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For many, having a roommate provides an affordable solution and helps combat loneliness. While most roommates evolve into lasting friendships, living with someone can occasionally take an unexpected and darker turn.
This list features 10 individuals whose roommate experiences were nothing short of nightmarish. From a chilling landlady to a sleepwalking killer, here are 10 roommates who will make you reconsider the idea of cohabiting.
10. The Terrifying Elderly Landlady's Boarding House
In 1988, Dorothea Puente in Sacramento, California, took in 52-year-old Alvaro Montoya to live at her boarding house. Montoya, struggling with mental health issues, had been referred to Puente because of her reputation for caring for elderly and disabled tenants.
Unlike Puente’s other tenants, who had no friends or relatives to notice their absence, Montoya’s outreach counselor, Judy Moise, grew concerned when he suddenly vanished. Puente claimed he had gone on vacation, but Moise wasn’t convinced by her story.
Moise contacted the police, who then visited the boarding house. Puente stuck to her story. The police conducted a search of the residence but found nothing. They requested permission to dig up the backyard, which Puente granted. She asked if she could step out to buy coffee, and the police agreed. While she was gone, they began digging and unearthed the bodies of seven of Puente's tenants.
Puente fled the scene, but was apprehended and returned to Sacramento five days later. It was revealed that she had been drugging her tenants with sleeping pills, suffocating them, and then hiring criminals to bury their bodies in her yard.
In 1993, Puente was convicted of her crimes and sentenced to multiple life terms. She passed away from natural causes in prison on March 27, 2011, at the age of 82.
9. Disagreement Over Heavy Drinking Leads to a Murderous Tragedy
Thomas Holifield, 59, was close friends with his 64-year-old roommate, Pamela Keltz. However, their relationship became strained due to frequent arguments over his excessive drinking, something Keltz disapproved of since she did not drink herself.
It is alleged that Holifield decided to kill Keltz because she disapproved of his heavy drinking. He went into her bedroom and found a bottle of windshield washer fluid, which he used to poison her. He is believed to have mixed some of the liquid into her soda bottle, which led to her hospitalization.
After Keltz returned home, Holifield allegedly continued to poison her drinks with the intention of ending her life. On May 30, 2021, he reportedly called the police to confess while Keltz was in intensive care. Doctors attempted to save her after discovering the poisoning, but on June 1, she was declared brain-dead and taken off life support.
Holifield was scheduled to appear in court on January 20, 2022, but the details of the case have yet to be made public.
8. A Dispute Over Music Volume Escalates into a Violent Brawl
In a Bronx apartment in March 2022, 29-year-old Jonathon Hutcherson asked his roommates, 20-year-old Meana Torigoe and her 21-year-old boyfriend, John Delgado, to turn down their music. When they ignored his request, Hutcherson retaliated by cranking his own music up.
This infuriated the couple, who allegedly stormed into Hutcherson’s room. Torigoe sprayed him with mace, while Delgado attacked him with brass knuckles. The violent altercation moved into the living room, where one of the couple stabbed Hutcherson in the chest and neck, resulting in his death.
When emergency responders arrived at the scene, they found Hutcherson’s lifeless body. Both Torigoe and Delgado are facing charges of manslaughter, weapons offenses, and murder.
7. A Missing Food Stamp Incident Leads to Tragedy
Tracy Russell had opened her home to 30-year-old Jessica McBride and her boyfriend in Tulsa, Oklahoma. However, for reasons that remain unclear, she asked them to leave in March 2019.
When McBride returned to retrieve her belongings, she accused Russell of stealing her purse and food stamps. This accusation led to a heated argument, during which McBride put Russell in a rear chokehold, ultimately causing her death. McBride then left Russell’s body, took her things, and departed.
McBride later asked a friend to help her set fire to the house, but the friend chose to report her to the authorities. An undercover officer was assigned to catch McBride in the act. On March 20, 2019, the friend and the undercover officer picked up McBride, and they drove to Russell’s house. McBride was seen carrying a plastic bag containing lighter fluid and gas camp fuel.
McBride attempted to start the fire by entering through a window, but she was arrested instead. The timeline for McBride’s sentencing is uncertain, but she faces 15 years in federal prison, supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
6. Killed During Prayer
In November 2021, Gloria Farmer was living with her daughter, Gloria Ann Jordan, and another roommate. While sitting in an office chair, Farmer was approached by Jordan, who placed her hand on Farmer’s forehead and pushed her backward until the chair tipped over, all the while murmuring a prayer. Jordan, who weighed 170 pounds, then sat on her mother's chest in a prayer position.
Farmer and her other roommate tried to move Jordan off, but their efforts were unsuccessful. Jordan remained on her mother until Farmer stopped breathing. The cause of death was determined to be mechanical asphyxiation.
When police responded to the scene, they initially assumed Farmer’s death was due to medical complications. However, a friend of Farmer’s raised concerns about the circumstances, leading to a reinterview with the roommate. The roommate revealed the truth of the situation, something she had initially withheld out of fear of Jordan.
Farmer’s death was ruled a homicide, leading to Jordan’s arrest and charge for assault causing bodily injury in a domestic dispute. She remains incarcerated at Wichita County Jail, though further details regarding her case are yet to be disclosed.
5. A Disagreement Between Student Roommates Leads to Tragedy
In 2019, Alexis Crawford, a student at Clark Atlanta University, shared a dorm room with Jordyn Jones. On October 26, Crawford reported to the police that she had been sexually assaulted by Jones’s boyfriend, Barron Brantley. After a night of drinking, Crawford passed out, and she believed Brantley had assaulted her.
On October 30, Crawford and Jones went to a liquor store together, despite not speaking due to the assault allegations. Crawford asked Jones to accompany her, and two days later, her family reported her missing to the police.
After returning from their late-night liquor run, Crawford and Jones got into a physical altercation in their apartment. Brantley intervened and strangled Crawford until she lost consciousness. The pair then placed her body in a plastic bin and discarded it in a park in Decatur, Georgia.
A week after the incident, Jones and Brantley were taken into custody and charged with felony murder. Both suspects admitted to committing the crime, but no trial date has been scheduled.
4. Former Actor’s Dispute over Girlfriend Leads to Fatal Outcome
Ricardo Medina Jr., a former actor best known for his role on the TV series *Power Rangers*, found himself involved in a tragic incident in 2015. The altercation started when Medina and his roommate, 38-year-old Joshua Sutter, got into a heated argument in their Los Angeles kitchen about Medina’s girlfriend.
The situation escalated quickly, prompting Medina and his girlfriend to retreat to his bedroom and lock the door. However, Sutter broke down the door, leading Medina to grab a sword and fatally stab him in self-defense.
Medina was initially charged with murder but maintained his actions were in self-defense. In March 2017, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to six years in prison.
3. Famous Actor’s Downward Spiral Following Breakup
Johnny Lewis, a rising star who appeared in prominent American TV series like *Sons of Anarchy*, also had a brief relationship with pop sensation Katy Perry. It's believed that Lewis served as inspiration for a couple of her songs. However, in 2009, he left *Sons of Anarchy*, citing a growing distaste for the increasingly violent plotlines.
In April 2009, Lewis moved into a residence known as “The Writer’s Villa” in Los Angeles, a house catered to creatives. The home was managed by 81-year-old Kathy Davis, with whom Lewis formed a good rapport.
Tragically, after a severe motorcycle accident, Lewis's behavior grew increasingly erratic. He was arrested multiple times for various offenses and eventually spent time in a psychiatric facility.
Lewis later moved back in with his parents before returning to The Writer’s Villa. On September 26, 2012, he violently killed his landlady, Kathy Davis, by beating and strangling her. Afterwards, he climbed to the roof or the upper patio, where he either jumped or fell to his death. His death was officially ruled as an accident, though the exact circumstances remain unclear.
Drugs were initially suspected as a cause, but a toxicology report later showed no traces of drugs in his system. Some speculate that his erratic behavior could have been the result of a brain injury that went undiagnosed following his motorcycle crash.
While the Writer’s Villa is still preserved, it is no longer available for rent. The property is now owned by Kathy Davis's daughter, Margaret Leslie Davis.
2. Serial Squatter Leaves Roommates Terrified
Jamison Bachman, a graduate of Georgetown University and the University of Miami, was once a promising student. However, after failing his bar exam, he turned his legal knowledge toward exploiting and tormenting multiple roommates. He would move in with victims, refuse to pay rent, or even try to have them evicted, making their lives miserable.
In 2017, Alex Miller placed an ad on Craigslist looking for a roommate and received a response from a man named Jed Creek, who was actually Bachman. Initially, their living arrangement was smooth, but soon Bachman began shirking his financial responsibilities and stealing from Miller.
Miller eventually uncovered the real identity of “Jed Creek” and the crimes he had committed. She contacted the authorities and sent him a letter warning that the police were aware of his actions and that he needed to leave. The next morning, Bachman returned and attacked Miller, stabbing her. She called the police, and Bachman was arrested, but his brother, Harry, posted bail for him.
In a shocking twist, Bachman then murdered his own brother by beating him to death. He also stole his brother’s credit card and his wife’s car. Police later apprehended him, and he was charged with both first and third-degree murder. However, before standing trial, Bachman took his own life by hanging himself in his cell.
1. Sleepwalking Leads to Tragedy for Man and Friend
Randy Herman Jr. lived in West Palm Beach with his best friend, Brooke Preston. At first, things were going smoothly, but after quitting his job, Herman fell back into old habits, drinking heavily and using drugs.
In March 2017, Preston, who had moved to Buffalo, New York to live with her boyfriend, met up with Herman again. After spending the day together, Herman drank so much that he became aggressive and started annoying Preston. Frustrated, Preston texted a friend to pick her up and left for the night.
The following morning, Preston returned to Herman’s place to retrieve a T-shirt she had forgotten. Herman, still half-asleep, pointed to his dresser before falling back into slumber. Less than half an hour later, Herman woke up to find himself holding a hunting knife, with Preston lying lifeless on the floor. She had been stabbed over 20 times, and her throat was slashed.
Herman immediately called 911, confessing that he had killed his friend. He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Pleading not guilty, Herman claimed that he had been sleepwalking during the attack. However, this defense was dismissed, and in May 2019, Herman was sentenced to life in prison.
