Rodney Alcala - The Dating Game Killer

In September 1978, a teacher from Arizona named Cheryl Bradshaw appeared as a bachelorette on the popular television show, The Dating Game. For those who have never watched, The Dating Game typically featured a bachelorette who had to question three bachelors and choose one of them to go on a date with. After questioning her three bachelors, Bradshaw chose bachelor #1: a photographer named Rodney Alcala. After meeting with him backstage when the show was over, Bradshaw found Alcala to be creepy and unnerving. She never accompanied him on the free trip to Magic Mountain that they had won. Whether it was intuition or luck is unknown, but Bradshaw dodged a bullet that day. Unbeknownst to her, she had turned down a date with a man who not only was a convicted sex offender at the time, but who was already well on his way to becoming one of the most dangerous and depraved serial killers in American history.

Born in San Antonio, Texas in 1943, Rodney James Alcala joined the Army at the age of 17. He was discharged in 1964 after a nervous breakdown. At this time, he was also diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. In 1968, he received a Bachelor's degree from UCLA.

Later that same year, he raped, assaulted and almost killed an 8-year-old girl. "Tali S," as the young girl was called by the media, was walking to school when an eyewitness saw Alcala lure the child into his car. The witness tailed Alcala to his apartment and promptly called the police. By the time the first officers responded to the call, Alcala had already bludgeoned the girl with a pipe and raped her. He eluded authorities by sneaking out the back door. Police found the victim severely wounded and surrounded by photography equipment. It is likely that Alcala was in the process of documenting his heinous act just before the officers arrived. He fled to New York soon after.

While in New York, Alcala attended NYU under the alias of John Berger. One of his courses at the prestigious school was a film class taught by future sex offender and popular director, Roman Polanski. Polanski attracted much media attention when his wife, actress Sharon Tate, was killed by the Manson family in 1969. Seven years later, Polanski was back in the public eye after drugging, molesting and having sex with a 13-year-old girl in the home of his friend, award-winning actor Jack Nicholson (Nicholson was not home at the time that the crime occurred; he was on a skiing trip in Aspen).

On June 12, 1971, a 23-year-old flight attendant named Cornelia Crilley was raped and killed in her Manhattan apartment. Police initially suspected Crilley's boyfriend, Assistant District Attorney Leon Bornstein. Officials now believe that Alcala was the perpetrator. Traces of his saliva were found at the crime scene. With the heat on Bornstein, it was not difficult for Alcala to once again evade capture.

Still under the alias of John Berger, Alcala accepted a job at a camp in New Hampshire. While in the local post office waiting out a thunderstorm, two young campers noticed an FBI's Ten Most Wanted poster hanging on a bulletin board. Pictured on the poster was Rodney Alcala. The two girls agreed that Alcala bore a striking resemblance to their new camp counselor. They alerted the authorities and he was arrested in 1971 for the California rape and assault of Tali S. At the time of his arrest, California law was lax and placed far more emphasis on rehabilitating sex offenders than on removing them from society. He served less than three years for his atrocious crime and was back on the streets by 1974 despite the fact that Tali S' injuries were so severe that she would have died had the eyewitness not led police to his apartment so quickly.

That same year, Alcala served another brief prison sentence after a 13-year-old girl reported that he had kidnapped her from a bus stop in Huntington Beach. He took her to a nearby cliff, forced her to smoke marijuana with him and then kissed her. Justice was miscarried once again and he was only convicted of parole violation and supplying a minor with an illegal substance. He spent two years in prison.

In the summer of 1977, Alcala's parole officer allowed him to visit relatives in New York. This was around the time that David Berkowitz (aka the "Son of Sam") was terrorizing New York City residents. NYPD detectives believe that Alcala added to New York's plight by killing a young woman named Ellen Hover. Hover was the 23-year-old daughter of Herman Hover: owner of the renowned nightclub Ciro's. Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin were Hover's godfathers. She was last seen in her Manhattan apartment on July 15, 1977. Her address book showed that she had an appointment with a John Berger that day. Alcala fled to Los Angeles and Berkowitz was arrested the following month after a two year crime spree that resulted in the shootings of 9 people. Detectives tracked Alcala to L.A. and questioned him. Hover's body had not yet been found and there was no conclusive evidence connecting him to the crime scene, so he was released. Hover's body was later found on the Rockefeller estate in New York.

While Berkowitz roamed the streets of New York City, Los Angeles residents lived in fear of the Hillside Strangler (which actually ended up being two men, Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, who murdered young women and dumped their bodies in wooded areas). In 1977, 18-year-old Jill Barcomb was abducted from Sunset Boulevard. Her body was discovered in November 1977 near Marlon Brando's home off of Mulholland Drive during a film shoot. She was naked and posed in a kneeling position. Her skull had been bludgeoned with a rock that was left at the scene. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled with pantyhose, a belt and one of her pant legs. While in the process of questioning all sex offenders in the area, the Hillside Strangler Task Force traced Alcala to his mother's home where they questioned him and charged him with marijuana possession in March 1978. He was released from jail by the end of June and soon after, he appeared on The Dating Game. Jed Mills, fellow bachelor and contestant on the show recalled his impression of Alcala: "He was very obnoxious and creepy. He became very unlikable and rude and imposing as though he was trying to intimidate. I wound up not only not liking this guy, but not wanting to be near him. He was a standout creepy guy in my life." Detectives now have DNA evidence that positively links Alcala to the Barcomb crime scene.

The body of a 27-year-old nurse named Georgia Wixted was found in her apartment in December 1977... just one month after the Barcomb murder. There were signs of forced entry. Her body was naked and posed on her bedroom floor. She had been strangled, assaulted, bludgeoned with a hammer and sexually mutilated. Prosecutors are now in possession of DNA evidence and a handprint that link Alcala to the crime scene.

The body of 32-year-old Charlotte Lamb was discovered in June 1978. She had been sexually assaulted, strangled and was posed kneeling with her hands behind her back. DNA evidence linking Alcala to the crime scene was subsequently discovered. Lamb's DNA was also later found on a pair of earrings that were in Alcala's possession.

In February 1979, a 15-year-old hitchhiker reported that Alcala kidnapped and raped her. He admitted to having "consensual" sex with the girl. Alcala's mother posted his bail, and he was free once again.

In June 1979, the body of 21-year-old Jill Parenteau was found in her apartment. Similar to the Wixted crime scene, there were signs of forced entry. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Her friend Katharine Bryant later testified that Parenteau had met Alcala several times at a club.

On June 20, 1979, a 12-year-old girl named Robin Samsoe was reported missing. Her neighbor, Jackye Young recalled that earlier that day, he had to scare off a man who was trying photograph Samsoe and her friend in their bathing suits. Young and Samsoe's friend worked with police to create a sketch that was recognized by a parole officer as Rodney Alcala. The day before Samsoe's disappearance, two teenage girls reported that they were offered marijuana and asked to take of their clothes by a man fitting Alcala's description. Several more people reported being harassed by him. Police later found a photograph in Alcala's storage locker of one of the women who reported being accosted by him. A forest ranger named Dana Crappa reported seeing a man who looked like Alcala leading a little girl into the woods on the day of Samsoe's disappearance. Crappa described the car that the man was driving and it was the same make and model as a vehicle that was registered to Alcala.

U.S. Parks ranger William Poepke discovered Samsoe's decomposing remains 12 days after her disappearance. Her skull was detached from her neck. Her left foot and parts of her hands were missing. A large kitchen knife and one of her shoes were found nearby. Decomposition made it impossible to determine whether or not she had been sexually violated. Alcala was arrested at his mother's home on July 24, 1978 and charged with the murder of Robin Samsoe.

During a search of Alcala's mother's house, a receipt was found for a storage locker in Seattle. The locker contained many photographs of young girls and women and several pairs of earrings, one of which contained Charlotte Lamb's DNA. According to the FBI Crime Classification Manual, people falling in the category of sadistic sex murderers often document their victims/crime scenes and keep souvenirs to help them relive the sexual arousal of the act in between murders.

Armed with evidence from the storage locker and several eyewitness accounts, attorneys successfully prosecuted Alcala for the kidnapping and murder of Robin Samsoe. In 1978, he was convicted of first degree murder with a deadly weapon and kidnapping, which was a special circumstance that qualified him for the death penalty. Justice had been served, or so it seemed...

Alcala was found guilty of Robin Samsoe's abduction and murder twice. Both times, the convictions were overturned. The first occurred in 1984 when the California Supreme Court ruled that the jury should not have been privy to the defendant's prior convictions. There was also suspicion of perjury by two of the witnesses who testified against Alcala. The second overturning took place in 2001 when the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the defense's claim that witness Dana Crappa's statements were improperly handled by the prosecution.

During his stay in prison, Alacala has twice tried to sue the California state prison system: once for a minor injury he sustained in a fall and again for not being provided with foods that are conducive to a low-fat diet. He has spoken out against the California state policy of routinely comparing and testing DNA: this was the procedure that ultimately linked him to the murders of Barcomb, Wixted, Lamb and Parenteau. In 1994, he wrote a book in his own defense, entitled You, the Jury.

In early 2010, Alcala was once again brought to trial, this time for the Samsoe, Barcomb, Wixted, Lamb and Parenteau murders. The trial was a spectacle. Alcala foolishly decided to act as his own attorney. He was completely ignorant of the most basic legal terms and the court was frequently subjected to his outrageous antics. Actress Charlize Theron who portrayed serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the movie Monster attended the trial.

On February 25, 2010, Alcala was found guilty of the murders of the young girl and the four women. He was sentenced to death by Judge Francisco Briseno on March 30, 2010. A majority of state statutes require that cases in which the defendant is sentenced to death or life imprisonment are automatically appealed. Hopefully the charges will stick this time...