Rodney Alcala was known for his appearance on the hit show The Dating game back in 1978. Behind that smile, is a man that is more deadly than anyone could ever imagine.
#thedatinggame #valentinesday #rodneyalcala
Dating game show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq0JSl6W74E
Photos: https://web.archive.org/web/20200210151133/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/serial-killer-rodney-alcalas-photos-released-can-you-id-any-of-these-women/1650156/
#thedatinggame #valentinesday #rodneyalcala
Dating game show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq0JSl6W74E
Photos: https://web.archive.org/web/20200210151133/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/serial-killer-rodney-alcalas-photos-released-can-you-id-any-of-these-women/1650156/
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to the Dark Mystery Lounge.
00:03Happy Valentine's Day everyone.
00:05May your day be filled with love.
00:07Or at the very least, relaxing with some chocolates, wine, and your most cozy pajamas.
00:12Today we are going to take a look at someone that some might call handsome,
00:17others would call him creepy,
00:19and pretty much everyone would call him the essence of evil.
00:22Rodney Alcala, the dating game killer.
00:25Strap yourselves in, this one's going to be a long one.
00:28Because this bastard kept himself busy in the worst way possible.
00:35Rodney James Alcala was born Rodrigo Jacques Alcala Bocor on August 23, 1943,
00:44in San Antonio, Texas, to parents Raul Alcala Bocor and Ana Maria Gutierrez.
00:51He had a brother and two sisters.
00:52In 1951, Rodney's father moved the family to Mexico.
00:57Soon after the move, Rodney's grandmother died.
01:01Then the father abandoned the family three years later.
01:04In 1954, when he was about 11 years old,
01:07Rodney's mother moved him and his siblings to suburban Los Angeles.
01:12Rodney went to Catholic schools and private schools.
01:15His peers at school would recall him as being a very kind, respectful, and intelligent boy.
01:21His mother was very loving and supportive.
01:24His siblings would grow up to become very successful people.
01:27In 1961, at the age of 17,
01:30Rodney joined the United States Army and served as an administrative clerk.
01:35In 1964, that's when something snapped inside Rodney's head and he had a nervous breakdown.
01:41He went AWOL and hitchhiked from Fort Bragg to his mother's house,
01:45which was the first place the military beliefs would look for him.
01:49Once he was caught and brought back,
01:51military psychiatrists diagnosed Rodney with antisocial personality disorder.
01:56He was discharged on medical grounds.
01:58In 1964, after being discharged from the Army,
02:02Rodney enrolled in the UCLA School of Fine Arts with a major in photography and graduated in 1968.
02:11It was a warm, sunny day on September 25, 1968.
02:19Eight-year-old Tally Shapiro was wearing a dress that her grandmother had crocheted for her
02:23in her white Mary Jane shoes,
02:26when a man in a car pulls up and asks if she needs a ride to school.
02:30Tally told the man that she doesn't talk to strangers.
02:33He says that he knows her parents and that it's okay.
02:36Tally didn't really want to get in the car,
02:38but she was taught to respect her elders.
02:40So she agreed and got in the car.
02:43He asked her what time school starts.
02:45After telling him, realizing that they had plenty of time,
02:49he said he wanted to swing by his apartment and show her a poster that she might like.
02:54Once she heard that, she felt like she wanted to jump out of the car.
02:58An eyewitness who saw the whole thing,
03:00and just had a gut feeling that something was off,
03:03decided he was going to follow the car all the way back to the kidnapper's apartment.
03:07Then he found the nearest phone to call the police.
03:10Police arrived, knocking on the door.
03:13A naked man peeked out of the window and said to give him a few minutes to put on some clothes,
03:18because he had just taken a shower.
03:20The officer, noticing that the man didn't look like he had just taken a shower,
03:24didn't buy it,
03:25and told him you have three seconds to open this door or he's kicking it in.
03:29He made good on this threat and kicked the door open to find the naked man running out the back door.
03:36And little Tally, laying in the kitchen covered with blood,
03:40her clothes were laying in a pile and a metal bar was laying across her throat.
03:44The officer had to make the difficult decision to either catch the guy or save the little girl.
03:50He chose to save the little girl, who was barely clinging on to life.
03:54Tally was rushed to the hospital.
03:56She was in a coma for 32 days.
03:59The doctors didn't think that she would make it.
04:01Tally was a fighter and survived after several months in the hospital.
04:05While Tally was in the hospital, investigators searched the apartment
04:08and found the man's college ID that he had left behind.
04:12They finally had a name for this monster, Rodney James Alcala.
04:17Rodney fled to New York City and enrolled in NYU Film School,
04:21where he studied film under Roman Polanski,
04:24but he registered under the name John Berger.
04:27In 1971, he obtained a counseling job at a New Hampshire arts camp for children
04:32using a slightly different alias of John Berger, spelled with a U instead of an E.
04:38This is also the same year that the FBI finally added Rodney to the list of 10 most wanted fugitives.
04:45In June of 1971, 23-year-old TWA flight attendant Cornelia Criley
04:51was found raped and strangled in her Manhattan apartment.
04:55Her case remained cold until 2011.
04:58One day, while attending art camp,
05:01two kids take a walk down the dirt road to a nearby post office to mail a letter.
05:06While they're there, it starts pouring down rain.
05:09So they decide to explore the post office while waiting for the rain to stop.
05:13They find a bulletin board with pictures of the FBI's 10 most wanted fugitives
05:18and recognize the familiar face,
05:20and said,
05:21Hey, that's Mr. Berger.
05:23After the rain stops,
05:24the kids run back to the camp and inform the head counselor.
05:27The head counselor tells them not to say anything
05:30and goes to the post office to confirm what they saw.
05:34He heads back to camp and calls the FBI.
05:37Rodney was arrested and extradited back to California.
05:40By then, the Shapiros had relocated their entire family to Mexico
05:44and refused to allow Talley to testify at Rodney's trial.
05:49Since the authorities were unwilling to charge him with rape and attempted murder
05:53without their primary witness,
05:55Rodney was convicted of child molestation
05:58and was sentenced to three years in prison.
06:01He didn't even serve all of it
06:02because he was a model inmate,
06:04so he got out after only serving 17 months
06:07and was released on parole in 1974.
06:11I know, I know, I'm shaking my head in disgust too.
06:14Like, what the hell?
06:15Seems like Rodney didn't learn his lesson.
06:17Only two months after his release,
06:20he was re-arrested for assaulting a 13-year-old girl
06:23identified in court records as Julie J.,
06:26who had accepted what she thought would be a ride to school.
06:30Plus, he was charged with parole violation and possession of marijuana.
06:34Rodney was again paroled in 1976 after serving two years.
06:39In 1977, Rodney asked his parole officer,
06:43which was a different one this time,
06:45if he could go on vacation.
06:47Even though Rodney is a repeat offender and a flight risk,
06:51his parole officer gives him permission anyways.
06:54Seriously, what the hell?
06:56He drove to New York City and within a week,
07:00he kills another lady,
07:0123-year-old Ellen Jane Hover,
07:04the daughter of Herman Hover,
07:06the owner of a popular Hollywood nightclub,
07:09Ciro's,
07:10and goddaughter of Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.
07:14Noah suspected Rodney at this time
07:16because this was the same year
07:18that the Son of Sam murders were happening.
07:20So he flew under the radar at first.
07:23Police searched Ellen's apartment
07:24and found that she wrote on her calendar
07:27an appointment for a photo shoot
07:29with a man by the name of John Berger.
07:32Her remains were found a year later,
07:35buried under heavy rocks on a hillside
07:37overlooking the Hudson River,
07:39about a half mile west of the Phelps Memorial Hospital
07:43in Tarrytown in Westchester County
07:46at the Rockefeller Estate.
07:48He was later questioned by police,
07:50but they didn't have enough evidence to arrest him.
07:53In 1978, Rodney briefly worked
07:56for the Los Angeles Times as a typesetter.
07:59How the hell he got that job under his real name,
08:02I have no foggy clue.
08:04During this year,
08:05Rodney convinced hundreds of men and women
08:07that he was a professional fashion photographer
08:10and photographed them for his portfolio.
08:13A Times coworker later recalled
08:15that Rodney shared his photos with coworkers.
08:18Quote,
08:19I thought it was weird,
08:20but I was young.
08:21I didn't know anything,
08:23she said.
08:23When I asked why he took the photos,
08:25he said their moms asked them to.
08:28I remember the girls were naked, unquote.
08:31He was interviewed by members
08:32of the Hillside Strangler Task Force
08:35as part of their investigation
08:36of known sex offenders.
08:38Although Rodney was ruled out
08:40as the Hillside Strangler,
08:41he was arrested and served a brief sentence
08:44for marijuana possession.
08:52In the summer of 1978,
08:55after serving out his marijuana possession charge,
08:58weeks later,
08:59he auditioned for the popular game show,
09:02The Dating Game,
09:03hence how he got his nickname later on.
09:05Of course, he poured on the charm
09:07and passed the audition,
09:09becoming bachelor number one.
09:11Although at first,
09:12executive producer Mike Metzger
09:14said no way to having Rodney on the show
09:17because he had a bad feeling about him,
09:19his wife,
09:20talent coordinator Ellen Metzger,
09:22was adamant to cast him.
09:24The episode aired on September 13, 1978.
09:28Host Jim Lang introduced him
09:30as a successful photographer
09:32who got his start
09:33when his father found him
09:35in the darkroom
09:36at the age of 13,
09:38fully developed.
09:39Between takes,
09:40she might find him skydiving
09:41or motorcycling.
09:43If you cringed at that line,
09:44trust me,
09:45it gets worse.
09:46The questions the bachelorette,
09:48Cheryl Bradshaw,
09:49asked were no better.
09:51The show was filled
09:51with sexual innuendos,
09:53which I'm pretty sure
09:54nowadays wouldn't fly.
09:56One of the worst
09:57was when Cheryl asked,
09:59I'm serving you for dinner.
10:00What are you called
10:01and what do you look like?
10:03Rodney answered,
10:04I am called the banana
10:05and I look really good.
10:07She asked him
10:08to be more descriptive.
10:10He responds,
10:11peel me.
10:12He poured on the charm
10:13so much
10:13that Rodney won the date.
10:15It was an all-expenses
10:16paid date,
10:17which was tennis lessons
10:19with new outfits
10:20for the date
10:21and then a trip
10:22to Magic Mountain
10:22Amusement Park.
10:24It seemed like
10:24a pretty wholesome date
10:25despite how dirty
10:26the show is.
10:28Once they were backstage
10:29getting to know
10:30each other better,
10:31Cheryl said that
10:32he gave her creepy vibes.
10:33So following her gut instinct,
10:36she refused to go out
10:37on a date with Rodney.
10:38The next day,
10:39Cheryl called Ellen
10:40and said,
10:42Ellen,
10:42I can't go out
10:43with this guy.
10:44There's weird vibes
10:45coming off of him.
10:46He's very strange.
10:47I'm not comfortable.
10:49Is that going to be a problem?
10:50And of course,
10:51Ellen said,
10:52no,
10:52it's not a problem.
10:54To me,
10:54Cheryl didn't dodge a bullet.
10:56She dodged a missile.
10:57I'm glad she didn't
10:58ignore her gut.
11:00The other bachelors
11:00didn't really like Rodney either.
11:02Fellow contestant,
11:03Jed Mills,
11:04had the same conclusion
11:05when he was chatting
11:06with Rodney
11:07before going on stage.
11:09Years later,
11:09he recalled,
11:10he was very obnoxious
11:11and creepy.
11:13He became very unlikable
11:14and rude
11:15and imposing
11:16as though he were
11:17trying to intimidate.
11:18He was a standout
11:19creepy guy in my life.
11:21If you want to watch
11:22the episode,
11:23there will be a link
11:24in the description box below.
11:25But I warn you,
11:27it is super cringe.
11:28On June 20th,
11:341979,
11:36at 2.30pm,
11:3812-year-old
11:38Robin Samsoe
11:39and her friend Bridget
11:41were sunbathing
11:42and just having
11:43a fun time
11:43on Huntington Beach.
11:45A strange man
11:46approached the two girls
11:47and asked if he could
11:48take their pictures.
11:49Both of them refused,
11:51seeing that something
11:52was very off.
11:53An adult came over
11:54to check up on the girls
11:55and scared off the stranger.
11:57The two girls
11:58left the beach
11:59and headed back
11:59for Bridget's house.
12:01Robin had to leave
12:02and head for her ballet class
12:03at 4pm,
12:04but she realized
12:05she wasn't going to make it
12:06on time by walking.
12:08So Bridget let Robin
12:09use her bike
12:10and told her not
12:11to stop for anyone.
12:13At 5pm,
12:14Robin's brother
12:14called Bridget
12:15to ask if Robin
12:16was still there.
12:17She told him
12:18that Robin
12:18had already left.
12:20She borrowed my bike
12:21to get to class.
12:22He told her
12:22that she never showed up
12:23to the dance studio.
12:25Robin's mother
12:26waited for another hour
12:27for Robin to show up
12:29at the house,
12:30but she never came back.
12:31So police were called
12:32to make a missing persons report.
12:35Bridget was introduced
12:36to a sketch artist
12:37and gave him
12:38the description
12:38of the man they saw.
12:40Once the artist was done,
12:42Bridget said,
12:42yep, that's him.
12:44The sketch was circulated
12:45and Rodney's parole officer
12:47recognized him.
12:4812 days later,
12:50Robin's skeletal remains
12:51were found
12:5140 miles away
12:53from where she was
12:53last seen.
12:55Rodney was finally arrested
12:56at his mother's house
12:57on July 24th, 1979
13:00and held without bail.
13:02Police got a search warrant
13:03to search his mother's house
13:05and found a receipt
13:06for a storage locker
13:07in Seattle, Washington.
13:08One of his sisters
13:10went to visit Rodney
13:11in jail
13:11and they started talking
13:13about the storage locker.
13:14Rodney told his sister
13:15to go empty the locker,
13:17but police managed
13:18to get there before her.
13:19They found a ton
13:20of evidence,
13:21including a box
13:22containing thousands
13:23of photographs
13:24taken of young men,
13:26women, and children.
13:27Some are in compromising
13:28positions
13:29and a lot of them
13:30are nude.
13:31There was also
13:31a small pouch
13:32containing jewelry,
13:33mainly earrings.
13:35One pair that caught
13:35the investigator's attention
13:37was a pair
13:38of gold ball earrings.
13:39Robin's mother said
13:40that she was wearing
13:41gold ball earrings
13:42on the day
13:43that she disappeared.
13:44Rodney, of course,
13:45denied ever being
13:46in Huntington Beach
13:48and gives very little
13:49information during interrogation.
13:59The first trial
14:00for the murder
14:01of Robin Samso
14:02was in 1980.
14:04After five hours
14:05of deliberation,
14:06the jury came back
14:07with a guilty verdict
14:08and sentenced
14:09Rodney to death.
14:10In 1984,
14:12Rodney appealed his case
14:13and the verdict
14:14was overturned
14:15by the California
14:15Supreme Court
14:16because jurors
14:18had been improperly
14:19informed of his
14:20prior sex crimes.
14:21In 1986,
14:23after a second trial
14:24virtually identical
14:25to the first
14:26except the omission
14:27of the prior
14:28criminal record testimony,
14:30he was again convicted
14:31and sentenced to death.
14:33But this slippery bastard
14:34was able to get
14:35his death row sentence
14:36overturned again
14:38for the second time
14:39in 2001.
14:40This time,
14:41the appeal claim
14:42was ineffective counsel,
14:43meaning Rodney's
14:44defense lawyer
14:45didn't present
14:46a proper case
14:47in his defense.
14:48What is it going to take
14:49to finally put
14:50this bastard away?
14:57The investigators
14:58now had to find
14:59more evidence
15:00to finally secure
15:01a conviction.
15:02In 2003,
15:03Orange County
15:04investigators
15:05did DNA testing
15:06on other cases
15:07that they suspected
15:09Rodney was involved in.
15:10And sure enough,
15:11they found a match
15:12to four more women.
15:14Along with additional evidence,
15:15they were able
15:16to charge him
15:17with the murders
15:17of 18-year-old
15:19Jill Barkham,
15:20a New York runaway
15:21found rolled up
15:22like a ball
15:23in a Los Angeles ravine
15:25in 1977,
15:26who was originally
15:27thought to have been
15:28a victim
15:28of the Hillside Strangler.
15:3027-year-old
15:32Georgia Wickstead,
15:33who was found
15:33bludgeoned
15:34in her Malibu apartment
15:35also in 1977.
15:3831-year-old
15:38Charlotte Lamb,
15:39who was raped,
15:41strangled,
15:41and left
15:42in the laundry room
15:42of an El Segundo
15:44apartment complex
15:46in 1978,
15:47and 21-year-old
15:48Jill Parenteau,
15:50who was killed
15:50in her Burbank apartment
15:52in 1979.
15:53All of the bodies
15:54were found
15:55posed in carefully
15:56chosen positions.
15:58Another pair of earrings
15:59were found
15:59in Rodney's storage locker
16:01that had residue
16:02that matched
16:03Charlotte Lamb's DNA.
16:04Oh, and during this time,
16:07in prison
16:07between the second
16:08and third trials,
16:09Rodney wrote
16:10a self-published book
16:11titled
16:11You, the Jury,
16:12in which he claimed
16:13innocence
16:14in the Samso case
16:15and suggested
16:16a different suspect,
16:18truly the signs
16:19of a narcissist.
16:20He also filed
16:21two lawsuits
16:21against the
16:22California penal system
16:23for a slip-and-fall
16:25accident
16:25and for refusing
16:26to provide him
16:27a low-fat diet.
16:29In 2003,
16:35prosecutors entered
16:36a motion
16:37to join
16:37the Samso charges
16:38with those
16:39of the four
16:40newly discovered victims.
16:42Rodney's attorneys
16:42contested it,
16:43as one of them explained,
16:45quote,
16:46If you're a juror
16:47and you hear
16:47one murder case,
16:48you might be able
16:49to have reasonable doubt,
16:51but it's hard to say
16:52you have reasonable doubt
16:53on all five,
16:54especially when
16:55four of the five
16:56aren't alleged
16:57by eyewitnesses
16:59but are proven
16:59by DNA matches,
17:01unquote.
17:02In 2006,
17:03the California Supreme Court
17:05ruled in the prosecution's favor
17:07and in February 2010,
17:09Rodney stood trial
17:10on all five
17:11joined charges.
17:13As the saying goes,
17:14he who represents himself
17:16in court
17:16has a fool
17:17for a client.
17:18Rodney was definitely
17:19that fool.
17:20Ted Bundy
17:21was at least
17:22a law student,
17:23so he did have
17:23some knowledge
17:24of what he was doing.
17:25Rodney graduated
17:26from art school,
17:27so all he could do
17:28is put on a show.
17:30After all,
17:31he is the smartest man
17:32he knows.
17:33Rodney took the stand
17:34in his own defense
17:35and for five hours
17:37played the roles
17:38of both interrogator
17:39and witness,
17:41asking himself questions,
17:42addressing himself
17:43as Mr. Alcala
17:44in a deeper
17:45than normal voice,
17:47and then answering them.
17:48During this self-questioning
17:50and answering session,
17:51he told jurors,
17:53often in a rambling monotone,
17:55that he was at
17:56Knott's Berry Farm
17:57applying for a job
17:58as a photographer
17:59at the time
18:00Robin was kidnapped.
18:02He showed the jurors
18:03a portion of his
18:041978 appearance
18:06on The Dating Game
18:07in an attempt
18:08to prove
18:08that the earrings
18:09found in his
18:10Seattle locker
18:11were his,
18:12not Robin's.
18:13But the problem was,
18:14you couldn't even
18:15see his ears
18:16because of all that hair.
18:18Of course,
18:18he also got to
18:19cross-examine
18:20a lot of the witnesses,
18:21including Robin's mother,
18:23getting within
18:23only a few feet
18:24away from her.
18:26Rodney made
18:26no significant
18:27attempt to dispute
18:28the four added charges,
18:29other than to assert
18:31that he could not
18:31remember killing
18:32any of the women.
18:34Richard Rappaport,
18:35a psychiatrist
18:36paid by Rodney
18:37and the only
18:38defense witness,
18:39testified that
18:40borderline personality
18:41disorder could
18:42explain Rodney's
18:43claims that he
18:44had no memory
18:45of committing
18:45the murders.
18:46Rodney had been
18:47diagnosed during
18:48all three of his
18:49trials by various
18:50psychiatric experts,
18:52including narcissistic
18:54personality disorder,
18:55borderline personality
18:56disorder,
18:57and malignant
18:58narcissism with
18:59psychopathy,
19:00and sexual sadism
19:01comorbidities.
19:03As part of his
19:04closing argument,
19:05he played the
19:06Arlo Gunther song,
19:07Alice's Restaurant,
19:09in which the
19:09protagonist tells
19:10a psychiatrist
19:11that he wants
19:12to kill.
19:14The prosecutor
19:14argued that Rodney
19:15was a sexual
19:16predator who knew
19:18what he was doing
19:18was wrong
19:19and didn't care
19:20because he would
19:21strangle his
19:22victims until
19:23they were almost
19:23at the brink of
19:24death, then
19:25revive them,
19:26and then do it
19:27again.
19:28After less than
19:28two days of
19:29deliberation, the
19:30jury convicted him
19:31of all five counts
19:32of first-degree
19:33murder.
19:34During the penalty
19:34phase of his
19:35trial, a surprise
19:36witness showed up
19:37in court, Tally
19:38Shapiro, Rodney's
19:40first known victim.
19:41Now a grown woman
19:42in her 50s, she
19:43spoke about the
19:44assault that she
19:45had no memory of,
19:46but which left
19:47emotional scars on
19:48her psyche well
19:49into adulthood.
19:50Rodney apologized
19:51to her for the
19:52first time, which
19:53didn't go over
19:54well.
19:55She later stated,
19:56quote, he's never
19:57apologized before,
19:59and for him to
19:59even bother, I
20:00mean, that made
20:01me sick to my
20:02stomach, unquote.
20:04This was the only
20:04attempt Rodney
20:05made at conveying
20:06remorse for any of
20:08his actions,
20:08conveniently during
20:09a crucial time
20:10in which the jury
20:11has to decide
20:12whether to
20:13recommend a
20:14life sentence or
20:15the death penalty.
20:16On March 9,
20:172010, after only
20:19two hours of
20:20deliberation, the
20:21jury sentenced him
20:22to death.
20:23But it's not over
20:24yet.
20:30In March 2010,
20:32the Huntington Beach,
20:33California, and New
20:35York City Police
20:35Departments released
20:37120 of Rodney's
20:39photographs and sought
20:40the public's help in
20:41identifying them in
20:43the hope of
20:43determining if any of
20:45the women and
20:45children he
20:46photographed were
20:47additional victims.
20:48Approximately 900
20:49additional photos
20:51could not be made
20:52public because they
20:53were too sexually
20:54explicit.
20:55In the first few
20:55weeks, police reported
20:57that approximately
20:5821 women had come
21:00forward to identify
21:01themselves, and at
21:02least six families
21:03said they believed
21:04they recognized
21:05loved ones who
21:06disappeared years
21:07ago and were
21:08never found.
21:09None of the photos
21:10were unequivocally
21:11connected to the
21:13missing person's case
21:14or unsolved murder
21:15until 2013, when
21:18a family member
21:18recognized the
21:19photo of Christine
21:21Thornton, age
21:2228, whose body
21:23was found in
21:24Wyoming in 1982.
21:26As of July 2022,
21:28110 of the
21:30original photos
21:31remained posted
21:32online, and
21:33police continued to
21:34solicit the public's
21:35help with any
21:36further identifications.
21:37In January 2011, a
21:45Manhattan grand jury
21:46indicted Rodney
21:47Alcala for the
21:48murders of Cornelia
21:49Crowley, the TWA
21:51flight attendant, and
21:52Ellen Hover, the
21:54Ciro's heiress, in
21:551971 and 1977
21:58respectively.
21:59In June 2012, he
22:01was extradited to
22:02New York, where he
22:03initially entered a
22:04not-guilty plea on
22:05both counts, but
22:06then, in
22:07December 2012, he
22:09changed both pleas
22:10of guilty, citing a
22:11desire to return to
22:13California to pursue
22:14appeals of his death
22:15penalty conviction.
22:17On January 7, 2013, a
22:20Manhattan judge
22:21sentenced him to an
22:22additional 25 years
22:23to life.
22:24The death penalty
22:25has not been an
22:26option in New York
22:27State since 2007.
22:29In 2010, Seattle
22:31police named Rodney
22:32as a person of
22:33interest in the
22:34unsolved murders of
22:36Antoinette Whitaker,
22:37age 13, in July
22:391977, and Joyce
22:41Gaunt, age 17, in
22:43February 1978, along
22:46with the unsolved
22:46disappearance of 20-year-old
22:48Cherry Ann Greenman on
22:51September 14, 1976.
22:53Rodney rented a Seattle
22:55area storage locker in
22:57which investigators later
22:58found jewelry belonging to
23:00two of his California
23:01victims in 1979.
23:03In March 2011, investigators
23:06in Marin County, California,
23:08north of San Francisco,
23:10announced they were
23:11confident that Rodney was
23:12responsible for the 1977
23:14murder of 19-year-old
23:16Pamela Jean Lamson, who
23:18disappeared after making a
23:20trip to Fisherman's Wharf to
23:22meet a man who had offered
23:23to photograph her.
23:25Her battered, naked body was
23:27subsequently found in Marin
23:29County, near a hiking trail,
23:30with no useful fingerprints or
23:33usable DNA.
23:34Charges were never filed, but
23:36police claimed there was
23:37sufficient evidence to
23:38convince them that Rodney had
23:40committed the crime.
23:41In September 2016, Rodney was
23:43charged with the murder of
23:4528-year-old Christine Thornton,
23:47who disappeared in 1977.
23:49In 2013, a relative recognized
23:52her as the subject of one of
23:54Rodney's photos, made public by
23:56Huntington Beach PD and NYPD.
23:59Her body was found in
24:01Sweetwater County, Wyoming, in
24:021982, but was not identified
24:05until 2015, when DNA supplied by
24:09Christine's relatives matched the
24:11tissue samples from her remains.
24:13But Rodney was too ill to be
24:15extradited to Wyoming.
24:17Even though he was charged, he was
24:19never convicted.
24:20Robin's mother had one wish after
24:27Rodney was sentenced to death for
24:29the third time, to watch him get
24:31executed, to finally see that
24:33monster die.
24:34But sadly, on July 23rd, 2019, she
24:38passed away.
24:39And because of a moratorium put in
24:41place in 2019, everyone that is on
24:44California's death row have a state of
24:47execution, for now.
24:49On July 24th, 2021, the monster
24:52breathed his last breath on this
24:54earth.
24:55Rodney Alcala died of unspecified
24:58natural causes in a hospital in
25:00Cochran, California.
25:02He was 77 years old.
25:04The victim's families were happy to
25:05learn that his final years were spent
25:07bedridden and suffering.
25:09And now, he can't hurt anyone else
25:12ever again.
25:17I know that was a lot, and this video
25:20was so long, but like I said, this
25:22slippery bastard kept himself very busy
25:25for over a decade.
25:26When it comes to serial killers, old
25:28Rodney is one of those guys that kind
25:30of flew under the radar for a lot of
25:32people.
25:33During the 60s through the 80s, there
25:35were a lot of serial killers making
25:37headlines all across America.
25:39Ted Bundy being the most infamous.
25:42He was arrested a year prior.
25:44To me, Rodney Alcala is a fine example
25:46of what happens when you don't do
25:48background checks before putting him
25:50on a game show, being a camp counselor
25:52for children, and even getting a job
25:55with the LA Times.
25:57I know that he bragged about having a
25:59genius IQ ranging somewhere between
26:01160 to 170, but if he was so smart,
26:05then why couldn't he come up with
26:06another alias instead of using the
26:08same name just spelled differently?
26:10And of course, leaving his DNA and
26:12taking photos of his victims and
26:14keeping jewelry.
26:15He obviously wasn't that smart.
26:17He just got lucky until his luck ran out.
26:20Some described him as handsome, but to
26:22me, he looks like a knockoff weird Al
26:24Yankovic.
26:25I guess the bar wasn't set that high
26:27back in the day.
26:28Just a good head of hair and some tight
26:29bell bottoms, and you're deemed to catch.
26:32If you made it this far into the video,
26:34thank you.
26:35And if you found this video interesting,
26:37please smash that like button.
26:39And if you really like what I do,
26:40subscribe, will you?
26:41When you do, don't forget to tickle
26:43that little bell icon so that you
26:45don't miss out on the next episode.
26:47You never know who I will cover next.
26:49Thank you for hanging out with me in
26:50the Dark Mystery Lounge.
26:52This is Phoenix signing out.
26:53Have a good evening and stay safe.
26:55We'll see you in the next episode.
26:57We'll see you in the next episode.
26:59We'll see you in the next episode.
27:01We'll see you in the next episode.
27:02We'll see you in the next episode.
27:03We'll see you in the next episode.
27:04We'll see you in the next episode.
27:05We'll see you in the next episode.
27:06We'll see you in the next episode.
27:07We'll see you in the next episode.
27:08We'll see you in the next episode.
27:09We'll see you in the next episode.
27:10We'll see you in the next episode.
27:11We'll see you in the next episode.
27:12We'll see you in the next episode.
27:13We'll see you in the next episode.
27:14We'll see you in the next episode.
27:16We'll see you in the next episode.
27:18We'll see you in the next episode.
27:19We'll see you in the next episode.
Recommended
10:14
|
Up next
39:51
10:46
1:32
10:51
11:38
1:32:04
42:20
15:04
Be the first to comment