The Dating Game Killer

In 1978, The Dating Game introduced Bachelor No. 1. He was described as a successful photographer who enjoys skydiving and motorcycling....his name was Rodney Alcala.

 

But before his television debut as an eligible bachelor, Alcala spent time in prison after being charged with the sexual assault and attempted murder of an eight year old girl. Believe it or not, he lured her into his car with the promise of pretty pictures he had taken. Yet, somehow he was recruited for the game show which he shockingly won.

I didn't know much about Rodney Alcala, dubbed The Dating Game Killer for obvious reasons. So I was fully unprepared for the graphic rapes, assaults, torture, and murders of so many young women. It infuriated me that Alcala got not one, not two, but three separate trials for his last suspected murder. With two death sentence reversals, he somehow managed to keep his case in court for nearly 30 years. But the early 2000s had a new trick, DNA testing. After obtaining DNA from Alcala, investigators were able to tie him to four other women who had been brutally raped and murdered in California. After a third trial, Alcala was sentenced to death for his attacks on Jill Barcomb, Georgia Wixted, Charlotte Lamb, Jill Parenteau, and Robin Samsoe.

 

A few years later, the same DNA was tied to a case in New York on Cornelia "Michael" Crilley. He was also considered the prime suspect in Ellen Hover's murder. Since The Dating Game Killer was released in 2010, Alcala has been tied to several other murders in California, Washington, and Wyoming. After spending most of his adult life on Death Row, Rodney Alcala managed to avoid the death penalty and died of natural causes in July 2021.