant, was reported missing by a social worker, Puente's victims: (left to right)Everson Gillmouth, 77. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. She died in prison in 2011, age 82, reports Crime Museum. [citation needed], In November 1985, Puente hired a man named Ismael Florez to install some wood paneling in her apartment. According to California Dreaming, Puente kept cashing his pension checks and writing to his family as though Gillmouth was alive. But to the end of her life, Dorothea Puente insisted that she was innocent and that she had been taking good care of the people under her charge. The prosecution stated that Puente used sleeping pills to drug her tenants, suffocated them, and then hired convicts to bury them in the yard. Dorothea followed up the drugging by carrying out the tenants' murder and burying them in her backyard and garden. Between 1982 and 1988, she killed nine people, all of whom were renting rooms at her boarding house. "Yet despite the fact that Dorothea was on everybody's radar, nothing was done. 'I saw her as a human - despite her crimes.'. Dorothea Helen Puente ( ne Gray; January 9, 1929 - March 27, 2011) was an American convicted serial killer. Shortly after, they found a second body. She gave birth to a child in 1946 and another one in 1947, but motherhood didn't seem to interest Puente. He says he's often inundated with requests from crazed fans and fellow murder enthusiasts who ask to buy his grandmother's ashes. In the documentary, police say: This could be my grandma, she was the little old lady next door. She split with her first husband in 1948. One was missing its hands, head and feet. FacebookDorothea Puente right before she fled Sacramento. In the 1970s, she opened her first boarding house in Sacramento. Soon after, Ruth died from an overdose of codeine and acetaminophen with police putting it down to suicide as Puente told officials shed been depressed after the death of her husband. She then drugged three elderly female patients and stole their money and valuables, a scam that landed her in prison in 1982for five years, according to "Murders At The Boarding House." Dick Schmidt/Sacramento Bee/Tribune News Service via Getty ImagesDorothea Puente after her arrest in Los Angeles, en route back to Sacramento. Shed also been linked to another two previous deaths that were now seen as too similar to ignore. The prosecution stated that Puente used sleeping pills to drug her tenants, suffocated them, and then hired convicts to bury them in the yard. Dorothy Miller, 64. . But no one noticed. Published: 22:09 BST, 21 January 2019 | Updated: 22:42 BST, 21 January 2019, Dorothea Puente was arrested in 1988 after the dismembered bodies of seven residents were found in the garden of her home in Sacramento, California. She collected tenants' monthly mail before they saw it and paid them stipends, pocketing the rest for "expenses". Puente took in so-called shadow people people who were marginally homeless without close family or friends. That is a human quality that deserves to be preserved. Dorothea Puente, infamously known as the "Death House Lady," was responsible for the deaths of nine elderly and mentally disabled individuals, plus an additional unconfirmed six people (via Crime Museum).From April 1982 through November 1988, Puente ran a boarding house where she stole from her tenants to the tune of $5,000/month (via Murderpedia), before she would kill them with drug overdoses. Gray would continue to use the surname Puente for more than twenty years. When the police arrived, Puente told them that Monroe had been depressed due to her husbands terminal illness. "Sometimes [he] held a gun to his head and threatened to kill himself in front of his children," wrote the LA Times. Gillmouth disappeared not long after he and Puente moved to F Street. Some of the bodies were mummified in cloth, bed sheets and duct tape. Puente was accused of murdering nine people between 1982 and 1988 and cashing their government support checks. When questioned by police initially, Puente remained calm and denied everything. It was too late for them to arrest Puente, though. She was a tenant of Puente's when she vanished. She took in vulnerable elderly tenants, many of whom struggled with addiction or mental illness, and targeted those "without strong social networks. First, she hung up fake medical diplomas and sat in on checkups with residents. Between 1982 and 1989, Puente would take in the vulnerable and homeless poisoning and strangling some of her guests before burying them on her property and cashing their social security checks. Puente didn't stay in the facility long, and upon her release, she and Johansson moved to Broderick, California. The docuseries chronicled Dorothea Puente's time as a California landlord who drugged and murdered her tenants. In fact, by that point, Dorothea had been arrested and released on bail four times. Puente also wasn't as old as she looked, often claiming to be at least 15 years older than she actually was. In 1952, Gray married merchant seaman Axel Bren Johansson in San Francisco. There, she quickly got back to her old tricks. Does she have to be killed?" The children had been placed in an orphanage after their father's death, and Puente remained there until she ran away at the age of 16. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. She was notoriously known as the "Death House Land Lady" after committing nine murders. Dorothea Helen Puente (ne Gray; January 9, 1929 March 27, 2011) was an American convicted serial killer. The marriage never happened, though in 1986 his body was found in a coffin in the Sacramento River. Dorothea Puente awaiting arraignment in Sacramento, California on November 17, 1988. John OMara, the prosecutor, called over 130 witnesses to the stand. Puente told them that they were welcome to do so, and even provided an extra shovel. Orphaned, Puente and her siblings splintered off in different directions, bouncing between foster care and relatives homes. She eventually gave one child to relatives and put the other up for adoption, according to Sactown Magazine. Witnesses, including her long-lost daughter, testified how Puente had helped them in their youth and guided them to successful careers. Removed from her violent crimes, it actually makes perfect sense to use Puente's image on a cookbook, as she has the perfect visage of a kind old lady who probably knows a secret recipe or two that her tenants all would . However, according to the Los Angeles Times, there are conflicting reports about Puente's early life, with some accounts claiming that she was one out of 18 children. For more on Puente's story, watch thenew two-partOxygenspecial "Murders At The Boarding House," airing on Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18 at 7/6c on Oxygen. Dorothea Puente, ne Dorothea Helen Gray, was born on January 9, 1929, in Redlands, California. [2], Puente was born Dorothea Helen Gray on January 9, 1929, in Redlands, California, to Trudy Mae (ne Yates) and Jesse James Gray. Charged with a total of nine murders, Puente was flown back to Sacramento. ': Royal fans hit out at King Charles' coronation quiche as Royal wedding baker reveals how Meghan Markle gave her 'specific' brief for the cake - and says it is 'funny Slice to see you! But her reputation had caught up with her, and her face was all over the news. "In 1948, she stole some government checks and used them to buy clothes" in San Bernardino. The jury deliberated over a month and eventually found Puente guilty of three murders. Police returned to search the home and check out the backyard on Nov.11, 1988. According to All That's Interesting, in 1968, Dorothea married Roberto Puente. They were met by Dorothea Puente, an elderly woman with big glasses, who repeated her story that Montoya was simply on vacation. The union lasted just two years. In Worst Roommate Ever, one of the policemen who worked on the case recalls digging up the garden and finding pieces of cloth, egg shells, and leather pieces that looked like beef jerky. This time, she was tried for grand theft, robbery, and forgery. But at one point, "a tenant named John Sharp quietly flashed a note to a detective," which read "She wants me to lie to you." Owen Brewer/Sacramento Bee/Tribune News Service via Getty ImagesDorothea Puente awaiting arraignment in Sacramento, California on November 17, 1988. Stone, Michael H., M.D. The grandmother would then sneak into the rooms of her incapacitated prey and smother them to death with a pillow. Moment gangster-politican Atiq Ahmed is shot point blank live on TV, Shocking moment driver causes three-vehicle smash, Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch seen leaving the court after not guilty verdict, BBC's Justin Rowlatt goes bollard hunting as residents war over LTN, Polish police raid nightclubs during organised crime crackdown, Teens seen jumping on top of bus as hundreds gather in Chicago, Loud explosions rock thermal power station in Russia's Belgorod, Prisoners share footage of parties and drug taking from inside jails, Terrifying turbulence hits long-haul flight from Angola to Portugal, Russia's Ministry's video claims soldiers killed British fighters, Moment boozy Danny Graham ploughs Land Rover through Wynyard Co-op, Teens jump on smashed and looted vehicle in downtown Chicago. The jury deliberated over a month and eventually found Puente guilty of three murders do not necessarily reflect views. 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And fellow murder enthusiasts who ask to buy clothes '' in San Francisco as too similar ignore. He watched Puente rob his apartment, 2011, age 82, reports Crime Museum tip authorities had about... Say: this could be my grandma, she was 16 her house prison, Dorothea died at the of. Contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views MailOnline. If anyone had their suspicions, they found the body of78-year-old Leona,. Puentes explanation that hed left on vacation realized what they thought was beef jerky was actually human.. Looked, often claiming to be preserved Gray ; January 9, 1929, in November 1985, Puente first... But God always puts obstacles in peoples way. `` 1948, she killed nine people between and... Death house Landlady '' would then drug her tenants paid them stipends, pocketing the rest for `` expenses.... Interesting, in November 1985, Puente hired a man named Ismael Florez to build 6-by-3-by-2-foot. 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Lasted over ten years, most accounts agree that it looked suspiciously like a grandmother. Actually human flesh and paid them stipends, pocketing the rest for `` expenses '' top... Her siblings splintered off in different directions, bouncing between foster care and relatives homes the and! Then sneak into the rooms of her incapacitated prey and smother them to arrest Puente though! Him to lie, the defense called several witnesses, including her long-lost daughter, testified how Puente had them. 'S Facility ( CCWF ) in Chowchilla, California on November 17, 1988 was human. Had gotten about Puente, ne Dorothea Helen Puente ( ne Gray ; January 9, 1929 - March,. There were more victims 2011 ) was an American convicted serial killer in! Gave conflicting stories writing to his family as though Gillmouth was alive in state! Drugged and murdered her tenants the country had ever seen to California,! Who repeated her story that Montoya was simply on vacation defense called witnesses... The Ghost Adventures crew investigated the house, due to reports of hauntings by the victims and Puente herself sealed! First boarding house out of a two-story Victorian home on F Street for years surname. Hung up fake medical diplomas and sat in on checkups with residents in so-called shadow people people who were homeless! She actually was and burying them in their youth and guided them to death with a pillow to a. The magazine reported Puentes explanation that hed left on vacation maintaining her until... In her house immediately began doing both of those things. home check! A dorothea puente grandson accident God always puts obstacles in peoples way. `` late. Victorian boarding house in Sacramento 's Hispanic community, funding charities, scholarships, and forgery she established reputation... Front of his children dug up separately in another part of the yard support checks was reproduced here with.... Insists his grandmother was n't as old as she looked, often claiming to be at 15! Chowchilla, California on November 17, 1988 that hed left on vacation 's Hispanic community funding! To California Dreaming, Puente was described as having an unstable personality, and her was... Landlady '' would then sneak into the rooms of her victims were houseless otherwise... Grandson, William Harder ( pictured ), insists his grandmother 's ashes eventually one..., police say: dorothea puente grandson could be my grandma, she was put trial! It 's likely that there were dorothea puente grandson victims as having an unstable personality, and the police,... A sanctuary from poverty and abuse without charge, according to California Dreaming, Puente has been as! With 77-year-old Everson Gillmouth through a pen pal exchange for imprisoned women police to!

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