Rodney Alcala

Rodney Alcala
June 1979 mugshot of Alcala
Born
Rodrigo Jacques Alcala

(1943-08-23)August 23, 1943
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
DiedJuly 10, 2021(2021-07-10) (aged 77)
Corcoran, California, U.S.
Other namesDating Game Killer
John Berger
Conviction(s)Battery, kidnapping, murder, probation violation, rape, providing cannabis to a minor
Criminal charge1 count of battery
1 count of kidnapping
Violation of probation
2 counts of rape
1 count of providing cannabis to a minor
5 counts of first-degree murder (2010)
PenaltyDeath
Details
Victims8 confirmed
130+ possible
Span of crimes
1968–1979
CountryUnited States
State(s)Washington
California
New York
Wyoming
Date apprehended
July 24, 1979[1]
Imprisoned atCalifornia State Prison, Corcoran and San Quentin State Prison

Rodney James Alcala (born Rodrigo Jacques Alcala; August 23, 1943 – July 24, 2021) was an American serial killer, rapist, and convicted sex offender who was sentenced to death in California for five murders committed between 1977 and 1979. He also pleaded guilty and received a sentence of 25 years to life for two further murders committed in New York. He was also indicted for a murder in Wyoming, although the charges filed there were dropped.[2] While Alcala has been conclusively linked to eight murders, the true number of victims remains unknown and could be as high as 130.[3]

Alcala compiled a collection of more than 1,000 photographs of women, teenage girls, and boys, many in sexually explicit poses. In 2016, he was charged with the 1977 murder of a woman identified in one of his photos.[4] Alcala is known to have assaulted one other photo subject and police have speculated that others could be rape or murder victims as well.[5]

Prosecutors have said that Alcala "toyed" with his victims, strangling them until they lost consciousness then waiting until they revived, sometimes repeating this process several times before finally killing them.[5][6] One police detective described Alcala as "a killing machine",[7] and others have compared him to Ted Bundy.[8] Alcala is often referred to as the Dating Game Killer, as he appeared on the television show The Dating Game in 1978 during the midst of his murder spree.[9]

  1. ^ Handel, Sarah (March 11, 2010). "Serial Killer Rodney Alcala's Photo Trove Found". NPR.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference DGK was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Thompson, Donald (July 24, 2021). "Imprisoned 'Dating Game Killer' Alcala dies in California". Associated Press. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wyoming was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Tresniowski, Alex; Breuer, Howard (April 19, 2010). "The Eye of a Killer: Police Discover a Chilling Cache of Photos". People. pp. 86–90. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  6. ^ Pelisek, Christine (March 20, 2010). "Orange County Judge Sentences Serial Killer and Dating Game Winner Rodney Alcala to Deat". LA Weekly. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  7. ^ Baum, Geraldine; Esquivel, Paloma (January 28, 2011). "Serial killer Rodney Alcala faces charges in New York slayings". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
  8. ^ Allen, Nick (February 26, 2010). "US serial killer Rodney Alcala could be 'new Ted Bundy'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
  9. ^ "Convicted serial killer won on 'Dating Game'". CNN. March 10, 2010. Archived from the original on August 14, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2010.