One of the most notorious serial killers in American history is a man named Rodney Alcala. He was also known as the Dating Game Killer because he appeared on the TV show The Dating Game in 1978. Apart from taking the lives of people, he was also a sex offender. For his crimes, the court sentenced him to death. However, he was additionally sentenced to 25 more years to life after pledging guilty to two more homicides.
Even though he has been linked to eight murders, it is widely considered that his kill count is way higher than this number. The true number of his victims remains a mystery. However, authorities believe that he might have killed close to 130 people. Officials discovered that Alcala owned photographs of women, teenage girls, and boys. There were thousands of them and several were in sexually explicit poses.
Rodney Alcala died in 2021 at the age of 77. The reason for his death, according to the BBC was due to natural causes.
In 2023, a period crime drama film titled Woman of the Hour was released. This film narrates the story of this infamous serial killer. According to the Toronto International Film Festival, the synopsis of Woman of the Hour reads, “In the 1970s, Rodney Alcala went on a murder spree, luring women by posing as a photographer looking for models. Though already a registered sex offender and recently released from prison, he infamously appeared on The Dating Game, a show that introduced a set of three new bachelors each week, hidden from view as a woman asked them amusing questions before choosing a winner to go on an all-expenses-paid trip with her.”
Woman of the Hour was the directorial debut of actress Anna Kendrick.
Who were the victims of Rodney Alcala?
According to Murderpedia, here are some of Rodney Alcala’s victims.
- Jill Barcomb: This New York-based woman was 18 years old at the time of her murder in 1977 by Alcala. Officials discovered her body on Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles. Her corpse was naked from the waist down and there were signs of sexual assault.
- Georgia Wixted: Officials discovered the tortured, bludgeoned, and strangled body of this 27-year-old nurse on December 16, 1977. She had been sexually assaulted. Furthermore, officials also discovered a hammer beside her corpse.
- Charlotte Lamb: Charlotte Lamb’s naked copse was discovered on June 24, 1978, in the laundry room of an apartment complex. At the time of her passing, she was 32 years old. Furthermore, Rodney Alcala sexually assaulted and strangled her with a shoelace.
- Jill Parenteau: 21-year-old Jill Parenteau was a computer program keypunch operator. Officials discovered her unclothed body on her bedroom floor.
- Robin Samsoe: Robin Samsoe was only 12 years old when the serial killer took her life. She was from Huntington Beach and was abducted and killed in 1979. Furthermore, officials discovered her rotting corpse 12 days after her abduction at Santa Anita Canyon Road. This case quickly became one of the most infamous murder cases in Orange County’s history.
