Also available in audio form as an episode of the Human Monsters podcast, which is available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube and most other podcast platforms.
Rodney Alcala was born Rodrigo Jacques Alcala Buquor in San Antonio, Texas on August 23rd, 1943. He was one of four siblings and grew up in a middle-class background. His family were devout Catholics and attended Catholic schools. Rodney was an exceptional student, earning high grades and demonstrating an above-average intelligence. There are no indications in his school’s records that he ran afoul of its rules.
A turning point in Rodney’s life came in 1951 when his grandmother fell ill. His family decided to move back to Mexico: it was decided that she should live out the rest of her life surrounded by family in the home of her youth.
The children enjoyed their life in Mexico because they could attend regular public schools without all the religious instruction. Two years later, their grandmother died. Following this, their father abandoned the family and moved back to the United States.
Three years later, Rodney’s mother moved him and his siblings to Los Angeles. He graduated from high school in 1960. He was the prime academic star of his graduating class. He was a handsome young man who caught the eye of many of his female classmates. He dated many of them.
In 1961, he joined the army.
In 1963, he went AWOL. He turned up at his mother’s house. It was illegal to leave the army the way he did, and his mother became distressed when considering the possible consequences, like being arrested. and serving time in military prison. She convinced him that his actions could destroy his entire life. A few days later, he went to the local army detachment. He turned himself in. After being interviewed by several officers, he was evaluated by a military psychologist. He was hospitalized and informed that he was in urgent need of psychological care. The hospital contacted his superior officers in North Carolina. They informed the hospital that he was unable to fulfill his duties and appeared to be suffering from a nervous breakdown.
He was diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder and received a medical discharge.
In other words, he was considered to be too much of a sociopath to kill for the army.
The first crime Rodney Alcala is known to have committed occurred in Los Angeles on September 25th, 1968. According to a motorist who witnessed his actions at the time, he lured an 8-year-old girl named Tali Shapiro into his apartment. She had been walking to school alone. She was in high spirits, skipping and singing. He saw her from his car. He slowed down and yelled to her, “Hey, Sunshine, do you need a ride?” Tali was startled by this. She almost tripped when she turned to see who was talking to her. He was in a convertible and standing. He was smiling. He appealed to her again: “Do you need a ride somewhere?”
Tali said, “I’m going to school now.”
“That’s okay, I’ll take you there, get in!”
“Do you know where I go to school?”
“Why, sure I do; get in, I’ll take you there.”
Rodney knelt over toward the passenger seat and opened the door. He was still smiling, and Tali smiled back. She helped open the passenger door and jumped into the passenger seat. When Rodney reached over to her to close the door, he picked up on some kind of floral scent. “What is that lovely smell?” he asked her. She was confused: she wasn’t wearing any kind of fragrance. She stuttered, unsure of how to respond. Rodney sat back in the driver’s seat. He put the car in drive. He turned to Tali and told her she smelled like a lovely flower.
As he drove them, Tali started singing again. Instead of taking them to her school, he pulled up to an apartment building. He stopped and parked.
Tali said, “This isn’t my school.”
“Oh, I know that. I need to get something from my apartment first, is that okay?” “I don’t want to be late. I will get in trouble.”
“Don’t worry about that. I will come with you into the school and tell your teacher that it was my fault, okay?”
“Okay.”
Rodney got out of the car and shut the door. “Do you want to come with me?” Tali became uncomfortable. She shut down. She was silent and looked down at her feet, suddenly unable to face Rodney. “I don’t know,” she said.
“Oh, come on, I have some candy that you can have, and we will only be a minute.”
He smiled at her once again. He opened the passenger door for her. She got out tentatively and stood out of his way as he closed the door. He took her hand, and led her up three flights of stairs. Once on the third level, he unlocked his apartment door and led her in.
Los Angeles Police Officer Chris Camacho was notified by the witness who saw the abduction what the make and model of Alcala’s car was. It bore no license plates. The good Samaritan followed Alcala all the way to his apartment complex. Camacho describes what he encountered at Alcala’s apartment:
“I went to that location, and I started knocking. I said ‘Police officer. Open the door. I need to talk to you.’ This male appeared at the door. I will always remember that face at that door, very evil face. And he says, ‘I’m in the shower. I gotta get dressed.’ I told him ‘OK. You got ten seconds. Open this door, I want to talk to you.’ Finally, I kicked the door in. The image will be with me forever. We could see in the kitchen there was a body on the floor, a lot of blood.”
Orange County Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy gave his own account of the incident:
“They say a picture says a thousand words, and that image of those little white Mary Janes (classic Mary Janes shoes for children are typically made of black leather or patent leather, have one thin strap fastened with a buckle or button abroad, and rounded toe box, low heels, and thin outsoles) on that floor with that metal bar that he used to strangle her with, and that puddle of blood, it just looked like too much blood to come out of a tiny little eight year old like that.”
Chris Camacho elaborates further:
“She had been raped. There was no breathing and I thought she was dead. We all thought she was dead. So, I grabbed a towel and I picked up the edge of the bar and I laid it off to the side. We started searching the residence, and there was a lot of photography equipment. All of us were amazed at the number of photographs he had there of young girls, very young girls. We found a lot of ID, a picture ID of a Rodney Alcala. He was a student at UCLA, an undergrad student.”
This was the first time that Rodney Alcala ever became a blip on the law enforcement radar. Unfortunately for the attendant officers, and his future victims, he escaped arrest. As Camacho explains, “…“the other officers, when I kicked the front door, came running around to assist me, and the suspect went out the back door.”
Camacho walked back to Alcala’s kitchen. It was there where he happened upon a miracle: Tali Shapiro survived. As Camacho put it, “She was gagging and trying to breathe. And I thought, ‘One for the good guys.’ She’s going to make it.” Still fighting to survive, Tali was rushed to hospital. Camacho was given credit for saving her life. Tali Shapiro survived the ordeal. Her parents moved her out of the United States, feeling that the country was too violent to raise a family in.
There were no leads or clues on how to determine Alcala’s whereabouts. A further complication was that past associates, like one of his professors at university, said that based on his estimation, Alcala was harmless.
The police’s counterparts in the FBI told them that Alcala was going to commit other crimes, likely of a similar nature. In 1969, Rodney Alcala was put on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. As Los Angeles detective Steve Hodel said at the time, “We’ve got to find this guy, we’ve got to get him off the streets, we’ve got to bring him to justice.”
They got their first big break two years later: August 12th, 1971. Two campers who were staying at an all-girl summer camp went to a local post office to mail some letters. A poster of the FBI’s most wanted was tacked to the wall of the post office. The girls noticed that one Rodney Alcala bore more than a passing resemblance to one of the camp’s counsellors, who was known to them as Mr. Burger. They were unsure if he was the man in the photo: the fugitive was from California. Mr. Burger was from New York, and didn’t appear capable of harming a young woman. When they returned to the camp, they notified the dean of Mr. Burger’s resemblance to one of the nation’s most wanted fugitives. The dean went to the post office, and had a look at the poster for himself. Realizing he was the same man, he called the FBI and told them about his findings. They told him to return to the camp, and act normal. They would soon investigate. The next day, FBI agents turned up at the camp, and detained the so-called Mr. Burger. After his fingerprints matched those of Rodney Alcala, they arrested him.
After Alcala’s close call in Los Angeles, he fled to the east coast, settling in New York City. He attended NYU film school under the alias John Berger. He lived a bohemian lifestyle. He took the job at the camp, possibly to make ends meet, during the school break.
Alcala was extradited back to California. While in custody, Detective Hodel interviewed him. To quote Hodel, “I ask him, ‘so tell me about the Tali Shapiro incident,’ and basically, he says, ‘Oh, I want to forget all about that.’ He said, ‘I don’t wanna talk about things that Rod Alcala did.’ As if it was a different person.”
Tali Shapiro’s family had moved to Mexico by this point. Because Tali was not available for trial, the only option available to the prosecuting attorneys was a plea agreement.
In 1972, Rodney Alcala pleaded guilty. His charges were reduced to child molestation. He received a sentence of one year to life. The parole board released him after 34 months. Back then it was the parole board, not a judge, who decided how much time an inmate should serve. As detective Hodel put it, “The emphasis was on rehabilitation back then, and he was able to charm psychiatrists just like he charmed his victims. This guy should’ve never been released based on the crime itself.”
Indeed, in August 1974, a state prison psychiatrist was convinced that Alcala showed a great deal of improvement. He recommended his release. Alcala was paroled to Los Angeles County. He registered with the Monterey Park Police Department as a sex offender, as required by law.
He moved in with his mother. He managed to land a job with a photography company. His mandate was to take pictures in stores in south Los Angeles.
On October 13th, 1975, Alcala drove to a shopping mall in Huntington Beach. He saw a little girl waiting for a school bus. He noticed that her name was written on her books. He screamed at her this salutation: “Hey Julie, I’ll take you to school if you like?” At first, she didn’t answer. He tried a new tack: “I have some great posters to show you.” She looked up and smiled at him. She decided it would be more fun riding in a car to school than taking the bus. She got in his car and he drove them out of the mall.
His next question: “How old are you, Julie?”
“I’m 13-years-old, but everyone thinks that I look much younger.”
“You will like that when you get much older.” She nodded.
He introduced himself: “My name is John Ronald.”
“My name is Julie Johnson.”
They passed her school. “Hey that’s my school. I can get out now.”
Alcala didn’t stop. He stopped answering her, too. “You can stop the car now, I want to get out.”
He didn’t stop, but he did answer her this time: “Sorry, I’ve got to make a quick stop to check on an apartment, it won’t take long.”
Julie became restless. Alcala told her to sit still. She became frightened, and began to scream. Alcala screamed back: “Shut up!”
Julie was so frantic by this point that she tried to escape from the car. Alcala grabbed her arm and trapped her inside. He pulled to a stop. Julie tried to escape again, but his grip on her arm was too strong for her to break free from. He yanked her out of the car and dragged her to a place by the bluffs at Huntington Beach. He deposited her on a rock. As she sat, he lit a marijuana cigarette. He forced her to smoke it. She had never smoked it before, and was reluctant, but she was frightened of him, so she smoked it. As she motioned to pass it back to him, she dropped it deliberately. As he bent down to retrieve it, she tried once again to escape. She didn’t get far: he grabbed her leg and pulled her up against him. He forced a French kiss on her. As if she were a woman he picked up at a disco, he asked her, “Are you passionate when you’re loaded?”
Just then, a park ranger noticed them. He smelled the marijuana smoke. When he approached them, he asked them what they were up to. Alcala spoke for them: “Uh, we were just hiking and now we’re taking a break.”
Feeling safer now, Julie told the ranger that Alcala forced her to go there, and she wanted to do home.
The park ranger arrested Alcala. He put them both in his car and drove them to a police station. As Julie told the officer she was coerced into going to the bluffs, Alcala told him that they were friends, the marijuana was hers, and the whole excursion was her idea. The officers were unsure of who to believe. It wasn’t the first time they encountered young girls in the company of older men at the bluffs. The other girls had accused the older men of kidnapping them with no evidence to substantiate the accusation.
The officers ran background checks. Julie was clean, but of course Rodney Alcala was a parolee. He was charged with marijuana trafficking, kidnapping and violating parole. He was taken back to jail.
Alcala violated parole once again on December 26th: he provided a minor with drugs. He was slapped with a prison term of 2 ½ years.
In June of 1977, Rodney Alcala was eligible for parole. He was declared to be re-reformed and was released. This time he was required to report to his parole officer every week.
According to Matt Murphy, Rodney Alcala slithered his way into prosperous circumstances by turning on the charm, effective as always: “He got jobs. He was hired by the Los Angeles Times as a typesetter. He took photos at weddings. And he was a registered sex offender during all of that, and nobody ever checked.”
The consequences of releasing Alcala at this time would prove to be catastrophic. To quote detective Hodel, “His thrill is seeking his prey, capturing, torturing, hurting. He’s a sadist of the highest order. What he learned in prison was ‘I’m not going to let my victims live.’”
In 1977, after Rodney Alcala was released from prison, his parole officer allowed him to fly to New York City. This, despite the fact that he was a repeat offender and deemed a flight risk.
New York Police Department cold case investigators believe that a week after arriving in Manhattan he murdered Ellen Jane Hover, 23-years-old. She was the daughter of the owner of a Hollywood nightclub called Ciro’s. She had two godfathers, both members of the Rat Pack: Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Junior. Her body was found buried on the property of the Rockefeller Estate, in Westchester County. If discretion had been a priority for him, he would have understood that both the victim and the location would attract publicity.
She lived in an apartment building within walking distance of the Empire State Building. On the day of the historic blackout of 1977—July 13th—Hover was seen talking to a man described as tall, thin with long hair worn in a ponytail. Her boyfriend saw them talking. She told him that he was a photographer and very charming. On July 15th,the power was turned back on, and she met with the photographer for a luncheon. She had a dinner date lined up for the evening, and her parents expected a phone call from her. She never made it for the dinner date, and her parents never received a call. Her parents became concerned, and contacted the police because she never answered the phone when they called. The police paid a visit to her apartment. There were no indicators of a break-in. They took a look around the apartment, but Ellen was nowhere to be found. The only clue to her whereabouts in the apartment was her diary: it was open and in the entry for July 15th she wrote, “John Berger, photographer”. Her family enlisted a private detective to find the photographer named John Berger. He disseminated a missive promising a $100,000.00 reward to anyone who could provide knowledge and evidence of Ellen’s whereabouts. Flyers bearing this information were distributed throughout New York City. Later that month, the New York Post published an issue featuring this headline: “Girl Missing; Fear Abduction”. Finding Ellen would not be easy, given the circumstances: The Son of Sam was still at large, and his identity had not been discovered yet. Also, 17,000 people were reported missing.
After spending a month in New York City, Rodney Alcala returned to Los Angeles. He sought full-time work. He obtained a position as a typesetter for the LA Times.
Eleven months later, Ellen Hover’s remains were discovered in a shallow grave in North Tarrytown, a district of the Rockefeller Estate. Her body wasted away; it was skeletal by the time it was found. The only way police were able to confirm it was Ellen Hover was through her dental records, as well as two rings and an ankle bracelet she was known to wear.
Detective Donald Task worked as part of the missing persons squad. He found Ellen Hover’s body after receiving a tip regarding Rodney Alcala: Alcala was fond of watching the sun set from the cliffs above the Hudson River. The missing persons squad visited the area 24 times during their search. They hit pay dirt when they found a pair of panties and a brassiere. They theorized that they must have belonged to Ellen Hover. Their next task was to search for bones.
After the story was covered by news outlets, a young, single girl called the detectives handling the case with a tip. She informed them that she posed for photos taken by a photographer named Rodney Alcala. She told them she posed for him on the Rockefeller estates. The photo session occurred at almost the same spot where Ellen Hover’s body was found
In October of 1977, 18-year-old Jill Barcomb disappeared. A week later, she called her family to inform them that she was okay. She drove out to California with some friends, and she enjoyed California so much, she opted to stay there. All her friends returned to New York. Jill was left alone in Los Angeles. No friends. No family.
In the early morning hours of November 10th, the West Los Angeles Police received a call about a dead body. It was located in the Mulholland Drive district. The police parked nearby, an area known as the California Chaparral. It was lush with undergrowth and trees. Jill Barcomb’s body was soon discovered. She was left on all fours. Her knees were bent. The tips of her toes pushed into the ground. Her inner thighs and knees pointed outward. Her panties had been removed. Her buttocks were spread apart, leaving a notable excess of space in the centre with the anus gratuitously exposed. Her face was pressed tightly against her breasts. Her neck appeared to have been broken. The top of her head was planted on the ground between her knees. Her right hand’s fingers were curled up 3-4 inches from her anus. Her anus had been cut. A pool of blood was left behind on the ground. She wore a light green sweater that was smeared with blood. It had been pulled up on her back. She didn’t wear any kind of footwear or hosiery. One of her pant legs was tied around her neck. A large, pointy builder, bearing a large blood stain, was left in the pool of blood that encircled her head.
Finding the culprit proved to be very challenging. Veteran LAPD detective Phillip Vannatter, who later became the lead detective on the O.J. Simpson case, struggled to find promising leads. The autopsy disclosed that the injuries were inflicted while she was still alive. She was strangled—first with hands, and then with ligatures. Following that, the killer bashed her brains in with the rock. The boulder was examined, and the blows to the head were determined to have been carried out with the rock. This was not the only cause of death: there was also blunt force trauma to the neck. That alone could have killed her. Strangulation was a contributing factor. The coroner opined that she didn’t walk to the crime scene. There were no foot prints. The offender picked her up in order to position her for sodomy. Her anus was torn, and the surrounding area was bruised. This was an indication that she was still alive when she was raped. Whether she was still conscious is unknown. The bruises were diagnosed as pre-mortal. There were two contusions of the anus, close to her vagina. This is said to be an indication that the offender dug their fingernails into her skin. Her pubic hair was singed on the left side. This was accomplished with some kind of flaming instrument. Whatever the instrument was, it was placed between her legs and into her vagina. She was arranged in a pose. The offender’s hand was soaked in blood, and it positioned her left leg and hip. A microscopic examination revealed that sperm was deposited in both her anal and vaginal cavities.
A day later, investigators identified the body as Jill Barcomb: she had a juvenile arrest record, and had been finger-printed. The prints were a perfect match.
Jill’s face and body was so disfigured by the attack that she was given a closed-casket funeral. Her parents were horrified by her post-mortem appearance. So much so, they were anxious to prevent their other children from experiencing the trauma of seeing Jill in that condition.
Georgia Wixted was a cardiac nurse who worked in the post-cardiac unit at Centinela Hospital. She and her friend Barbara Gale worked from 3:00pm to 11:30. On December 15, 1977, they went out to celebrate a friend’s birthday. When the festivities were over, Georgia drove Barbara to her home in Santa Monica. Barbara asked her if she would pick her up at 2:30pm the following day and drive her to work. Her motorbike had broken down. Georgia promised she would.
The next afternoon, 2:30 came and went. Georgia didn’t show. Barbara called her house several times, but there was no answer. Barbara took a taxi to the hospital. When she arrived, she found that Georgia hadn’t shown up to work. When she could, Barbara kept calling Georgia’s house to find out what was happening.
Later that day, Barbara called the LAPD. She told them that Georgia did not meet her for their rendez-vous, did not turn up at work and was not reachable by phone.
LAPD deputies went to Georgia’s house to investigate. When they arrived at her door, one officer noticed that the front window’s screen was removed. It was propped up against the wall outside. There was a box on the outside of the window; the officers surmised that it was used as an impromptu step stool to enable entry into the window. They knocked on the door repeatedly, but there was no answer. They tried the doorknob: it was left unlocked. When they entered the unit, they were struck by a wave of intense heat; they estimated that the temperature must have been adjusted to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, or 37 degrees Celsius. The apartment was so dark they had to illumine their way with flashlights. After about two minutes of searching, they happened upon a dead body. It was lying on the floor. The officers drew their guns and checked the other rooms in search of more victims, or a suspect. They found neither, and contacted the homicide unit.
15 homicide investigators examined the body. She was laying on her back. Her knees faced outwards, frozen in a diamond-shaped posture. There was blood between her legs. Her pantyhose had been used as a ligature: they had been tied and secured with a knot around her neck several times. Her bed linens, pillows and duvet had been tossed on the floor beside her. They were all drenched in blood. A bloodied claw hammer was left on the floor, about two feet away from the body.
They examined her bed. There was a large blood stain in the middle of the mattress. Blood was splattered onto the bed’s railings. It was also splattered all over the walls.
They checked the bathroom. There was blood all over the toilet. A bar of soap was left in the sink.
These were findings listed in the autopsy report: Massive trauma to the head and face. The skull was fractured several times. Lacerations made in her skull were claw-like. She was cut in the neck multiple times. Bones were broken inside her neck and lower jaw. The broken parts pierced through the back of the neck. Deep cuts were made to her vagina and labia.
The coroner concluded that almost every conceivable injury was inflicted on her throughout the attack. The ligature marks on her neck were typical of the kind left behind after a strangulation. There were tears in her vaginal wall. They were symptomatic of forced penetration with an object. The fracture on the left side of her skull was most likely a product of a being struck with a hammer.
Sperm was found in her vaginal, anal and oral cavities. Two blood types were detected. In 1977, there was no forensic technology to determine who the other blood sample originated from.
As with Jill Barcomb’s funeral, there was no viewing of the body. The funeral director informed her family that they were not able to reassemble Georgia’s body in a way that would have avoided retraumatizing them.
By the fall of 1977, several girls and women went missing and turned up murdered. Rodney Alcala was questioned by police about these crimes. He had an alibi for each incident, but because there was marijuana on his coffee table during the interview, he was incarcerated for six months.
11 more girls and women were kidnapped and murdered in the fall of 1977. The details and methodology were reminiscent of the crimes for which Rodney Alcala was suspected of having committed. They are listed as follows:
- Yolanda Washington. Her body was found by the entrance of the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale. She had been beaten, raped and tortured. The cloth used as a ligature was wrapped around her neck.
- Judith Lynn Miller. She was deposited on an anthill in a garden in La Crescenta, Glendale. She had been raped vaginally, sodomized and strangled. She was 15-years-old.
- Lisa Teresa Kastin. Her body was dumped at the Chevy Chase Country Club, Glendale. She was raped and strangled.
- Jill Barcomb.
- Kathleen Robinson. Her body was found on Pico Boulevard in the Wilshire district of Los Angeles. She had been raped and strangled. She was 17-years-old.
- Kristina Weckler. Her body was discovered in a secluded patch of land in Glendale. She was left in the nude. She had been brutally assaulted and strangled. Her body presented with severe bruising. She had been bleeding from her anus. The assailant injected her with cleaning fluid. She was 20-years-old.
- Dolores Cepeda. She was found in the same location as Kristina Weckler. She was 12-years-old.
- Sonja Johnson. Her body was discovered within hours after Delores Cepeda’s was found. As with Dolores Cepeda’s, her body was feasted on by maggots. Sonja was 14-years-old.
- Jane King. She had been strangled with her own stockings. Her body was severely bruised. She was found near the Golden State Freeway.
- Lauren Wagner. Her body was discovered in the Mt. Washington section of the hills around Glendale. She was strangled. There were puncture marks on her arms. Her palms had been burned.
- Kimberly Diane Martin. Her body was located in a vacant parking lot on the hillside in Echo Lake. She had been strangled, raped and deliberately left in a pose. She was 17-years-old.
There were no more such incidents throughout the rest of 1977. Everyone hoped it meant that the Hillside Strangler, believed to be the guilty party, had been caught, or that he fled the city.
More bodies were found in February of 1978.
In December of 1977, the LAPD was contacted by an FBI agent. He was investigating the disappearance of Ellen Hover. He was looking for a man named John Berger, since it was the name written in her diary on the day she went missing. Their records indicated that John Berger was an alias used by Rodney Alcala, who had moved back to Los Angeles.
It didn’t take the LAPD long to find Rodney Alcala. He had served time in jail twice over a span of five years and was now on parole. He was known to work at the Los Angeles Times.
The LAPD went to Alcala’s workplace, and brought him to their offices to question him. They were surprised by how cooperative he was. He said that not only had he known her, but he was with her on the day of her disappearance. He said they were friends. They went on photographic excursions together. He said that’s what they did the last day they spent together. He said that when he last saw her it was in front of her apartment building, where he left her at the entrance. He was asked to submit to a polygraph test. This was where his compliance was rescinded. Since there was no evidence to prove that he killed her, they had to release him.
The Hillside Strangler was caught. It turned out to be two different men committing the murders: Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono Jr. They were cousins. They were convicted for the charges of murder, sexual assault, abduction and torture.
Similarities between the crimes of the Hillside Stranglers and those of Rodney Alcala have been observed. All the victims were females between the ages of 12 and 28. Kenneth Bianchi murdered two girls in Washington State. Rodney Alcala also committed murders in Washington State. He had a storage locker in Seattle. It contained severed parts of his victims. He also raped girls in the Seattle area.
June 26th, 1978 was Charlotte Lamb’s birthday. Her family and friends called her home to wish her a happy birthday. Their calls went unanswered. Her sister contacted the police to notify them that Charlotte had been missing for days. Detective Richard Plasser paid a visit to her apartment on June 28th. He knocked on the door. No response. He asked the manager of the building to let him in. Nothing was amiss.
A tenant of the building went to the laundry room in the basement the same month. When he arrived, a naked woman was lying on the floor. She looked like she was dead. He ran to the manger’s apartment, and informed him about the body. The apartment manager and his wife went to the laundry room to see for themselves. After seeing the dead woman, they called the police.
Detective William Gale inspected the laundry room. The nude female was lying on her back. A pool of blood surrounded her. A shoelace was tied around her neck. The shoe was attached to the lace. It hung by the side of her face. Her arms were positioned behind her back, propping her breasts upward. Her legs were spread wide. Her vagina faced the door.
These were the medical examiner’s findings: the head and face incurred massive trauma. The shoelace was wrapped so tightly that the assailant fractured the cartilage around her larynx and thyroid. In the process of strangulation, the blood vessels in her eyes were ruptured. Bite marks were found on the right side of her neck. Abrasions were observed on her left breast and right shoulder. The anal rim had been hemorrhaging; it had been caused by blunt force trauma. It would have been caused with the penetration of a penis, or an object with similar dimensions. The majority of the injuries were inflicted while the victim was still alive. More than one method of strangulation was employed. It was suspected that a choke hold may have been applied. After examining blood stains, it was determined that she was first face-down, but then turned over. Strangulation was the cause of death. Sperm was discovered in a sample of her vaginal fluid.
The detectives questioned the building manager, and a few of the building’s tenants. Not only did the victim not live in the building, but none of the tenants knew her personally, or casually.
Police drew connections between this murder, and another they investigated. Also, New York police found the body of Ellen Hover at the same time.
In the 1970s, The Dating Game was a popular game show on television. It was a matchmaking scenario wherein a single woman would choose from among three bachelors. She was not permitted to see them until after she made her selection. Her selection was based on how the three men answered a series of questions. Alcala was a contestant on the show.
The producers of The Dating Game failed to screen for red flags, like whether a male contestant was a convicted rapist or a registered sex offender…both of which Alcala happened to be. What they also didn’t know was that he had murdered at least two women in California, and two in New York.
Alcala was Bachelor number one.
One of Alcala’s competitors on the show was actor Jed Mills. He described Alcala as a “very strange guy”. He said he had “bizarre opinions”. The bachelorette, Cheryl Bradshaw, refused to go out with Alcala after they got better acquainted backstage. She said she found him creepy.
Pat Brown is a criminal profiler. Brown has speculated that Alcala’s post-Dating Game murders may have been at least partially motivated by Cheryl Bradshaw’s rejection of him. Brown elaborates on this theory: “One wonders what that did in his mind. That is something he would not take too well. [Serial killers] don’t understand the rejection. They think something is wrong with that girl: ‘She played me. She played hard to get.’”
On February 13th, 1979, 15-year-old Monique Hoyt was hitchhiking. She was picked up by a young man who was kind and charming. She was hitching in downtown Pasadena at the time. He pulled up and asked her if she would pose for some photos that would be submitted as entries in a contest. Monique was flattered. There was photographic equipment in the car, contributing an air of legitimacy. She introduced herself. He told her his name was Rodney Alcala. He told her he needed to drop by his house to pick up more equipment. By the time they got to his home, it was too dark to take photos. It was decided they would spend the night at his place.
In the morning, they drove out to the mountains outside of Banning in Riverside County. Alcala parked the car. They walked for about 15 minutes into the forest, toward the destination Alcala told her about.
He took several pictures of Monique while she was fully-clothed. He directed her to pose this way and that. 15 minutes in, he asked her if she would mind posing in the nude. She agreed, and disrobed.
Next, he told her he wanted to take some goofy photos of her. He asked her to take her t-shirt, put it on and pull it over her face. Once there, he wanted her to hold it there. She followed his directive. She held the t-shirt over her face, and awaited further instructions. A heavy blow was dealt to her head. It hit her so hard, she fell to the ground. She soon passed out…but before she did…she saw that Alcala held a tree branch in his hands.
When Monique regained consciousness, she strove to remain calm. She had been living on the streets for about a year by that point. She knew how to survive dangerous situations. She kept her eyes closed, and remained still to convince Alcala she was still unconscious. In the meantime, she planned an escape.
Whether he was fooled or not, Alcala was not finished. He bit on her vagina repeatedly. He worked his way up from her pubic region to her breasts. He raped her vaginally for a moment. He pulled out. He flipped her body over. He sodomized her. She could no longer keep up the subterfuge: the pain was far too much for her to bear. She started screaming. He told her to shut up. He grabbed her t-shirt, and stuffed it into her mouth. Her voice was muffled, but she continued to scream, nonetheless. She started to fight back. Alcala grabbed her throat. He began to choke her. She became unconscious.
Monique regained consciousness after a period of missing time. She had no inkling of what time it was, or how long she was unconscious. Her wrists and ankles were tied. She couldn’t move. She opened one eye. She saw that Alcala was lying on the ground next to her. She heard him crying. She took advantage of his moment of vulnerability. She acted friendly toward him in hopes that she could gain his trust and mercy. She told him she would love to spend more time with him. She found a way to roll over and touch his arm. She asked him if he was okay. She told him not to tell anyone about what happened. He didn’t answer. She asked him if she could stay with him at his house, so that they could be together. He rolled over to her. He untied her wrists. She got up, untied her ankles and put her clothes back on. They walked to his car. Neither of them said a word. He drove them off the mountain, still silent. He stopped at a gas station to use its washroom. She said she would wait. Once he entered the washroom, she got out of the car and ran to an adjacent motel. She screamed at a guest to call the police and report that a man kidnapped and sexually assaulted her. A couple grabbed her and brought her into their room for safe-keeping. She waited there until the police arrived.
Alcala heard the commotion Monique caused. He ran to his car and sped off. Shortly thereafter, the police turned up at the motel, and took Monique to the station. Once she was calm enough, she told them what Alcala did to her. She attempted to describe him. They showed her suspects from photos of line-ups of men, who to some extent, resembled her attacker. After a minute she screamed, “That‘s him!” It was Alcala in the photo.
On arrival, detectives found Alcala watching television. He was calm during questioning. They asked him about his past. He told them he was a parolee, and that he had recently been charged for possession of marijuana. They asked him what he had been doing earlier that day. He stonewalled them. They arrested him and charged him with sexual assault.
After the arrest, homicide detectives questioned Alcala to get his version of what happened between him and Monique Hoyt. By his account, Monique consented to being tied up and photographed without her clothing. He claimed she also simulated sex acts for him. He stuffed the t-shirt in her mouth when she began to fight. He choked her so she would stop screaming.
Days later, Alcala appeared at a bail hearing. His bail was set at $10,000.00. His mother paid it. She assumed he was innocent. A trial was scheduled for September that year.
He went free.
In April, he resigned from his position at the LA Times. He decided to open his own photographic studio.
On June 13th, 1979, Jill Parenteau had a date lined up with a boy from school. Her sister Dedee called her. She was excited to hear about this development. He planned to take them to an L.A. Dodgers baseball game.
Jill’s best friend, Kathy Bowman, called her to find out how the date went. Jill didn’t answer. Kathy called her a few more times that day, but Jill still didn’t answer. She called Janet Jordan, one of Jill’s co-workers. Janet went to Jill’s apartment to see if she was alright. There was no response there either. She called the police.
Detective Gordon Bowes received a call on June 14th about a dead body that was discovered at an apartment at 1921 Peyton Avenue in Burbank. When Bowers and his cohorts arrived at the scene, Janet Jordan was hysterical. She was screaming. Nothing she screamed was coherent.
The outside window had been removed and the screen was cut. The light bulb outside of the front door had been loosened.
In the bedroom, they observed a nude female laid out on the bed face-up. Her legs had been spread widely. Her genitalia faced the bedroom’s door. She had been propped up on pillows. From what the officers could tell, the assailant inflicted severe trauma on her face, damaging her cheeks, nose and teeth. Nylons were found on the bed beside her. They were torn and knotted. The blanket, sheets and a bathrobe were soaked with blood, and deposited at the foot of the bed. A bedroom lamp was positioned to face upwards, apparently to be used as an impromptu spotlight to illuminate her vagina. An electric blanket was placed under her body. The cord was wrapped around her neck.
The autopsy disclosed that she received an extensive horizontal scalp laceration measured at six inches. The trauma she incurred from the attack was so extreme she bled into the undersurface of her scalp. Considerable trauma was dealt to the head with an object that was wider than a hammer. That, or the head was slammed against a flat object. It could also have been caused by a human fist. Ligature marks on her neck were caused by knots in the nylons. Serious hemorrhaging was observed through the area of her thyroid, larynx and epiglottis. The strangulation had been applied with so much force that the small blood vessels in her eyes ruptured. There were bruises on the tip of her tongue. Bleeding had occurred in her mouth. The corners of her mouth were injured; this is typical in the event of forcible fellatio. She was scratched deeply around her breasts. There were teeth marks and puncture wounds around her right breast. Puncture wounds were also found below the left nipple. There were cuts on the left side of her left breast. Deep wounds were found in her vaginal and rectal cavities. The coroner deduced that most of the injuries were inflicted while the victim was still alive. The cause of death was concluded to be strangulation. Blood samples were taken from the robe. Sperm was found in both her mouth and vagina.
During this time, Alcala sold himself successfully to hundreds of young men and women as a professional fashion photographer. He told them he was photographing them for his portfolio. One of his co-workers at the LA Times disclosed that Alcala showed some of the photos to his co-workers. Her evaluation: “I thought it was weird, but I was young, I didn’t know anything. When I asked why he took the photos, he said their moms asked him to. I remember the girls were naked.”
Another woman had this to say: “He said he was a professional, so in my mind I was being a model for him. She allowed him to photograph her in 1979. She had a closer look at his portfolio. Her recollection “… spread after spread of [naked] teenage boys.”
Most of the pictures he took were pornographic. Most of the individuals that were photographed have not been identified. Police have speculated that some of them could be cold case victims. He would approach young girls at the beach, most of them minors. He would ask them to get in his car with a promise of some kind of reward for posing for him. Many were wary, and fled the scene.
On July 2nd, 1979, forestry worker William Poepke discovered the skeletal remains of a human body after being notified by a co-worker. He called dispatch and informed them about what he had found.
July 5th, 1979: 12-year-old Robin Samsoe had been missing for 12 days. Police showed up at her family’s door. An officer told her mother Marianne that Robin had been located. Marianne said, “Let’s go see her.”
The officer said, “We can’t do that.”
Marianne said, “That’s my baby, of course I can see her. Why not?”
The officer said, “Because it took us three days to identify her.”
Marianne’s response: “What’s wrong with you people? How many little girls with long blonde hair disappear that it took you three days?”
The officer shook his shoulders. Tears streamed down his face. He told her there was no hair.
Orange County District Attorney Matt Murphy paid several visits to the site where Robin Samsoe’s body was found. His recollection: “Robin had been up here for 12 days before her body was found, and there were 12 days for the animals to scavenge Robin’s remains, and for decomposition to take place. By the time the fire crew found her body, she was just bones.”
Law enforcement officials were under even more pressure to find the culprit.
This is the description of the remains transcribed verbatim from the medical examiner’s report:
Portions of the hands and left foot were absent. Disarticulation of the skull and upper three cervical vertebrae, from the remains of the cervical vertebrae. Remnants of soft tissue present in the jaws, pharynx, left temporal muscle, orbits, surrounding the rib cage, lumbar and thoracic vertebrae, vertebral column, pelvis, and remnants attached to the bones of the extremities. Brownish soft tissue, firm, and mummified. Extensive evidence of animal erosion, hands absent bilaterally, apparently due to animalized erosion. No tool marks, chop marks, or saw marks where separation of the hands would have occurred. No evidence of antemortem fracture, trauma, gunshot wound, stab wound, chop wound, or tool marks. Skull consistent with Caucasoid race, estimated height is 57 1/4 inches. No front teeth.
The corpse was in such an advanced stage of decomposition that the cause of death could not be ascertained. They inspected the body for signs of sexual assault. This, too, was undetectable after twelve days of decomposition.
On July 7th, detectives went to Alcala’s mother’s house. Rodney wasn’t around, but his girlfriend was home. Her name was Elizabeth Kelleher. Her description of him: “Rodney Alcala is an intelligent, well-mannered, pleasant, fun, outgoing, great individual.” She was asked if she was in love with him. She said yes. She met him when she was 22. They bonded over their passion for photography. She had a look at his portfolio. She was asked about what she saw. She had this to say: “I saw a lot of pictures of girls, young girls, I’d say probably from 12, 13, to probably about 30s. There was no difference in personality, no difference in the things we did, the things we talked about.”
She was asked about the possibility that Rodney could have murdered Robin Samsoe. She couldn’t see any reason why he could be capable of committing such a heinous act. They had spent a weekend together in northern California. She drew a blank when asked to explain his whereabouts on June 20th.
The following day, July 8th, Alcala told Elizabeth he wanted to move to Dallas. There was a business opportunity to own his own photography studio. He told her he was also sick of living in Los Angeles. She embraced the proposal, aware as she was that he wasn’t making a living as a photographer in Los Angeles. He vowed that once he moved there he would keep in touch with her. He would arrange for her to move there after he was settled.
July 23rd, 1979: Rodney Alcala established a rental agreement at a storage facility in Seattle, Washington. He deposited several of his possessions. Afterwards, he drove to a motel nearby and rented a room.
The following day he drove back to Los Angeles. He told Elizabeth that he was off to Dallas. He was elated. He didn’t tell her about his trip to Seattle. He didn’t tell anybody.
July 24th, 1979: after evaluating evidence, detectives determined Rodney Alcala was the prime suspect for the abductions, sexual assaults and murders under investigation. They turned up at his mother’s house at 7:00am to serve the arrest warrant. Rodney was still home. He was in bed. He was sleeping in the nude. He seemed surprised to see them. He dressed and they took him into custody.
He was questioned at their detachment. He gave his alibi: he claimed to be at Knott’s Berry Farm at the time of Robin Samsoe’s murder being interviewed for a job. He was booked for murder. This time his bail was set at $250,000.00. Other officers searched his mother’s house and his Datsun in hopes that they would find clues that could help with the case.
Sergeant Jenkins found a receipt for Alcala’s storage unit in Seattle. According to the date on the receipt, the rental agreement was made after the day of Robin Samsoe’s disappearance. The search warrant didn’t cover the acquisition of a receipt in the house. He copied all the information from the receipt onto his own stationary.
The following items were collected as evidence by police in Rodney Alcala’s mother’s house, on July 24th, 1979:
- 1 pair Japanese-made handcuffs
- Boxes of photos
- Envelopes containing mail
- Pieces of rope (manila and blue nylon)
- 8 magazines Young & Naked
- 2 black photo binders Plastic slide (35mm) tray & slide
- 1 frizzy black wig
- 1 leather bullwhip
- 1 pair of pink panties with black tape on each side
- 1 short-sleeve plaid men’s shirt
- 1 pair blue NBA running shoes
- Camera equipment
- A briefcase containing a set of keys
- An additional 1,200 photos, negatives, and slides
- A Kane Kut knife set was discovered in the house, but no knife was missing from the set
These items were found in his Datsun:
- Binoculars
- Photography equipment
- Maps
- A 35mm camera with a colorful strap
- A recently installed shag carpet
More from Sergeant Jenkins: “As they really focused on Mr. Alcala, they learned that he had no alibi. That nobody could account for his whereabouts at that time.” Soon after, investigators learned that Alcala acquired new charges not so long ago. To quote Matt Murphy, “Rodney Alcala was on bail for a kidnapping/rape out of Riverside that had just been committed, you know, within a couple of months of the murder of Robin Samsoe. The more they learned about Rodney Alcala, the more perfectly Rodney Alcala fit into the profile, essentially, of the person they were looking for.”
The quest to prove Alcala was culpable for the abduction and murder of Robin Samsoe proved challenging.
As with every case, they weren’t about to leave any stone unturned. Alcala was unaware about the discovery by police of the receipt for his storage unit in Seattle. A search warrant was issued for the locker. Detectives McEerlain and Robinson flew to Seattle.
There were two padlocks on the door to the unit. They had two keys with them that were located in the Alcala house. The keys fit. The detectives searched the locker for three hours.
These items were found in the storage locker:
• Wintry weather clothing
• Kitchenware
• A red coin purse
• Several earrings in a jewelry pouch, including a pair of gold rose earrings with a tiny diamond in the middle, and a pair of gold ball earrings (on August 1st, the earrings were established to belong to victim Robin Samsoe)
• Boxes containing over 1,700 photographs, negatives, film, and slides, including one marked Tali VA rape, and another labeled Ode to New York by John Berger
July 26th, 1979: Arraignment
The arraignment was held two days after the search of Alcala’s storage locker. He was charged with kidnapping, a lewd or lascivious act upon a child under 14, murder and robbery.
He pleaded not guilty.
The judge set a preliminary hearing for August 9th, 1979. He was held without bail. Alcala asked the judge to issue him a public defender.
On August 14th, Chris Strople, the deputy public defender selected to represent Alcala was taken off the case. He was informed that Alcala confessed to the murder and sexual assault of Robin Samsoe to three inmates. Strople happened to represent all those inmates. It was determined to be a conflict of interest.
Attorney John Barnett was assigned to Alcala’s case. He requested a new trial date so he could have more time to read up on the case.
The trial was to commence in early 1980.
On February 15th, 1980, Superior Court Judge Philip E. Schwab ruled that prior offences of Alcala’s could be admissible as evidence. The offences included: the beating and sexual molestation of an 8-year-old in Los Angeles in 1968; he was alleged to have abducted and molested a 13-year-old in Huntington Beach; he was suspected of murdering a woman in 1977 in New York; he was also a suspect in the abduction and beating of a 15-year-old in Riverside County in 1979.
Alcala was also due to appear in court in Riverside County in October for his attack on Monique Hoyt, those charges being: rape and assault with the intent to commit bodily harm. Alcala was present in court that day, but Monique Hoyt wasn’t. The judged ordered a psychiatric evaluation for her.
The LAPD were on the fence about whether to go to trial with the murder of Jill Parenteau. It took nearly a decade to bring them to that point, but they hit a critical snag: the single witness, John Mulqueen, who was an inmate friend of Alcala’s, committed perjury in another case where he was the State’s key witness. His credibility was shot. After being unable to find any other witnesses, the case was dismissed.
In February of 1980, Alcala’s trial for the murder of Robin Samsoe began. As with the trial for Jill Parenteau’s murder, there were issues with unreliable witnesses. A forest ranger who found Robin’s body gave slightly different accounts of her discovery every time she was questioned by the police. The other witnesses who were dismissed from the case were inmates who agreed to testify because it would reduce their sentences.
Robin’s mother, Marianne, kept a gun in her purse. She planned to murder Alcala at some point. She was willing to execute him with a judge, prosecuting attorney and a jury as witnesses.
Alcala’s lawyer pointed out that the forest ranger concealed vital information that was relevant to the case, which called her credibility into question. She was so traumatized by the state of the body that her recollection was checkered. She wasn’t 100% sure that Rodney Alcala was the man she spotted with a girl who resembled Robin Samsoe. She got times and dates wrong. She even admitted that she hadn’t told the truth during questioning. She had this to say about why she gave false information to police: “From the very beginning, I was trying to find a way out. I didn’t want to testify. Blaming it on my imagination was easier than actually saying I believed what I saw. I had been petrified to come forth with evidence because of my overwhelming feelings of guilt, depression, denial, and horror. I had recurring nightmares about what I saw, although the nightmares were never the same, and that caused me to question what was real and what was a dream. I wanted to be absolutely sure of my facts before I told anyone.”
Alcala’s sex crimes were examined. Witnesses who were approached by him to model for photographs were questioned.
Nearly 50 witnesses testified, but the information was often conflicting. The evidence was largely anecdotal, and much of it didn’t stand up to scrutiny. Most of the prosecution’s witnesses were discredited. Many associates of Alcala’s were able to provide verifiable alibis that supposedly proved that Alcala was not in Robin’s company the night she was murdered. Psychologists evaluated the forest ranger and determined that her accounts of what happened could not be trusted.
On April 23rd, the defense rested their case. Alcala decided not to take the stand.
Final arguments began on April 28th, 1980.
The prosecution addressed the jury, shedding light on Rodney Alcala’s history as a sex offender, which included arrests and convictions. He approached the girls on the beach with designs on sexually assaulting them, he opined.
Alcala’s lawyer admitted that Alcala was a bad man. But he went on to say that the State had not proven that he was responsible for the murder of Robin Samsoe. He pointed out that there was no physical evidence that Robin was abducted on June 20th. No hairs or fibres were found that could link the slaying to Alcala. He argued that the case was purely circumstantial and riddled with holes. He asserted his belief that the forest ranger was not a credible witness. He finished by recommending a vote of not guilty.
The jury had not come to a verdict on the first day.
Robin’s mother didn’t sleep much that night: she was still awaiting the right moment to shoot Rodney Alcala.
The next day the jury reached a verdict.
The judged asked of the county clerk, “How do you find the defendant regarding the first-degree murder charge with use of a deadly weapon?”
The county clerk’s response: “Guilty of first-degree murder.”
Cheers erupted in the courtroom. The judged called order. “And regarding the count of forcible kidnapping, how do you find the defendant?”
“Guilty.”
The prosecuting attorney called two witnesses to testify at the penalty phase hearing. They were Rodney Alcala’s previous parole officers. After they were questioned, he concluded by adjudging Alcala as a cold, calculating killer who stalked little girls for selfish, aberrant purposes. This beast, this conniving scum, stole Robin’s life. What other penalty is appropriate for the murder of a little girl?
The defence didn’t call any witnesses and Alcala chose not to testify. His attorney acknowledged that Alcala was sick and disturbed. He said Alcala suffered from a mental illness that enabled him to make the leap from a normal man to an unpredictable, frenzied person. He was driven by a frenzy he was powerless to stop. He felt his client was tried on anger and fear.
Four hours later the court clerk announced the sentence: “Death.”
Robin Samsoe’s mother shouted, “All right!” and broke down crying.
Alcala, by contrast, presented as an automaton, demonstrating no feeling whatsoever.
The judge set June 20th as the sentencing date.
Robin Samsoe admitted to media that she had the gun on her. She decided against shooting Alcala because she had other children and wanted to be there for them. She did come close to shooting him when he blew kisses at her.
On June 20th, the judge made the following statement: “It is fair to say that the evidence disclosed the defendant, in a premeditated manner, stalked his prey for a number of days. The defendant not only has a prior felony conviction, but there are also distinct similarities to this case. This is a particularly vicious and cruel crime. He is a man of depraved character, but he is able to appreciate the difference between right and wrong.”
The judge agreed with the jury that Alcala should receive the death penalty. It was to take place in a gas chamber. In the meantime, Alcala was remanded to the notorious San Quentin Prison. No date was set for the execution, since Alcala’s lawyer filed an appeal with the Supreme Court.
At a later trial, Alcala was found guilty of the rape and assault of Monique Hoyt. He received a nine-year prison sentence.
During the appeal process, it was determined that many of the witnesses gave faulty testimony. The death penalty conviction was reversed. He was retried on all charges.
Though many witnesses were discredited to some degree at the new trial, the jury returned with a guilty verdict. He was found culpable of murder, kidnapping and false imprisonment using a deadly weapon. As the verdict was read, Robin’s mother collapsed in the courtroom. She was sobbing aloud. A friend helped escort her out of the courtroom. When asked to comment on the outcome of the trial, Robin’s mother had this to say: “I just thank God. Maybe now my daughter can go to sleep for the first time in seven years. Maybe the rest of my family can go back to life. I was afraid that perhaps the jury would not convict Alcala this time because of all the information the jury was not allowed to hear, based on the Supreme Court’s decision.”
Rodney Alcala requested that the case be dismissed because he felt his attorneys were incompetent. The request was denied.
Deputy District Attorney Tom Goethals summed up Rodney Alcala at the end of the trial: “Alcala was the worst of the worst, a person who preys on totally defenseless young girls. The defendant is the epitome of malevolence. He is a sexual carnivore, and the meat he thrives on is our children.”
Alcala finally made a statement on his behalf. He was softly-spoken and relaxed. This is what he had to say for himself: “My 13-year prison record shows I am harmless. I am not a threat to hurt anyone.” He confessed that he had a history of child molestation and possession of child pornography. He acknowledged his parole violations. He conceded that he raped and assaulted a 15-year-old girl. He said he never even met Robin Samsoe. He went on to say, “Please don’t kill me. I don’t think I should die for something I didn’t do.” He finished by asking the jury for a sentence of life. He supported this request by saying he could do no harm to children as long as he was locked up.
Once more, he was sentenced to death and remanded to San Quentin.
March 25, 1990
A journalist named Janet Zimmerman was keen to interview death row inmates. She wanted to find out how they felt about their impending executions, and other death sentence-related issues. She contacted Rodney Alcala and requested an interview. He told her he would only participate if she read his petition for a new trial, which was 400 pages long. She was also to pass a test of Alcala’s design. She passed the test.
Zimmerman interviewed Alcala for two hours. The following was transcribed from their dialogue:
Zimmerman: “Describe your feelings about being on death row.”
Alcala: “It feels like that night in the early sixties when the back tire of my motorcycle blew out and I struggled to regain control as I careened down the Long Beach Freeway. It’s like that instantaneous fear you feel. You can feel the same thing here. My God, I’m on death row. That’s pretty frightening.”
Zimmerman : “How do you spend your days here?”
Alcala: “I spend my days in my 5’x11’ cell, researching legal issues regarding my case and filing court motions for the right to have dental floss, baby oil, and toothpicks. Those are items prison officials do not allow us inmates to have, because they could aid in an attempt to escape. I was allowed a typewriter in my cell, and I used it to write my own appeal to the Supreme Court, but the Court hasn’t ruled on it yet.”
Zimmerman: “How many hours a day do you spend in your cell?”
Alcala: “I can leave my cell up to four hours a day, six days a week, and go out to the yard. There are usually about 40 other inmates out there at a time, and on occasion I will play Backgammon or Scrabble with them. If you had told me 20 years ago that I’d be on death row and be playing games with killers, I’d have said you were crazy. On three of those days, I’m allowed to run laps on a small outdoor track. I can only take a shower three times a week, and only with my handcuffs on.”
Zimmerman: “I see that you have a color television, What do you like to watch?”
Alcala: “I never watch the violent shows that they run on the prison cable channel. I will only watch sitcoms and adventure shows with no violence in them. One of my favorite movies is When Harry Met Sally. I also like to look through my photo album with pictures of my mom, two sisters, and brother.”
December 31st, 1992
The Supreme Court of California affirmed Rodney Alcala’s conviction and death sentence from 1986.
Alcala wrote a book about his experience as the defendant. He claimed he was innocent of all charges, and a victim of the system. It ended with his insistence that he be released.
He spent his time researching law. His knowledge was so in-depth at one point, that he worked as an in-house lawyer for other inmates. He was adjudged a model prisoner and did not violate any of the prison’s rules in nine years.
He appealed the case once again, but this time the outcome was worse than ever: not only was he not released, but forensic evidence was unearthed that linked him to five murders he had not been previously charged with committing. Police had seen patterns in the killings, but they didn’t have the DNA. Now they did.
Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Gino Satriano charged him with the murders of Jill Barcomb, Georgia Wixted and Charlotte Lamb. To quote Matt Murphy, “We realized that not only was Rodney Alcala a vicious murderer in our case, but, in fact, he is the serial killer that we always suspected him to be. In addition to the sexual assault and the fact that they were all left naked and posed, and to the beatings and traumas to the head, each of these women were strangled with ligatures, with some sort of tie around their neck. Rodney Alcala was committing murders all over the place to work the system. To confuse law enforcement.” He was asked if Alcala committed the murders in different regions in hopes that there would be no collaborative investigations between law enforcement agencies. Murphy confirms this: “That’s right, and for years, they didn’t.”
In his next trial, Alcala tried in vain to have his charges reversed, but with all the DNA evidence and testimonies from law enforcement officials, and other witnesses, he didn’t stand a chance. The court clerk read the verdict as follows: “Guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of five counts of first-degree murder, and one count of kidnapping. The jury found true, beyond a reasonable doubt, five special circumstance allegations, including torture, rape, kidnapping, and multiple murder.”
He received the death penalty once more.
Police have investigated other murders with Alcala as a suspect. Robin’s mother stated her desire for him to be executed in California: “I don’t want him to go to no other state and be held accountable for no other – nothing else, because he can only be killed once. I want him to die here. I want it carried out. I wanna live one day longer than him. I wanna live one day without feeling or hearing the name Rodney Alcala in my mind. I could die a happy woman.”
More evidence poured in to substantiate Rodney Alcala’s status as a human monster. The forensic evidence caught up with him. He is reportedly in perpetually ill health. He is going to die in prison…awaiting execution.
Human Monsters True Crime Blog 