Rodney Alcala's Appearance on 'The Dating Game' and the Haunting Contents of his Storage Locker.
In the macabre gallery of America’s most notorious serial killers, few stand out like Rodney Alcala, a man whose chilling double life as a television game show contestant and a sadistic murderer has forever earned him the name “The Dating Game Killer.” His participation as a contestant on the popular 1970s show The Dating Game, amid an ongoing killing spree, is a detail so bizarre it seems ripped from the pages of a horror script. What adds another layer of terror to this already horrifying tale is that Alcala actually won the date, but the female contestant, Cheryl Bradshaw, found his behaviour so unsettling that she withdrew from the date before it even began. In hindsight, that decision may have saved her life.
The Bizarre Dating Game Appearance
Alcala appeared on The Dating Game in 1978, a time when his brutal crimes were well underway. His polished charm, good looks, and witty repartee were enough to win over both the show’s audience and his chosen “bachelorette,” Cheryl Bradshaw. However, Bradshaw later recalled feeling an overwhelming sense of unease when she met him face-to-face after the show. “Something about him, I could tell there was something wrong,” she said in a later interview. She confided in the show’s producers, expressing her desire not to proceed with the date, and luckily for her, they obliged. Cheryl’s intuition proved to be a life-saving insight, sparing her from what could have been a gruesome fate at the hands of Alcala.
Alcala’s Modus Operandi: A Predator in Plain Sight
The juxtaposition of Alcala’s charismatic on-screen persona and his terrifying reality as a predator is one of the most disturbing aspects of his story. Alcala’s killing spree stretched from 1968 to 1979, during which time he used a variety of methods to torment his victims. His modus operandi typically involved luring women and young girls with promises of photography, before subjecting them to unimaginable horrors. His victims were often strangled, beaten, bitten, raped, and in many cases, their bodies were posed in disturbing ways after death. Alcala’s ability to manipulate and deceive was terrifyingly effective, allowing him to approach victims with ease, and in some cases, escape justice despite multiple arrests.
What makes Alcala’s case even more perplexing is the sheer number of murders he may have committed. Though officially convicted of seven murders, Alcala himself claimed to have killed upwards of 60 individuals, and based on evidence uncovered during investigations, including a storage locker filled with over 1,000 photographs of men, women, and children—many posed sexually—law enforcement believes his actual victim count could exceed 130. The extent of his crimes remains uncertain, leaving numerous families in the dark about the fate of their missing loved ones.
Alcala’s Known Victims: Names to Remember
Among Alcala’s known victims are several young women whose lives were tragically cut short by his sadistic desires. Robin Samsoe, a 12-year-old girl from Huntington Beach, California, is perhaps the most well-known of his victims due to her case being the catalyst for Alcala’s initial death sentence. On June 20, 1979, Robin vanished while riding her bike to ballet class. Her body was discovered days later in the Sierra Madre foothills, but by then, Alcala had fled the state. It wasn’t until a pair of earrings found in Alcala’s storage locker were linked to Robin that he was arrested and convicted of her murder.
In addition to Robin Samsoe, Alcala was convicted of the murders of Jill Barcomb, a young runaway from New York; Georgia Wixted, a nurse who was sexually assaulted and strangled in her Malibu apartment; Charlotte Lamb, a legal secretary found dead in the laundry room of an apartment complex; and Jill Parenteau, a college student who was attacked and killed in her Burbank home. Each of these women was subjected to Alcala’s brutal and methodical violence, leaving behind devastated families and unanswered questions.
But Alcala’s reign of terror was not confined to California. In 2011, he was indicted and pleaded guilty to the murders of Ellen Hover and Cornelia Crilley in New York. Hover, the daughter of a Hollywood nightclub owner, disappeared in 1977. Her remains were later found on the grounds of the Rockefeller Estate, with Alcala being linked to the crime decades later. Cornelia Crilley, a 23-year-old flight attendant, was strangled with her own stockings in her Manhattan apartment in 1971. Both cases remained unsolved until advancements in forensic science and determined law enforcement efforts finally brought Alcala to justice for these horrific crimes.
The Trophies of a Killer: His Dark Collection
One of the most chilling aspects of Alcala’s legacy is the photographic evidence discovered in a storage locker he rented in Seattle. Inside, police uncovered more than 1,000 photographs, many of which depicted men, women, and children in sexually explicit poses. It is believed that these images were taken both as trophies of his crimes and as a perverse way for Alcala to relive his killings. Investigators were able to identify some of the individuals in the photographs, linking them to unsolved cases, but many of those pictured remain unidentified to this day.
Police authorities, in a desperate attempt to find more answers, released hundreds of these photographs to the public, hoping that someone might recognise a missing friend or family member. The idea that many of these photos could be the last image taken of someone before they were brutally murdered has sent chills down the spines of all who have seen them. Law enforcement continues to urge anyone who recognises a face in the photographs to come forward, as the true scope of Alcala’s crimes may never be fully known. (The album is linked below)
Escaping Justice: Multiple Trials and Convictions
One of the most frustrating elements of Alcala’s story is how often he managed to evade justice. Despite being apprehended multiple times, Alcala managed to avoid long-term imprisonment until his final arrest in 1979. In 1972, while still on parole for the rape of an 8-year-old girl, Alcala was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list after evading arrest for the sexual assault of a 13-year-old in Los Angeles. Despite his high-profile status as a fugitive, Alcala managed to flee to New York and began living under an alias, where he worked as a typesetter for The New York Times. It wasn’t until he was recognised by two children at a summer camp, where he was working as a counsellor, that he was finally captured and extradited back to California.
Even after his eventual conviction for the murder of Robin Samsoe in 1980, Alcala’s death sentence was overturned twice—once by the California Supreme Court in 1984 and again by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 2001—on procedural grounds. Alcala’s final conviction and death sentence came in 2010, after a prolonged legal battle that spanned decades. He was eventually sentenced to death for the murders of Robin Samsoe, Jill Barcomb, Georgia Wixted, Charlotte Lamb, and Jill Parenteau. Shortly thereafter, he was sentenced to an additional 25 years to life for the New York murders of Ellen Hover and Cornelia Crilley.
A Legacy of Horror
Rodney Alcala died on death row in 2021, succumbing to natural causes at the age of 77. Though he never fully admitted to the extent of his crimes, his chilling legacy as “The Dating Game Killer” remains a haunting reminder of how easily a predator can hide in plain sight. His crimes have left behind not only a trail of grieving families but also a deep sense of unease about how many victims may still remain unidentified.
Even now, the true number of lives taken by Alcala remains a mystery. The photographs recovered from his storage locker offer a glimpse into his twisted world, but for many of the families who continue to search for missing loved ones, closure remains elusive.
The contents of the locker have been uploaded to this Flickr album and Huntington Beach Police Department have asked for people to contact them if they recognise anyone in the photos.
Comments