In September 1978, one of the participants in the ABC hit show "The Dating Game" was Rodney Alcala. How did this happen? Producer Michael Metzger recalled that he had written "no chance" next to Alcala’s name in his notes, but his wife Ellen, who coordinated the contestants, persuaded him:
He was stunning, there was something bold about him. I said, ‘Are you kidding? He’s very attractive, people will love him!’
Bachelor No. 1 turned out to be a serial killer with a criminal record
The format of the show was simple: a woman would ask three men, whom she couldn’t see, three questions. As the creators admit, they wanted the answers to be funny and often full of sexual innuendo. So, it didn’t raise eyebrows when Alcala responded to a question about his favorite time of day with "night" and, when asked what kind of fruit he would be, said "a banana". After hearing the responses, Cheryl Bradshaw chose him, a successful photographer, for the date.
"The next day, she called me and apologized, asking if it would be a problem if she didn’t go on the date" - Ellen Metzger recalled on ABC’s "20/20". When asked why, Bradshaw could only say that something about Alcala didn’t feel right and that she felt uncomfortable around him because he seemed "weird". Her intuition likely saved her life, as it was later revealed that Rodney Alcala had already served prison sentences and was responsible for numerous murders of young women and girls.
The producers had no idea that behind the curtain sat a serial killer. Years later, Jed Mills, who sat in the middle chair during the episode, recalled that he immediately had bad feelings about Alcala:
I immediately noticed he was strange. In the waiting room, he jumped at me and said, ‘I always get my girl!’ I knew right away I didn’t like him.
It took 10 years from the first arrest attempt to finally lock him up for good
"His participation in the dating show was a reflection of his immense narcissism, ego, and arrogance" - said ABC commentator Matt Murphy, who served as the prosecutor in Alcala’s case in the 2000s. By that time, Alcala had already served three years in prison for assaulting an eight-year-old girl. In 1969, he had lured Tali Shapiro into his car by offering to drive her to school (convincing her that he knew her parents). "I didn’t want to get in, but I was raised to respect my elders" - Shapiro recalled. Fortunately, a bystander saw the scene and followed the car, alerting the police. Although Alcala managed to escape the police, the girl was saved just in time from death. Shapiro, fortunately, does not remember anything after entering Alcala’s house, but the officer who found the beaten and assaulted girl couldn’t talk about it without tears, even decades later.
This wasn’t Alcala’s first victim, but it was the first crime that led to his identification. However, it took several years to catch him, and when sentenced, he was released on parole after just one year.
As a young man, Alcala had enlisted in the army but was discharged due to a nervous breakdown. Even then, specialists diagnosed him with narcissistic personality disorder and psychopathy, but his departure from the army was mutual. Later, Alcala pursued photography and often used his profession to lure victims - like in New York, even before his appearance on "The Dating Game," he had secured a job as a photographer for the Los Angeles Times. Unfortunately, after his TV appearance, Alcala went on to commit at least three more murders. He was finally captured in July 1979 after the body of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe was found 12 days after her disappearance. A friend of hers mentioned that a man had approached them earlier, asking to take pictures of them while roller-skating. After a composite sketch was made, Alcala’s parole officer recognized him. When the police entered his home (he lived at his mother’s house with a separate entrance), they found, among other things, the girl’s earrings and over a thousand photographs of young girls, boys, and women, many of them erotic.
The "Dating Game Killer" may have murdered over 100 people
In 1980, Alcala was sentenced to death for Robin Samsoe’s murder, but the verdict was overturned due to improper jury instructions about his previous sexual offenses. At a retrial, he was sentenced to death again, only for the sentence to be overturned once more. In 2003, with the help of DNA evidence, investigators were able to bring him back to court. During his final trial, many were shocked when Alcala, representing himself, questioned himself as a witness for five hours, dramatically changing his voice. His only defense witness was a psychiatrist he hired, and in 2010, Rodney Alcala was sentenced to death for the third time.
While serving his sentence, Alcala was diagnosed with dissocial personality disorder, also known as antisocial personality disorder. Rodney Alcala died of natural causes at the age of 77 in 2021 while on death row. Although he was convicted of seven murders, police believe the number of victims could exceed 130.
