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Infamously known as 'The Dating Game Killer', Rodney Alcala was a convicted serial killer who was serving a death sentence for a spree of assault and murders. He died in prison at the age of 77 due to natural causes while awaiting his death sentence.
He had confessed to a total of five murders which included a 12-year-old girl and a 28-year-old pregnant lady. Investigators have, however, linked Alcala to a total of seven murders. Survivors of the depraved serial killer talk about their experiences on Investigation Discovery's latest series People Magazine Investigates: Surviving a Serial Killer. The first episode of the series explored the crimes and eventual arrest of Rodney Alcala, and aired on May 5, 2024.
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Rodney was sentenced to death twice and evaded the sentence before finally being sentenced to life in 2010. This article explores the confirmed crimes committed by the notorious serial killer.
The confirmed murders committed by serial killer Rodney Alcala
Rodney Alcala was a charming man who appeared in the famous 1970s television show The Date Game. Little did people know he had already committed a series of crimes before his appearance and would go on to do the same after it.
When Alcala was arrested in 1979 for the murder of Robin Christine Samsoe, he had already left a wake of dead bodies behind him. His crimes later came to light as investigators further delved to find clues about him.
He evaded a death sentence twice for the murder of Robin Samsoe, which led investigators to dig into the criminal's past, leading to the discovery of more murders committed by him. With the help of DNA testing, investigators have linked Rodney Alcala to a total of seven murders, however, they believe that the number of his victims might tally up to 120 or 130.
Alcala’s victims were primarily young women and girls. Alcala's work as a photographer allowed him easy access to a large number of women and young girls, some of whom would subsequently be identified as his murder victims. He kept hundreds of pictures in a storage locker in Seattle, which the police eventually discovered in 1979.
The list of his victims includes:
1) Cornelia Crilley
Alcala committed his first confirmed murder in June 1971. His victim was 23-year-old Cornelia Crilley, a TWA flight attendant, living in Manhattan. She was found strangled, bitten, and r*ped. Her murder was not linked to him till 2011.
2) Ellen Jane Hover
Alcala's second confirmed murder was also committed in New York. He killed Ellen, a 23-year-old aspiring music conductor. She was found missing from her Manhattan apartment on July 15, 1977. The remains of her body were found in Westchester County, near an area where Alcala photographed women.
3) Jill Barcomb
Alcala murdered Jill Barcomb on November 10, 1977. The 18-year-old had recently moved to Los Angeles from New York aspiring to become an actress. It is believed that Rodney Alcala might have lured her on the pretext of photographing her since he was a skilled photographer. She had been strangled, r*ped, and her body was found dumped near Mulholland Drive in L.A.
Her murder is estimated to be one of the early murders in Rodney Alcala's killing spree in California.
4) Georgia Wixted
Georgia Wixted was a 27-year-old nurse who was reported missing in December 1977. She was later found deceased in her Malibu apartment, with her skull crushed, genitals mutilated, and signs of r*pe. Her murder was linked to the devious Rodney Alcala with the help of DNA testing.
5) Christine Ruth Thornton
Christine Thornton was a 28-year-old who was last seen hitchhiking in 1977. She was pregnant at the time of her murder. Her remains were identified through DNA sampling only in 2015.
Alcala was allegedly linked to the murder through his photographs, which included the photo of the deceased Thornton after he killed her.
6) Jill Parenteau
Jill Parenteau fell victim to Alcala in 1979. The 21-year-old computer operator was found naked and deceased in her Burbank apartment. She had been r*paed, beaten, and then strangled to death.
Blood evidence linked Alcala to her murder, while her friend Katharine Bryant even testified that Jill and Rodney met each other several times before her murder.
7) Robin Samsoe
12-year-old Robin Samsoe was killed by Alcala in 1979. Her earrings were later found in the locker of Rodney's mother's house. She was brutally r*ped, beaten, and stabbed by Rodney Alcala.
Her murder was the first murder for which the twisted serial killer was arrested and sentenced to death for the first time.
Rodney Alcala's chilling story is explored in the first episode of ID's People Magazine Investigates: Surviving a Serial Killer, premiering on May 5, 2024.
