Rodney James Alcala (born Rodrigo Jacques Alcala; August 23, 1943 – July 24, 2021) was a notorious American serial killer and sex offender who was sentenced to death for five murders committed in California between 1977 and 1979. He also pleaded guilty to two murders in New York, receiving a sentence of 25 years to life, and was implicated in a murder in Wyoming, though charges were dropped on a technicality. While linked conclusively to eight murders, the true number of Alcala's victims is unknown and could be as high as 130.
Alcala was known for amassing a collection of over 1,000 photographs of women, teenage girls, and boys, some in sexually explicit poses. In 2016, he was charged with the murder of a woman identified from one of these photos. Authorities believe there may be more victims among the subjects of his photography. Alcala was infamous for "toying" with his victims, strangling them until they lost consciousness, allowing them to revive, and then repeating the process before killing them.
Alcala gained national infamy as the "Dating Game Killer" due to his 1978 appearance on the TV show *The Dating Game* in the midst of his killing spree. He was described by law enforcement as a "killing machine" and has often been compared to fellow serial killer Ted Bundy. Alcala died in prison in 2021 at the age of 77, from natural causes.
### Early Life
Rodney Alcala was born in San Antonio, Texas, to a Mexican American family. His father moved the family to Mexico when Alcala was young but abandoned them shortly thereafter. His mother later relocated the family to Los Angeles. Alcala was academically gifted and well-liked by his peers, eventually attending UCLA and later studying film under Roman Polanski at New York University.
In 1961, Alcala joined the U.S. Army but was discharged after a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder. His military records described him as manipulative and insubordinate. He later exhibited a range of psychiatric issues, including narcissistic and borderline personality disorders.
### Criminal History
Alcala’s criminal activity began in 1968 when he lured an eight-year-old girl, Tali Shapiro, into his apartment and assaulted her. Though Shapiro survived, Alcala fled the state, enrolling at New York University under an alias. While in New York, Alcala killed at least two women: Cornelia Crilley in 1971 and Ellen Hover in 1977. Both cases remained unsolved for decades, until DNA evidence later tied him to the murders.
In California, Alcala continued his killing spree. In 1977, he murdered Jill Barcomb and Georgia Wixted, followed by several others, including 12-year-old Robin Samsoe in 1979. It was Samsoe's case that eventually led to Alcala's arrest and his eventual sentencing to death after multiple trials.
### Legal Proceedings and Trials
Alcala was first convicted of Samsoe’s murder in 1980, but the conviction was overturned twice due to procedural errors. In his final trial in 2010, he was convicted for the murders of five women. Alcala bizarrely acted as his own attorney during this trial, at one point interrogating himself on the witness stand. He was sentenced to death for the third time in 2010.
### Post-Conviction and Death
After his 2010 conviction, Alcala was charged with two additional murders in New York. He pleaded guilty in 2012 and was sentenced to 25 years to life. Despite his multiple death sentences in California, Alcala pursued legal appeals until his death in 2021.
**Additional Victims and Unidentified Photographs**
In March 2010, the Huntington Beach, California, and New York City Police Departments released 120 photographs taken by Alcala, asking for the public's help in identifying the individuals. Police hoped this would uncover additional victims, as many of the subjects were women and children. However, approximately 900 additional photographs were withheld due to their explicit nature. Initially, around 21 women identified themselves from the photos, while six families reported recognizing loved ones who had disappeared and were never found. None of the photos were definitively linked to missing person cases or unsolved murders until 2013. Today, 110 of these images remain publicly available, and authorities continue to seek help with identification.
**Morgan Rowan**
After Alcala's death in 2021, 68-year-old Morgan Rowan reached out to Steve Hodel, one of the original investigators, and described her harrowing experience with Alcala in 1968 when she was 16. Rowan recounted how she was lured into Alcala's car under the pretense of going to a restaurant, only to be taken to his apartment in Hollywood. There, she was beaten and raped. She was eventually rescued when friends broke in through a window, but Alcala fled before police could apprehend him.
**Pamela Lambson**
In March 2011, investigators in Marin County, California, announced their strong belief that Alcala was responsible for the 1977 murder of 19-year-old Pamela Jean "Pam" Lambson. Lambson vanished after visiting Fisherman's Wharf to meet a man who offered to photograph her. Her battered body was later discovered near a hiking trail, but with no usable fingerprints or DNA, charges were not filed. However, police were convinced that Alcala was the perpetrator.
**Christine Thornton**
In September 2016, Alcala was charged with the 1977 murder of 28-year-old Christine Ruth Thornton. Thornton's body had been discovered in Wyoming in 1982, but it wasn't identified until 2015 through DNA. Her sister recognized her from a photograph released in 2010, showing Thornton riding a motorcycle. Alcala admitted taking the photo but denied involvement in her murder. Thornton, who was six months pregnant at the time of her death, became the first confirmed murder victim linked to Alcala's collection of photographs. Due to Alcala's failing health, he never stood trial for her murder.
**Other Cases**
In 2010, Seattle police named Alcala a person of interest in several unsolved murders in Washington, as he had rented a storage locker in the area that contained jewelry belonging to two of his California victims. Investigators began reinvestigating other cold cases in California, New York, New Hampshire, and Arizona.
Some notable cases include:
- **Cherry Ann Greenman (20)**: She disappeared in 1976 after being released from jail in Washington state. A photo found in Alcala’s possession was shown to her family, but they confirmed it was not her.
- **Antoinette Jean Whitaker (13)**: Whitaker disappeared in July 1977. Her body was found a week later in Seattle, and while her murder remains unsolved, Alcala is a potential suspect.
- **Joyce Francine Gaunt (17)**: Gaunt was murdered in Seattle in 1978, found nude and brutally beaten. Her last known sighting was with an unidentified man, and her murder remains a cold case with Alcala as a suspect.