[Lux1969]

Rodney James Alcala was an American serial killer and convicted sex offender whose crimes stretched across several states and more than a decade. He was eventually convicted of murdering five people in California between 1977 and 1979 and later admitted to two additional murders in New York. Investigators conclusively connected him to at least eight killings, although authorities have long suspected that there may have been additional victims. Alcala became especially notorious after it was discovered that he appeared as a contestant on the television show The Dating Game while he was actively committing murders.

One of Alcala's earliest known attacks occurred in Los Angeles in September 1968. Eight-year-old Tali Shapiro was walking to school when Alcala approached her and convinced her to get into his car by claiming that he knew her parents. A passing motorist became suspicious after seeing Alcala take the girl into his apartment and contacted police. When officers arrived, Alcala escaped, but Shapiro was found inside badly injured after being sexually assaulted and beaten. She survived after spending more than a month in a coma and undergoing a long recovery. Alcala fled California afterward and moved to New York, where he attended New York University under the name John Berger.

While living in New York, Alcala was later linked to the 1971 murder of Cornelia Crilley, a 23-year-old flight attendant found dead inside her Manhattan apartment. Investigators believe Alcala met Crilley while she was moving into the apartment and offered to help her with furniture. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Her killing remained unsolved for decades before evidence eventually connected Alcala to the crime. Alcala was later arrested in connection with the attack on Shapiro, but the case did not proceed to a full trial after her family decided they did not want the young girl to endure the experience of testifying.

After another release from prison in 1977, Alcala was permitted to travel back to New York despite his criminal history. Police later suspected that he murdered Ellen Jane Hover, a 23-year-old woman who disappeared in July 1977. Hover's appointment book showed that she planned to meet a man using the name "John Berger," the same alias Alcala had previously used. Her remains were later discovered, and Alcala eventually pleaded guilty to her murder years afterward.

Back in California, Alcala worked briefly as a typesetter for the Los Angeles Times. He also presented himself as a professional photographer and convinced hundreds of women and young people to pose for photographs. In 1978, he appeared as a contestant on The Dating Game. Alcala won the episode and was matched with bachelorette Cheryl Bradshaw, but she later refused to go on the date because she found his behavior unsettling. His appearance on the program later earned him the nickname "The Dating Game Killer."

During this same period, Alcala carried out a series of murders in Southern California. In November 1977, 18-year-old Jill Barcomb was found murdered near Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles. Her death was initially considered possibly connected to the Hillside Strangler killings, but investigators later determined it was unrelated. The following month, 27-year-old nurse Georgia Wixted was found murdered in her Malibu apartment. Years later, DNA evidence and a handprint recovered from the scene helped connect Alcala to her killing.

In June 1978, Charlotte Lamb, a 31-year-old legal secretary, was found murdered in the laundry room of her apartment complex in El Segundo. DNA recovered from the crime scene was eventually matched to Alcala. In February 1979, Alcala attacked 15-year-old Monique Hoyt after picking her up while she was hitchhiking. He took her to a remote area near Joshua Tree, where he assaulted and restrained her. Hoyt managed to escape while Alcala stopped at a gas station and later reported the attack to police. Alcala was arrested, but he was released after his mother posted bail.

Only months later, 21-year-old Jill Parenteau was found murdered inside her Burbank apartment. Investigators recovered blood left by the killer while entering through a window, and that evidence was later used to identify Alcala. Then, on June 20, 1979, 12-year-old Robin Samsoe disappeared while traveling to ballet class in Huntington Beach. Her body was discovered 12 days later in the foothills near Los Angeles. Friends told investigators that a suspicious man had approached them on the beach and asked to take photographs. Police created a sketch from their description, and Alcala's parole officer recognized him.

Alcala was arrested in July 1979 and charged with Samsoe's murder. He was convicted in 1980 and sentenced to death, but that conviction was later overturned because jurors had improperly been told about some of his earlier crimes. He was tried again in 1986, convicted a second time, and once more sentenced to death. Later advances in DNA testing allowed investigators to connect Alcala to additional murders that had remained unsolved for years. His combination of violent crimes, repeated releases from custody, photography of potential victims, and his appearance on national television made his case one of the most disturbing serial murder investigations in modern American history.

Photo descriptions:

• #1 The devil in the fleshl, Rodrigo Alcala.
• #2-4: Tali Shapiro and the scene of her attempted murder
• #5: Cornelia Crilley
• #6: Ellen Jane Hover
• #7-10: Jill Barcomb murder scene
• #11-13: Georgia Marie Wixted and murder scene.
• #14-17: Charlotte Lee Lamb and murder scene
• #18: Jill Marie Parenteau
• #19-20: Robin Christine Samsoe

[SimoneFlen']

‘Dating Game’ killer Rodney Alcala dead in jail at 77'

Rodney James Alcala, "The Dating Game Killer", was infamous for gruesome murders of four women and 12-year-old girl Robin Samsoe.
"Dating Game Killer" Rodney James Alcala died in prison on July 24, 2021.

A brutal serial killer sentenced to death for the murders of four woman and a 12-year-old girl died of natural causes before he was ever put to death, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced on Saturday.

Rodney James Alcala, 77, received the nickname “The Dating Game Killer” because of a 1977 appearance on a popular game show, was accused of murders across the country, including the killing of a pregnant woman. He was first put on death row in 1980, the department said in a statement.

Alcala was first sentenced to death in 1980 in California, after he was tried and convicted for the kidnapping and murder of 12-year old Robin Samsoe in 1977, according to the statement.

That decision was reversed in 1984 by the California Supreme Court, who granted Alcala another trial, according to the statement.

Alcala was convicted of murder and sentenced to death again in 1986 for Samsoe’s murder. In 2003, however, the sentence was overturned in federal appeals court, and Alcala was granted yet another trial, the CDCR said.


In 2010, Alcala was once again convicted of the girl’s murder in Orange County, along with the murder of four other women. The four other convictions were for the murders of 18-year old Jill Barcomb and 27-year old Georgia Wixted in 1977, 32-year-old Charlotte Lamb in 1978 and 21-year-old Jill Parenteau in 1979, according to the CDCR statement.

The serial killer also faced murder charges in New York, where he was extradited and indicted in 2012 on for raping and murder two 23-year-women – Cornelia Crilley, a flight attendant whom he strangled to death with pantyhose in 1971 and Ellen Jane Hover, a nightclub owner’s daughter whom he strangled in 1978.

Evidence from the murders in California, such as vicious bite marks found on the breasts of his victims, helped prosecutor’s charge Alcala for the New York murders.

Alcala pleaded guilty and was sentenced to an additional 25 years to life on those charges.

In 2016, Alcala was charged with the murder of a six-months pregnant woman, Christine Ruth Thornton, who went missing in 1978. Her body was discovered in 1982, according to the CDCR.

California’s death row inmates typically reside in San Quentin State Prison, however Alcala had been moved to a prison in Corcoran, California, to receive medical treatment, NBC News reported.

The statement says that Alcala may be linked to other murders in California, Washington, New York, New Hampshire and Arizona. According to the CDCR, there are currently over 700 inmates in the state on death row.

[Lux1969]

order got messed up, here are:

#2-4: Tali Shapiro and the scene of her attempted murder
#5: Cornelia Crilley

[jennyt]

I’ve never seen so many blurred photos on here.. ever.

[Lux1969]

not hard to get uncensored photos when all you post are randos in third world countries. this site has no content on this case... at all. submit an FOA if you're so bothered.

[akham]

Originally Posted by jennyt ↗

I’ve never seen so many blurred photos on here.. ever.

That's a pretty shitty thing to say to someone who made a contribution to the site.

[Lux1969]

Originally Posted by akham ↗

That's a pretty shitty thing to say to someone who made a contribution to the site.

Thank you! It's a super high-profile case. As I responded to her, it's super easy to get uncensored pics of randoms in third-world countries that no one cares about. These pictures weren't easy to find.

[wyldrozez]

Great finds! I tried to find more information on this case a while back, I didn't get even close to this amount of photos! Thanks for the deep dive!

[Caveman5150]

Where do you find all this good shit all time Lux?... damn

[mr_feelgood]

It is very nice to see this forum updated with new material. I know it'll get hard because after a while you run out of stuff to pick from history so I'm always appreciative for this