Rodney Alcala: The Dating Game Killer (Part 3) | Morbid | Podcast | Forensic Files

hey weirdos I'm Ash and I'm Elena and this is [Music] morbid this is morbid I kind of said my
name weird I was like ash sounded like I had really big veneers in this is this is
as this is ass you guys this ass this is ass you guys um no we wanted to start out again
um I don't know when this comes out that you know that's going to be a running theme for a few months uh I don't know
where this is going to come out but we just wanted to say to everybody in the LA area yeah we're so sorry that we are
so sorry and it is literally the scariest thing to watch from the other side of the country I can't imagine I
can't imagine being there it's it's so apocalyptic looking and it must feel that way to lose absolutely everything
and then to see firefighters are just on another level they truly are what and to
see them stacking up photo albums like that I was just going to say that it's gut-wrenching it's truly is think that's
like all some people are going to have left it's a badass Community though it looks like cuz everybody's pulling
together and hopefully you know rebuild and and get it all back to where you know some semblance of where it was
we're going to try to do something to help yeah we're working on something right now we just don't want to say
anything before we get the uh we don't want preemptively we're going to try to do something but we just wanted to tell
you guys like we're thinking of you we love you we work with a lot of people in La we have friends in La we have loved
ones there so like we're thinking of you we're sending you Good Vibes and we're sorry are I'm sorry that you're probably
hearing this so late yeah I was going to say and I'm sorry if this sounds like weird coming weeks later but we we're
still thinking of you yeah we just wanted to say something anyways no matter how late it was yeah just so you
know in the moment that we're thinking of you yeah um but also one of the uh one thing we wanted to say before this
began was like on a happy note we're so happy that you guys um seem to really Vibe with episode 638 I believe it is
our our last episode I don't know if it's our last it's not our last few I don't know what the [ __ ] is going on
guys I just know that you vibed with an episode you vibed with the episode the crash of iguanian air um Air flight 571
that was a great story it obviously like gut-wrenching but I think people really
liked the the survival of it all well and I it seemed like you guys were like first of all thanks for saying like that
was a great episode like that I think Dave did an amazing job with the research on that episode the story is
just like such a harrowing story and I was really excited to tell it in a way that was a little different and kind of
didn't didn't go didn't go so hard on the uh salacious what people see as the salacious aspects of it yeah you
highlighted more of the actual important details but thank you for recognizing that and thank you for letting us know
how much you liked it that was very nice to see and I think you guys really vibed
with how uh it was an episode about people like coming together to overcome seemingly impossible ODS in a terrible
terrible horrible no good situation that seemed to have no positive like Silver Lining whatsoever but because they
worked together and they stayed together they were able to get out of it topical
and I think that's important everybody work together let's all work together Let's Stay Together let's be
kind to each other to let's take care of each other and lean on each other lean on each other that's all that's all
we're saying we're not going to get into a big thing I'm just saying like let's all just work together here yeah
becausein cuz look at what what terrible situation these people were able to get
out of just by never giving up never laying down and accepting what they thought their fate was no how hopeless
they insurmountable the odds seemed the word insurmountable is just popping up in my life a lot lately
really and I just love it it's a I love words I know I do too like words are great I get I know that that sounds like
a stupid St well you're an author so it doesn't but I just really like words no I do too certain words I also get an
email every day with a word of the day if you'd like me to tell you about it later I got you let me just tell you
about it right now tell me about it now maybe somebody else listening wants to get this email that's word of the day
let me find it it's fun that's one of the reasons because I'm telling you know it's 2025 why don't we just get like
really viby here for a minute uh cuz it's going to get really dark in a couple minutes uh but
2025 guys read read a lot of books get off of social media get off of the Doom scrolling it's turned into kind of [ __ ]
storm on there anyways read some books I'm telling you you're going to like once you get in the vibe and you find a
genre you like or you find like an author you really like or just a Vibe of book you like you're going to come out
of each book being like [ __ ] I'm one I learned something two I felt [ __ ] and
three you're going to know new different words you're going to you're going to come out of there with some vocab
excellence and that's fun and that's and you just get to drop a new word yes I love it um if you can't find me on
Instagram right now I ran for the hills I am not on Instagram anymore just to unplug I don't know you know I might
go back I might go back I I don't know where I just went with that I might go back at some point but it just was it
didn't feel great and um I I was following people that I didn't make the choice to follow so that was weird yeah
that's a thing so but it's you know what this new year I think like we all like especially in the Pod lab I feel like we
all and actually in this house cuz like John was that way too we all had these like just thoughts of like you know what
I'm unplugging yeah I'm taking a step back from all this like you know internet social media Hil storm that's
happening and just like enjoying the small more and I think everybody needs to that
a little bit grass I'm going to touch it SNS but it gives you more time to do things that make you happy and actually
feed you and speaking of things that make us happy back to words hell yeah today's word of the day is I don't know
how to pronounce it yet I haven't listened but it's oh it's bringing me to another voice hello it is sedulous
sedulous O and that means showing dedication and diligence is an adjective is it sigils or
sedulous it's sedulous oh okay I've never heard that one s e d u l o u s sedulous what is this this uh this
Outlet that's sending you these words every day cuz maybe people want that word daily that's very easy to remember
so word daily I guess if you want a word of a of the day things like that they're
going to make that's the thing the internet can be great and these are the things that the internet is great for
let's find the great thing I love it yeah um so yeah that was a lot of you know good stuff yeah and here's a lot of
bad stuff I'm sorry we're on part three so the good news is this is the end he you know we get to see RNE piece the
[ __ ] out go to jail and then eventually die which is awesome he's going to shuffle right off this Mortal coil get
the [ __ ] off this coil we were all behind him pushing them off bye bye so quick recap of part two for you Rodney
ended up serving less than three years for the attack on T shapira which isg [ __ ] insane and he was back prowling
on the streets in no time with zero regard for being on parole he had no regard for being on parole and parole
had no regard that he was on Parole which I think is why he had no regard for being on parole because if you don't
see the parole people having any regard you're like why should I there was just no regard to be found yeah the regards
were in short supply back then I the regard was not in the room with us or anyone no one could find it uh in
between brutal attacks and murders he made his appearance on the dating game which we've talked about a couple times
horrifying uh you know he left his lasting impression on Cheryl Bradshaw there and even another contestant one of
the other bachelors and if you look at him in those clips she they were right on Target in
the you look at him and you're like gross there's something just gross about him skevy yeah and finally he was
apprehended yet again where he actually confessed to assaulting and raping a 15-year-old Monique ho who bravely
escaped and told police everything that happened to her yet for some reason he he was released on a ridiculous $10,000
bail instead of the prosecutor's $50,000 request so his mother posted that bail and again I feel like I've said this 400
times throughout the series Rodney was back out on the streets yep insane yep we're still really short on the regard
no regards so a few weeks later after he posted bail and was back home with Mom he gave his notice to the LA uh times
where he was working remember oh yeah so effective May 12th he would be unemployed and he told his employee that
he wanted to focus on his photography and he was actually thinking of moving up north yeah you know he's an artist
yeah an artist it's not that he's you know facing serious jail time or anything like that no just artist while
Rodney was finishing out his last days at the Times 21-year-old Jill parento was settling into her new apartment in
Burbank she's super excited just to start her new independent life a few months earlier she had started a job as
a computer key punch operator she was making good money she had everything going for she was just really enjoying
like I said being out on her own her independence on June 13th Jill's sister Dee called to find out what Jill was
doing that night if she wanted to hang out or something but Jill said that she had a date to go to a Dodgers game with
Dan Brady and Dan Bry was somebody that she had known since high school so this wasn't crazy but the next morning Jill's
friend Cathy waited by the phone to hear about the date she was anxious to hear how everything went they called each
other to check in before work almost every single day but Jill never called so Kathy thought it was a little bit
weird but she assumed you know maybe Jill just went into work earlier that morning and I'll check in with her later
yeah but hours later nobody had heard from Jill which was very out of character and her friends and family
were starting to get pretty concerned so not content to just sit around and wait
to hear something her friend Janet Jordan went straight to Jill's apartment to check on her J poor Janet yeah poor
Janet she had barely entered the apartment and made her way up to Jill's bedroom when she saw Jill's body on the
floor she was lying face up she was nude and she had been beaten severely Janet just ran out of there and ran to the
closest phone to call the police Burbank detective Gordon Bowers was the first to
arrived to the apartment and he was met by Janet who was so upset that she could
barely even speak I cuz one of the things you have to think about is she probably thought oh [ __ ] the person's
probably still in this house yeah like this the range of emotions and fear you would feel oh yeah there's immediate
fight or flight and flight would absolutely kick in so she was so upset she could barely talk additional
officers arrived a few minutes later and the first thing they noticed was that and this is so [ __ ] terrifying and
creepy the screen on the window facing the Courtyard at her apartment complex had been cut vertically and horizontally
making a large hole so that like a person could fit through oh could literally just like open open it up
spread it aside and just get right in holy [ __ ] and then they also noticed that the light bulb in the stairwell
leading to Jill's door had been unscrewed what the [ __ ] that's like strangers literally The Strangers type
[ __ ] inside the apartment nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary obviously aside from what you know Jill
being dead in the apartment her purse lay on the table next to her Dodgers ticket stub and program and nothing
seemed to be missing though the medical examiner confirmed the obvious Jill had been violently sexually assaulted she
was beaten she was strangled there was severe trauma to her nose cheeks her teeth and even her head and there were
visible ligature marks around her neck which were caused by the cord from an electric blanket that had been twisted
around her throat he is so [ __ ] like brutal like he's just so violent yeah like it's the beating and a lot of times
it doesn't even seem like he came with something to strangle people with he just finds something nearby cuz a lot of
times it's like you know their tights that they were wearing and in this case it's like an electrical cord blanket she
probably just had you know a heated blanket laying around and that's what he uses just on the Fly CU I think it's
like the beating he knows he's going to administer he doesn't need to bring anything with him yeah that's so scary
it's he just incapacitates somebody enough to go find something in their own house which is even like another level
of yeah I don't even know what the word is yeah now nearly everything in the bedroom from the walls to the clothing
scattered around the floor was splattered with blood everywhere in the autopsy report the medical examiner
noted significant pulling or striking blunt traumas to the head by an object broader than a hammer holy [ __ ] so that
caused extensive scalp hemorrhages there were also quote deep scratches around both breasts tooth marks and puncture
wounds below the left nipple and cuts on the left side of the left breast he's like he's seriously a wild animal
when you really stop to think about what these attacks must be like yeah it is beyond your wildest nightmare he's rabid
yeah he doesn't even seem like a human no the ultimate cause of death was the ligature strangulation so you imagine
that and I hate to even like you know go further into this but you imagine he is
beating his victims viciously yeah he's attacking them with his teeth with his hands with some object bigger than a
hammer and the ultimate cause of death is strangulation so they're alive while he's inflicting all that pain and just
trauma onto them yeah it's awful the killer had also left fluids on and inside the body and there was
additional blood evidence found on the window sill leading investigators to believe that actually the killer had cut
himself when he broke into the apartment so at least that was good that they had
that evidence detectives in La had barely started processing the evidence at this
scene when on June 20th A call came into the Huntington Beach Police Department the caller Maryann Fraser explained that
her 12-year-old daughter Robin samso had left the house earlier that day uh but she hadn't been seen or heard from since
leaving her friend's house on her bicycle that afternoon which is so typical yeah just of course going out on
a bike ride with your friend at that time it was very common for kids to be reported missing only to turn up a
couple days later though having run away but in his statement to the Press Lieutenant Bruce young told reporters
Robin is a quote very dependable child who had no history of being a runaway and had never been in any trouble of
this nature before this was not like [Music] her a few days into the investigation of
Robin's disappearance Huntington Beach Police got a call from Dana crappa a forestry service firefighter who thought
she might have actually seen Robin on the day she went missing according to crappa she was on her way to work that
afternoon and she was driving up Santa Anita Canyon Road when she saw a datson F10 station wagon parked at a local
turnout area and she remembered the car because she had actually nearly collided
headon with a similar vehicle a few days earlier oh wow which was weird as she got closer she said she saw a darkhaired
man forcefully steering quote unquote a blonde girl into the woods toward a dry Riverbank she said she said it was less
alarming than it was unusual so she I was like I feel like that would be how is that not alarming I feel like that
would be both alarming and unusual yeah so she kept driving and she ignored what
she saw it had completely left her thoughts by the time she reached her destination that's wild and it wasn't
until she saw the notices about the missing girl that she remembered the incident at the time of her phone call
police had just reported that they were quote no further ahead in the investigation than they were a week ago
so the call from this forestry firefighter was the first Real Lead that they had Lieutenant young described the
suspect as a quote man in his 30s 5'1 to 6 feet tall with collar length dark curly hair the description of that man
seen by crappa matched those given by Robin's friends who actually said a man had approached them earlier that day on
the beach and asked if he could take their pictures oh so all of the the description of him the man that krappa
saw and the description by Robin's friends all are lining up y on July 2nd William popi a member of the forest uh
service spraying crew was clearing brush near the Chantry flat campground near the Sierra Madre Foothills and he came
across skeletonized human remains that were scattered across the Ravine according to his report and this is a
little brutal the skull was separated from the neck and the lower teeth were fractured it almost looked to him like
the individual had been struck in the face with a hard object oh God and she was 12 12 years old when the medical
examiner arrived to remove the body he noted that the left foot and Portion quote unquote portions of the hands were
missing Jesus Christ yeah by the time the body was discovered the scene had been thoroughly trampled by Wildlife so
that was going to explain some of that but still investigators found critical evidence near the body including a can
cut brand kitchen knife with blood droplets on it and a beach towel with wipe stains of what was eventually
determined to be type A blood oh nearby there was additional blood evidence found among a pile of rocks and leaves
but there was no clothing found at the scene other than one tennis shoe that bore the name Robin on the inside oh God
just one tennis shoe the name in the shoe prompted investigators to check dental records of Robin samso which
would end up being a match for those remains that's [ __ ] terrible 12 years old 12 years old the medical examiner
would uh later conclude actually that the most likely cause of death in Robin's death was stabbing holy [ __ ]
yeah given the advanced decm it was pretty impossible for the medical examiner to determine if Robin had been
sexually assaulted but investigators in Huntington Beach strongly suspected that
this was their Killer's motive detective Ron Jenkins said we're assuming Robin was sexually assaulted and this guy is
going to do it again holy [ __ ] yeah well while the medical examiner had been unable to determine the exact cause of
death cuz he thought maybe stabbing but he couldn't be sure investigators were treating it as a homicide no matter what
Jenkins told a reporter from the LA Times I don't think a healthy 12-year-old girl walked 50 miles to the
hills and then just laid down and died uh no no I think we can safely say that definitely not and also how crazy is it
that while Rodney alala was working at the LA Times these cases were H like people were reporting on these cases
while he works while he's working there which is just nuts to he probably loved it oh yeah of course he did I'm sure
they were all talking about it and he was yeah so excited about it now the strongest lead investigators had was the
description of the Man scene at the beach and then later with Robin near the area where her body was discovered but
the problem was that description also matched thousands of people in California and didn't really help
investigators narrow down their pool of suspects detective Jenkins said I've had
50 calls from Laguna Beach to Santa Monica about this who this guy is since we put out the description of him if I
had 50 people we could check all these guys in one day but there's only so many of us so we have to put the names in
some sort of priority that's so that that's what's so sad to me is when it's like a resources thing yeah where it's
like we could check all these we just don't have enough people we don't have that Manpower investigators also asked
for the Public's help in locating the bike that Robin had been riding when she disappeared it wasn't found at the scene
and it hadn't been seen since she left her friend's house that afternoon fortunately Jenkins and his
team of investigators would not have to wait long for the Public's help a few days after they released the sketch of
the suspect Officer Dennis MCN contacted the Huntington Beach Division and reported that the sketch and the
description of the suspect matched a perole Le that he had on his case load a few years back and his name was Rodney
Alcala so we love a parole officer finally coming through thank goodness yeah according time it's about time
according to MCN Alcala had a history as a child molester and a quote known penion for prant photography of children
Jesus Christ it's disgusting he's a [ __ ] monster and not only that but he strongly resembled the sketch that
police had released and it turned out that officer MCN was not alone in his belief a few days later Donald Haynes
which if you remember that name he's the Good Samaritan who reported the assault
on T Shapiro he called the tip line to report that the in the sketch strongly resembled alala who he remembered from
The Assault on T Donald T's Good Samaritan of the [ __ ] Century the fact that he he the fact that he was
following this and was like oh no that's the guy and I'm going to make sure they
know that like a lot of people and it sounds sad but it's like a lot of people wouldn't they don't want to get
themselves they want to get re-involved they don't want to like deal with it again this guy was like nah [ __ ] this
guy that's the thing we tell that the for story way more often than the latter of Donald P absolutely it's incredible
damn I feel like he I hope he was like the head of his neighborhood watch because I would feel so safe with that
man says my neighbor I hope he just thrived I also I should look I I don't know why I didn't already I should look
and see if he got some kind of reward because he absolutely should have yeah some kind of acknowledgement he's
adorable by the way oh yeah yeah he just he looks like an adorable old man I feel
like good people who are like have good insid sometimes it like really shines it's true but based on the tips from the
public his criminal history and the fact that he was known to frequent the area where Robins remains were discovered
investigators were granted a warrant for alcohol's arrest and a warrant to search
his home and his car on July 24th detectives arrived at alcala's Mother's house for the 457th time that's me being
hyperbolic but barely but like not really barely they found Rodney just chilling in his bedroom and took him
into custody without incident during their search of the house though they found a considerable amount of
photography equipment and photographs as well as a receipt for a storage locker in Seattle ooh yeah which I never knew
that detail of this case that there was a whole storage locker full of nefy as [ __ ] I had no idea they also found a
cane Cut Knife Set interestingly enough but it seemed as though none of the knives were missing from the set but
still interesting other item sees that day included a pair of handcuffs this is disgusting eight issues of a magazine
which I don't know how it got into publication but it's called young and naked magazine are you [ __ ] kidding
me y get get it together disgusting get it [ __ ] together they found a leather bull whip and over 1,000 photos
negatives and slides Jesus Christ mhm he was booked on suspicion of murder though
he claimed that on the afternoon that Robin went missing he was at nottsbury Farm amusement park being interviewed
for a photography job job oh you're at an amusement park that's good isn't that interesting that's disgusting regardless
of his supposed Alibi he was put into a Huntington Beach jail cell and his bail was set out of
$250,000 a sum far beyond his mother's Reach This Time thank goodness thank goodness mom can't come bail this [ __ ]
out honestly mom should be ashamed of herself yeah I'm glad you said it cuz I completely agree yeah you just I don't
like you can agree or not I whatever but there's there's a certain time when when
they have to face the music when the police continuously come to your home saying your son is accused of doing this
crazy ass [ __ ] you can't enable a child who is a grown adult now it's not like
they're a child it's not like you're saving a child from you know yeah this is a grown adult he's making stupid
decisions and he's hurting people it's time to start holding him accountable for it well and it's not like the police
just came and said oh you know he's a suspect he's a suspect he's a suspect that happened but also he was convicted
multiple times of that's the thing horrible horrible crimes yeah like and that's the thing it's like it's time to
start letting letting the justice system hold him accountable yeah so a few days
after his arrest alcala's sister came to visit him in the in the Huntington Beach
jail during their conversation guards overheard Rodney and his sister talking about a storage unit in Seattle and they
heard him say to her do me a favor get the stuff out of there get it cleared out holy [ __ ] you didn't think anyone
was listening to your conversation prison sir like really okay he's like I bet this is totally like off the Record
no one's going to hear this no one's listening you know prison is a place where no one hears anything it's cool
the calls aren't wired or anything like that not tapped no but intrigued at the thought of what alala could be hiding in
his storage locker detectives Ed McLaren and Craig Robinson got a warrant to search that unit and they flew right
over to Seattle when they reached the storage shed however they found that it was locked with not one but two padlocks
fortunately they had brought along with them two keys discovered in a briefcase that was seized from alcala's mother's
house and when they tried them in the locks they worked oh [ __ ] can you imagine how that must have felt cuz you
they probably had those two keys and were like who knows what actually go to yeah and then boom Oh my God to hear
that lock click must have been the most exhilarating and terrifying moment yes of any of their lives cuz you're like a
double like we're going to find evidence we can nail this [ __ ] like this is our
time we horrifying what the [ __ ] are we going to find in here yeah inside the storage unit McLaren and Robinson
discovered what appeared to be an assortment of personal belongings including cold weather clothing kitchen
wear more than 1,700 photographs oh God a large number of photos slide carousels
including one marked and this is awful T VA rape I am so glad that this [ __ ] died
same and I hope it was so painful awful I hope it was an awful death I hope he felt every second of every horrific
feeling one could possibly feel I hope Rodney alala got the same kind of experience that angelis had on Buffy yes
where the soul suddenly hits and every bad thing you've ever done rushes like I hope yeah he had to feel every bad thing
he's ever done yeah and the simultaneous feeling of like a bunch of nails lifting
his fingernails yeah I hope that's what I hope uh they also found another um photos slide Carousel that was marked
owed to New York by John Berger so boom Alias wow dumbass he's also I'm so glad he's so [ __ ] stupid same like that is
helpful very helpful when they're dumb as [ __ ] that's the thing they also found
several pieces of jewelry and among that jewelry the detectives found a pair of gold earrings that match those described
by Robin Sams so's mother which she was wearing on the day she went Miss remember Robin was 12 12 I remember T
was eight eight like I'm not taking away from the young women that also lost their lives it's justy old man he really
he really hit every like every age group he had no actual profile except for woman exactly yeah and and he liked
women yeah he's disgusting on July 26th he appeared in Municipal Court where he was reigned on charges of
kidnapping lud or lascivious acts Upon a Child under 14 first-degree murder and robbery he pleaded not guilty to all
charges and a a preliminary hearing was set for early August at the same time the judge ordered that Alcala would
finally be held without Bale yeah said very weird thanks guys yeah for finally doing that thanks yeah while he sat in a
jail cell awaiting trial investigators started combing through the photos and negatives discovered in the storage unit
which must have been [ __ ] awful it takes like it's I don't think we think enough like the average person about the
kind of [ __ ] that the like um the people who go to these crime scenes and detectives have to see and have to comb
through and then have to just like Place aside and move on to the next one like these people have to comb through stuff
like that and then go eat dinner with their family yeah like they have to see these awful pictures
of an 8-year-old girl being assaulted and brutally like like harmed and attempted to be murdered and then some
have to go home and see their child yeah and then just send them off to school or
send them down the street to play or whatever the compartmentalizing that must have to happen in your brain is
just beyond like I feel like it's beyond most human capabilities you can see why
a lot of detectives like end up you know having so much trouble in their personal
life absolutely we even say like after recording a case like this it's tough forek tough but if I have to if I was
forced via my job description to have to look through every single crime scene photo like things that are not released
to the public and like yeah I that would break I think there's so many cases where I've thought about I'm like I
can't imagine the people looking at the photos here no cuz it would break so many even juries juries are shown wild
photos sometimes and sometimes they need like extensive therapy after one of my biggest fears is getting called to Jerry
dudy for having to be exposed to some of this stuff because it's like I get it like they see the same obviously like on
a lesser they see a lesser amount of it most times but they see the things that these detectives see and have to go
through yeah so it's damn like the people who do this stuff are are different kinds of people they really
are [Music] well the photos contained a large number of young women investigators had never
seen before who they believed that Alcala had been stalking throughout the years so he was also a stalker which is
[ __ ] terrifying which is the least shocking thing in the world truly they also discovered a photograph that
appeared to have been taking uh taken at Huntington Beach on the day that Robin one missing so there went that alibi yep
yeah that goes so the image was actually published in papers across California to
be like hey if who is this woman do you have any information detectives were contacted by Lorraine Watson who was the
young woman in the photo and she confirmed the day that the photo was taken effectively undermining his claim
that he was at a job interview that day what a dumb [ __ ] truly and what a dumb
[ __ ] the detective work there to be like maybe we can track this girl down like
if you're this girl contct my mind when they can I'm like hell yeah it's awesome yeah
Rodney alcala's trial was delayed multiple times as the defense filed one motion after the other to get testimony
and evidence suppressed most of which were unsuccessful luckily and the trial finally got underway in February of 1980
with deput Deputy district attorney Rich Farnell acting on behalf of the state and John Barnett working on behalf of
Alcala the states case was pretty straightforward Alcala had met Robin samso on or near Huntington Beach on the
afternoon that she went missing and he had taken her up into the mountains stopping at marker 11 where he sexually
assaulted and murdered her in support of that theory they called several witnesses including the two teenage
girls that alala had approached with his camera earlier that day another young woman Lori wz also testified that Alcala
had taken her photo on the beach that afternoon so he was just yeah he was just out there taking prowling on the
beach taking pictures of everybody he possibly could and all of these women undermined his Alibi which was perfect
because now the jury is listening in yeah those Witnesses helped to place him at the scene but the state's most
significant witness was Dana crappa that firefighter who saw alala with Robin on
the afternoon that she was killed unfortunately while she did appear in court to testify her testimony
was a major Revelation to both the prosecution in defense who were not expecting the story she told because it
was quite different than what they had both originally heard oh Lord initially she had testified that she had seen
alala and a young blonde girl headed into the woods on the night of June 21st and that was her extent of involvement
in the case but since alcala's arrest she had become uncooperative with police and was very Cy about the testimony that
she had given in previous hearings huh at a hearing in February 1980 alcala's defense attorney John Barnett pressed
crappa about the truthfulness of her statements and that's when she started telling a very different story than
anyone had heard interesting according to her she had seen alala on the day of the murder just
like she had told investigators but there was a great deal more to it that she hadn't said it turned out that just
a few days later on June 25th she returned to marker 11 where she had previously seen Alcala she said she
parked her car but she left the engine running and she walked a little way up the trail to investigate she said she
hadn't made it very far when she noticed a foul smell in the air and a few feet away she saw various pieces of clothing
including that tennis shoe a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and remember they didn't find any clothing at the scene a
few feet away from the clothing she said she spotted a body she said quote it was
missing the hands and the feet it was pretty cut up on the Torso arms and legs it was bloated like an animal gets when
it sets a while what the fu she claimed she was horrified and she ran back to her car and then drove to her parents
house where she said nothing about what she had found I don't get that mhm a few days later she was working on a
spraying crew in that same area wait so babe you just went back to work mhm you just went to work it gets a lot worse
like what are you doing nothing good you just going back to work nothing to be proud of what the [ __ ] so she goes back
to work and she's in that same area and she and William popi Came Upon a pile of
bones believing them to be the remains of a deer or some kind of other animal she said William actually picked up one
one of the bones and quote tossed it at crappa as a joke though she admitted she
knew that they were not animal bones later that night she returned to the scene again it was dark but in the
light of her flashlight that she brought along with her she said she could see some of the girl's blonde hair and the
pile of clothing still near the body there were obviously signs of further decomposition and she said the right arm
appeared to be missing at that point 3 days later while working with the brain crew was when William popi finally
discovered the remains of Robin samso I am literally shocked without words this is the most disgusting
Behavior as outside of like being a murderer it's also just bizarre you're like is that true like are you why would
you lie about that why would you lie about that but why did you lie in the first place and this story this story
this story is way worse so [ __ ] bizar I get why she lied about it in the first
place because the actual truth that she was forced to tell under oath so much is
so bad and makes that person look so [ __ ] up that you're not going to well and also at that point you're not going
to believe anything they say because they've already lied so much that first story was to cover up what this looks
like it is because to me this looks like what the [ __ ] is wrong with you well I
mean yeah why the [ __ ] are you out here walking around mulle why are you returning to the scene multiple times
returning multiple times that's insane Behavior cuz it's also like okay what's wrong with you oh so
much is wrong with them like let's let's pull you aside when this is all set and
i' be like we need to take a real hard look into this person's background because what the [ __ ] is going on there
the new version of events was not only a stunning Discovery to Elena but also the
prosecution and the defense and me as well uh the prosecu in the defense had suspected that she was withholding
something but didn't expect that it was so significant when asked why she hadn't
said anything about any of this before she said from the very beginning I was trying to find a way out I did not want
to testify blaming it on my imagination was easier to say than actually saying I
believed it here's the thing I get that that I get you saying I didn't want to testify I get it cuz I think about that
all the time that if you just happen to stumble upon a body you're now fully involved in that investigation and that
sucks that's a nightmare because you didn't ask to be fully involved in that it sucks ass it's a lot of weight to
carry I totally get that hearing that makes a little nope nothing I get that I get
that feeling still doesn't make sense you still have an obligation as a fellow human you just do I know it's going to
suck but you have a [ __ ] obligation as a fellow human well that's as you see blonde hair this is a
12-year-old and you know that a 12 this is a child you you think you saw her that's the other thing you thought you
saw saw them so it's like you saw her alive that's and now you're just going to work and going home and acting and
letting your [ __ ] coworker throw her bones about that's that's the part that I'm like okay when as soon as that
happened you should have called the police and been like we thought this was animal bones but I don't think it is can
you come out here and check that's the part where it would have been like okay you [ __ ] up but like you were
scared when it gets to the point where it's like I saw something I didn't say anything and then I saw another thing
and somebody threw something at me and I didn't say anything and then I went back
a third time and I still didn't say anything and then I decided maybe I should say here's the other thing too
again I understand not wanting to have to testify not wanting being thrust into the investigation like that I can't
imagine I've never stumbled upon a dead body no and hope to never why did you keep going back to it if you didn't want
to be involved in this why the [ __ ] did you keep going and looking at that body
cuz you involved yourself that's the part and to me that tells me that you're [ __ ] curious and you don't know like
I there's something wrong here that's not somebody who doesn't want to be involved the only thing the only thing
that I can think of is that she thought that Her Imagination was playing tricks on her and she's like is this a human is
this a human but it's like it is babe call someone and it is you don't need to go back four different times and smell
that smell to know that you're looking at a human being let's be real it's and to like bring a work crew out there it's
just I again I can get down with you with the feeling of being scared to have to testify and be involved in the whole
thing what you did is [ __ ] up beyond measure and I can't understand it no so that's that damn I didn't see that
happening yeah no one did her decision to reveal the truth was a major blow to the the prosecution because it called
into question The credibility of her testim her testimony which was the key to the prosecution's case so everybody
stunned another important witness for the prosecution Robert Dove had similar credibility at problems he was an inmate
at the Huntington Beach jail where Alcala was held uh pending trial and he testified that during his time there he
overheard Alcala discussing Robin's murder and boasting about his chances of an acquittal this inmate claimed he
heard Alcatel another inmate no one seen me take her and added that he didn't stab her but he quote slapped her
unconscious Jesus Christ which is just so brutal yeah I he also told the inmate they quote would never convict him
without the quote film and the bike and they would not find the bike so that's interesting this guy
although The credibility of those two witnesses to key Witnesses was weakened under cross-examination the prosecution
was handed a major victim when the judge allowed for I'll call his previous arrest record and violent
conduct to be brought to the attention of the jury goodness that doesn't happen a lot no it doesn't and it's kind of
stupid in my opinion it is I agree I know it's like a case by case thing no I know in a lot of cases it's a slippery
SL you know but in this one it's like yeah come on as a result though the entire courtroom was familiarized with
the Assa The Assault on tally Shapiro in 1968 the kidnapping of Julie Johnson in
1975 if you don't remember that's from part two where he had kidnapped that girl yeah um she was on her way to Julie
Johnson was on her way to school and he forced her to smoke weed and then the park ranger found them and nobody
believed that nobody believed her they thought she this child was at fault for going with the scum man and of course
they were made aware of the recent sexual assault and kidnapping of Moni KO which he hadn't even faced yet he was
still he was out on bail for all that awesome the criminal history established obviously a pattern of lurring young
girls into his car and then attacking them violently which is precisely what the prosecutor Farnell argued had
happened to Robin S and it's also just facts and his closing arguments John Barnett flatly rejected the
prosecution's theory and argued to the jury that Dana kraa's dishonesty quote entirely discredits the prosecution's
case which not exactly I don't think so no he said though if they couldn't trust
the prosecution's key eyewitness could they really be certain Beyond a reasonable doubt that the rest of their
theory was accurate he said quote set your emotions aside set your feelings aside decide on the decide the case on
the facts if we are to be a country of laws you must acquit because the prosecutors have failed to prove their
burden Beyond a reasonable doubt it's like that's not actually up for you to decide you I mean that is some I know
it's his job some slimy [ __ ] but that's some slimy ass [ __ ] in this case I'm
going saying all defense attorneys but in this case that's some slimy [ __ ] in this actual case it is horrifying you're
defending somebody who was literally convicted multiple times for assaulting young children and wom like you're
defending a predator that's a problem and it's he's an established prator and I get it I know I know somebody needs to
defend all the people and all that [ __ ] yeah I don't like it in this case I don't like it in this case either so
deal with it yeah after two months of testimony and evidence the jury deliberated for nearly a day before
returning with their verdict finding Rodney alala guilty on charges of kidnapping and first degree murder on
May 7th he returned to court for the penalty phase of the trial and that was when the jury was asked to determine
whether aggravating circumstances were such that they warranted the death penalty during this time Farnell
attempted to establish for the jury that alala had in fact killed before he referred to the 1977 murder of Ellen
hover where the judge sustained the defense's objections because there was unfortunately never sufficient evidence
or a conviction for Ellen hub's murder unfortunately which is awful even well we'll get there don't worry oh good even
though Farnell wasn't able to connect alala to hovers murder the jury still returned a recommendation that Rodney
Alcala be sentenced to death for the murder of Robin samsel so he didn't even need to introduce that they were like
yeah no they were like we got you and honestly life was going to introduce him the death penalty anyways so that's ex
not unfortunately not like right away yeah usually takes a while I know when the recommendation was read Robin's
mother Maran Fraser shouted all right from her seat near the front of the courtroom and then she collapsed into
the arms of a police officer next to her I would be the same way oh yeah absolutely be the same way that's your
baby that's her 12-year-old baby who went to hang out with her friends and ride her bike around yep which she
should be able to [ __ ] do like you everybody knows our stances and all that on the death penalty I don't need to say
it again but I can say 100% I would be 100% for it if it was my child yep yep not a doubt in my mind I don't even have
kids yet not a doubt in my mind judge Schwab set a date of June 20th for official
sentencing in between the recommendation phase and the final sentencing on June 20th alala and his attorney of course
petitioned the state supreme court for a new trial they argued that the evidence
in the case primarily the jewelry and the photo seized from the storage locker had been obtained illegally and should
warrant a new trial shut the [ __ ] up but they weren't they had search warrants no
shut up the Supreme Court though rejected the petition entirely and on June 20th Rodney alala was formally
sentenced to to death bye but that is not the end of our story no of course [Music]
not it turned out that maryan Fraser's relief ad Al kala's conviction was to be shortlived which breaks your heart for
her and all the other families she just couldn't take a breath this family and all the and most of the families just
got tormented tormented Tor for years It ultimately took I think three trials in 1984 Rodney alala appealed his
conviction to the uh state supreme court again this time arguing among other things that the prose the prosecution
had biased the jury against him when they disclosed his past criminal acts well babe you're a predator um so that's
for Life babe that's the thing that's for life but unfortunately the justices agreed wow they agreed insiding with the
argument put forth by the defense the justices overturned that original ruling and they they granted Alcala a new trial
that's dumb as [ __ ] it is it's it drives you insane so the second trial held in
the spring of 1986 so six years later this family had six years of I don't want to say peace because they lost
their loved one but they had six years of knowing that this man was behind bars and was going to die for what he did
yeah trying to to rebuild the pieces of their life for 6 years yeah and then it gets opened right back and then boom
it's all it's starting all over again it was essentially a rerun of the first trial but this time the prosecution had
to leave out his past criminal history in the end he was still found guilty of kidnapping
murder Maran Fraser told reporters I just thank God maybe now my daughter can go to sleep for the first time in 7
years maybe the rest of my family can go back to life oh during the penalty phase
of month later alala pleaded with the jury to spare him the death penalty oh like your victims pleaded with you
probably yeah exactly you piece of [ __ ] saying that his record as a model prisoner was proof that quote I'm
absolutely harmless I'm not a threat you're a child predator dude dig his corpse up so we can all kick him in
the nuts literally you're not a threat yeah you're not a threat when you're in prison because there's no children there
exactly you [ __ ] [ __ ] but despite despite his pleas the jury again recommended the death penalty for the
murder of Robin samso later f marann Fraser hugged the jury foreman and told him thank you my daughter deserved this
which she absolutely did yeah in the years that followed though he continued to appeal his conviction he should not
have been allowed to keep doing this no he just shouldn't have no not at all and
in 2001 a federal Court's appeals judge overturned the conviction in the second trial on the grounds that alala had not
been given the opportunity to present contradictory evidence during his trial get it together it's also like okay how
many times does he get to make this The Perfect Defense you just keep you keep getting to try again like that's not how
this should work I've had years and years to sit and stew over this and I finally come up with the perfect plan to
get out of it can you let me have another trial and they're like sure and it's like it's again in prison it's all
he has to do some people are sitting in prison and that's all that you like I want to sit here and be like they
shouldn't be able to do that no but it's true some are innocent and they get proven guilty and they they get that
time to finally sit there and think like oh this is the one thing so I can't even
sit here and say it's a bad thing no it's a it's a perfectly imperfect system it is and
it's it's this is a perfect example of it of the our first instinct is to say [ __ ] this he shouldn't be allowed to
keep doing this and then you can flip it right to the other side and go but there's so many innocent people that get
convicted and they need that time and they do come up with a way that finally they can tell people that they are
innocent and they deserve that time they deserve that time so 100% it's perly imperfect that's why it's such a caseby
casee basis making even us making a blanket statement like they shouldn't be allowed to do this is not true it's just
not he shouldn't have been able to do this but I feel like this one guy should have been able to do this we are growing
and we are not making as many blanket statements you just got to catch yourself when you make or you catch
yourself before you wreck yourself you have to give a little bit of an amendment when you make a blanket
statement exactly I was about to and then I was like no no no girl don't do that yeah this specific man he should
not have had should not have been allowed to do anything no he should no nothing nothing but this decision meant
that he could be tried a third time for the murder of Robin samso her poor family we got to find a better way we do
Deputy attorney general Adrien denal told reporters we are incredibly disappointed we think the court is wrong
and that the justice has not and that justice has not been served in this case because this family is just getting
bombarded years and years after they think they finally have peace which the second time around I'm sure that family
Robin Sams so's family was like should we even rest or is this going to happen again that we're going to have to go
through this all again and then boom they had to go through it all again oh that's awful while the District
Attorney's Office may have been frustrated by the Court's decision by that time remember it is now 2001 oh
yeah major major advances in science and technology had allowed they have some DNA that's
the thing had allowed for the testing of DNA and those blood samples that I men open it up babe now they could pinpoint
that with surprising accuracy and in 2003 a recently collected sample of Alcala saliva was matched to samples
taken from Jill barcom Georgia Wicked Charlotte lamb and Jill pentos cases oops all that time sitting around didn't
get get you to realize that uh they can now they can now nail you to the wall even better than they could before in
fact beyond a shadow of a doubt now mhm that meant that in addition to retrying alala for Robin Sam's murder the
district attorney could also now prosecute him for those additional murders I love that that he was like oh
I'm innocent again and then they were like oops now we can actually get you for more you [ __ ] dumb in the words
of Balin you're done you're done this time around the prosecution had more than enough evidence to convince the
jury including the DNA evidence bite mark Impressions taken from the victims but unfortunately the family's present
at trial would have to endure Rodney alala serving as his own [ __ ] attorney This Time come on also some of
the things that he was allowed to do while representing himself will Boggle your goddamn mind those are things that
do need to look at Absol looked at I think there's a lot of instances where it becomes their own personal Kink yes
and and it's allowed to be like displayed and they and the fact that they are doing it in front of the
victim's families becomes part of their King yes and it shouldn't be allowed to be done one good jillion there needs to
be some safe safeguards on those for sure and unfortunately again it's like a case by casee basis because the judge
gets to decide what happens in this case I'm like you're like what are you doing
I'm like taptop is this thing on hello so on March 9th 2010 it took an Orange County jury less than an hour to find
Rodney alcola guilty on all five counts after the verdict was read one juror told a reporter he's a monster he's not
a human being 100% true here here to that my friend before the jury announced their sentencing recommendation though
Alcala again asked that he be spared the death penalty and actually at this point
wanted to be granted clemency no you could you good bro he said let me put the death penalty in
perspective for you if you desire to join in the killing of a human being you and the families of all the victims will
have to wait at least 15 to 20 years while the case slowly turns through the appet
process what are you really trying to be like let me explain it to are you trying
to mansplain the death penalty to everybody it's like yeah we know people will wait 20 years to see you die baited
breath yeah he also at this point was allowed to play Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant specifically the verse where
he sings I Want to Kill I want to kill I want to see blood and gore and guts and
veins in my teeth eat dead burnt bodies I mean kill kill kill kill why why are you letting him do that
in front of victim's families too at all but in front of victim's families what who know what happened to their loved
ones that's the thing and he was saying if you're going to inflict the death penalty on me you're the same as I am
wow so let me let me play this song to show you who you guys are and apparently who I am which you shouldn't be allowing
a convicted killer and child predator to be talking to people that way you just shouldn't they shouldn't have the the
Podi toit period yeah at all but to be sitting there being like let me preach to you that you're the same nah babe and
also are you not just proving the prosecutions case you literally just called yourself a killer yeah you're
saying you're no better than I am so you're saying you're a killer so you're is so you're saying hello you're saying
it's true hello yeah he was just an absolute Terror to the very last second but luckily the jury wasted no time
recommending to the judge that hey they still felt like he should be sentenced to death and during a
separate yeah like we're done here during a separate penalty phase tal Shapiro was actually able to speak about
her heroing experience holy [ __ ] as an 8-year-old girl attacked by this monster
later she told 48 hours I'm one of Al kalis first and one of his only living victims it should have stopped with me
why in the world are there so many other victims when it was a known fact what he
did to me yes to the fact that she was able to speak on this makes me so happy that she her voice was heard but it's so
true why the [ __ ] when they knew what he did to her at 8 years old in the morning
in her own [ __ ] apartment complex oh it's shameful why shameful why was anybody else allowed to ever ever come
across this man's path yeah the only icon in that scenario is Donald Hayes yes he was the only one that made a move
to stop anything from happening and they just washed it aside and without him oh
my God it could have even been worse worse yeah he she could be dead she would have been absolutely she would be
dead abely and he would have stayed in California and done the same thing more boldly so Rodney alala was finally being
held accountable for his horrific crime committed decades earlier and it turned out that it wasn't just prosecutors in
California who wanted Justice for his victims in January 2011 a grand jury in Manhattan indicted alala for the 1971
murder of Cornelia Michael Krill in the 1977 murder of Ellen hover remember Cornelia Michael krly she was moving and
he broke into her her seems that maybe he got into her apartment under the guise of helping her and then oh my God
[ __ ] Ellen's and Sheila said for the longest time it was for it was a foregone conclusion that he would never
be charged for her murder this is a terrific surprise yeah you want to see him go down for it absolutely on
December 14th 2012 he appeared in a New York courtroom where he pleaded guilty to both murders though he offered no
details about either crime he just knew that they had the DNA to con he's a little [ __ ] he knows at the time
investigators made public a large number of the photos discovered in Alcala storage unit in Seattle hoping that
they'd be able to identify women in the photos this it was like a big deal yeah in response many women came forward to
identify themselves and told police quote a photographer named John Berger had taken their picture in New York in
the 1970s I can't fathom being one of those women and just to know you got away you
would spend so much time like if not the rest of your life just thinking what was
it yeah what was it that I got Why Did I Get Away o why why did he take a picture
of me and then move on to the next girl and do what he did to her holy [ __ ] like
that would plague you I think yeah now while this helped to identify many of the women in the pictures a significant
number of these women unfortunately remain unidentified which makes me nervous of course it does because I'm
like where are these women yeah it's I think unfortunately we'll never know where some of these
women are but hopefully yeah hopefully we will hopefully we will four years later in 2016 a prosecutor in Wyoming
had charged alala with the murder of 28-year-old Christine Thorton who disappeared in 197
and her body was discovered in 1982 she was 6 months pregnant at the time of her
disappearance at the time he was in very poor health who gives a [ __ ] but the prosecutor declined to extradite him to
face charges no send that [ __ ] where he needs to go I don't give a [ __ ] if he's sick because she lost her life
he's still here so he should face the [ __ ] music and her baby's life exactly so I don't give a [ __ ] how sick
he is what is he going to be uncomfortable I don't extra DM I hope he is uncomfortable yeah on July 10th 2021
he died of natural causes at a hospital in Kings County California he got to live until he was 77 77 he got to live a
whole [ __ ] life that upsets me upon hearing of alcala's death though tly Shapiro who was then 61 years old told a
reporter the planet is a better place without him that's for sure yes now at the time of his death though he was
still suspected of Murder By investigators in Los Angeles Seattle Arizona New Hampshire and Marin County
California oh I'm sure there will be more things that come out and so many more cases I think will be connected to
him because he left DNA at so many of these cases he did so there's definitely hope that he that some people will
finally have answers to their loved ones murders but what a [ __ ] monster he is one of
the worst people that we've ever talked about truly we talk about horrible horrible horrible people and he is up
there with the worst of them I had no idea I knew he was really bad I had no idea how bad I had absolutely no idea
going going into the details reading some of them oh my God yeah oh my God like holy [ __ ] yeah so I think maybe for
our next case we'll do something a little fluffy a little light and if you need a you know pallet cleanser after
this which I'm sure you do go listen to the rewatcher yeah it's but we're talking about Buffy in case you haven't
listened to it Ash hasn't seen the whole Buffy series she's watching it for the first time I've seen it a million times
and we have Mikey on there with us who has also seen it a million times degrees of Buffy watching this and
we're going Episode by episode I think we're in the we're in the six season right now like halfway through about
halfway uh so and it's a lot of fun we end up laughing until we cry every single episode so it's well worth it a
very pallet cleanser if you need it yes and if you don't watch Buffy or you're not into that we also have scream with
Caleb where we cover horror movies or you could listen to both and be into all of it scream is also a place where we
end up laughing so hard we cry every single episode somebody said that they ran out of morbit episodes and went to
scream and they were like I did not think it was going to be this funny holy [ __ ] you guys we literally cry laughing
like every there have been times where I've had to run out of the room because I'm going to like pee my pants literally
so definitely if you need a little little stuff those are those are the way to go actually a perfect palette
cleanser for you guys our next episode we're going to be talking to the two directors of this um new docu series on
Netflix I think it dropped December 11th it's Kings of Tupelo you need to dedicate at least four hours of your
life to watching this it is the ziest docu series you will ever see and we're so stoked to talk to them that [ __ ] was
wild and I can't wait we're going to have so much fun so look out for that definitely try to check out the dock
before the episode drops cuz I you know I'm sure there's going to be some spoilers so yeah and like we were saying
at the top of the show we want to cover some more survivor cases some more strange history coming up yeah for sure
so we'll we'll we'll vary it up keep your eyes out something for everybody here yeah we gotta what got whatever
your fancy is we can help you we're here here we are I don't know I got to go uh
so that being said we hope you keep listening and we hope you keep it we weird but definitely not as weird as
Rodney alala because wow I need to go scrub my brain with a toilet brush be cool to each other a toilet brush with
Bach on [Music] [Music] it o [Music]

After his arrest, investigators would learn that, by the time he appeared on the game show, he was also a killer. In the year that followed, Alcala would go on to murder several other women until he was finally caught and convicted for his crimes. At his trial, Rodney Alcala was found guilty of eight murders, among other crimes, but he is suspected of several other murders, perhaps as many as one hundred or more.

Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!

References Associated Press. 1980. "Forest worker tells of grisly body find, fingers defendent ." Daily Breeze (Torrence, CA), March 23: 7.

—. 1980. "Witness in Alcala trial admits lying." Los Angeles Times, March 26: 44.

—. 1980. "Jury deliberate murder charge." Oakland Tribune, April 30: E3.

Brown, Doug. 1980. "Jury asks for the death penalty." Los Angeles Times, May 9: 32.

—. 1980. "Prosecution rests case in penalty part of Alcala trial." Los Angeles Times, May 8: 63.

CBS News. 2024. "Rodney Alcala: The Killing Game." 48 Hours .

Dunn, Edward. 1977. "Oneida woman slain in L.A." Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY), November 15: 1.

Esquivel, Paloma. 2010. "Alcala gets death penalty." Los Angeles Times, March 10: 72.

Falcon, Gabriel. 2010. Convicted serial killer won on 'Dating Game'. March 10. Accessed November 18, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240814201903/https://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/08/dating.game.killer/index.html.

Hicks, Jerry. 1986. "Alcala again given death sentence in slaying of girl, 12." Los Angeles Times, June 21: 50.

—. 1986. "Alcala asks jury to spare him, insists he isn't a murderer." Los Angeles Times, June 19: 141.

Jarlson, Gary. 1979. "Hunt for missing girls spreads to Oxnard." Los Angeles Times, June 28: 10.

—. 1979. "In search for girl's killer, time is the principal foe." Los Angeles Times, July 14: 22.

Kaye, Peter. 1981. "The long, painful path to justice." Daily Breeze (Torrence, CA), June 18: 19.

Kirkman, Edward. 1971. "Fear of a new sex killing spurs 6 on trail." Daily News (New York, NY), August 8: 75.

Levenson , Michael, and Eduardo Medina. 2021. "'Dating Game killer,' who preyed on woman in 1970s, dies in prison." New York Times, July 26.

Liff, Mark, Joseph Martin, and Paul Meskil. 1977. "Attorney urges FBI to hunt daughter." Daily News (New York, NY), July 31: 3.

Los Angeles Times. 1980. "Alcala defense wtiness's story repeated to jury." Los Angeles Times, April 30: 42.

—. 1979. "The Southland." Los Angeles Times, June 22: 30.

—. 1977. "Police now see link in strangulation murders of 10 LA women." Sacramento Bee, December 1: 22.

Moynihan, Colin. 2012. "Convicted killer pleads guilty to 2 New York murders." New York Times, December 15: 20.

OC Weekly. 2010. Rodney Alcala's murderous romp through polite society brings him to an Orange County courtroom again. January 21. Accessed November 19, 2024. https://www.ocweekly.com/rodney-alcalas-murderous-romp-through-polite-society-brings-him-to-an-orange-county-courtroom-again-6402172/.

Pelisek, Christine. 2010. "Rodney Alcala: the fine art of killing." LA Weekly, January 21.

Reyes, David. 1986. "Man convicted second time in murder of girl." Los Angeles Times, May 29: 43.

Sands, Stella. 2011. The Dating Game Killer: The True Story of a TV Dating Show, a Violent Sociopath, and a Series of Brutal Murders. New York, NY: St. Martin's.

Secret, Mosi. 2011. "After decades, charges in 2 Manhattan murders." New York Times, January 27: 24.

Smith, David. 2024. "The terrifying true story behind Woman of the Hour." The Guardian, October 22.

The People v. Rodney James Alcala. 1984. 36 Cal. 3d 605 (Supreme Court of California, August 23).

Weinstein, Henry. 2003. "New trial, new charge in old cases." Los Angeles Times, June 28: 32.

Connect with Wondery http://wondery.com/shows http://facebook.com/WonderyMedia http://twitter.com/WonderyMedia http://instagram.com/WonderyMedia

Brief Summary

Rodney Alcala's horrific crimes and the justice system's failures are discussed, highlighting the emotional impact on victims' families and the need for community support.

Key points

Apocalyptic Fires in LA. The hosts express their sorrow for those affected by devastating fires in LA.
The Brutality of Rodney's Crimes. A chilling recount of Rodney's violent attacks and the aftermath.
The Disappearance of Robin Samso. A young girl goes missing, raising alarm among her friends and family.
Rodney Alcala's Disturbing Discovery. Detectives uncover a storage unit filled with disturbing evidence linked to Alcala.
Witness Testifies to Horrific Discovery. A key witness reveals she found a body, changing the course of the investigation.
Rodney Alcala's Conviction. Rodney Alcala was found guilty of kidnapping and first-degree murder, leading to a death penalty recommendation.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Let's all just work together here.

Encouraging unity and support in tough times.

4:02WatchFeb 6, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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