SERIAL KILLER: Rodney Alcala

Something truly horrific happened during the 70s when women began turning up dead, strangled with their own clothing.

Taking it back to when Raoul Alcala Buquor and Anna Maria Gutierrez had their first little boy, on August 23 1943, the couple welcomed Rodrigo Jacques Alcala Buquor (Rodney Alcala) in San Antonio, Texas. The family lived a relatively uneventful life up until 1951 when Raoul packed the family up and moved them to Mexico. Yet three years later and Raoul abandoned his family, leaving Anna with Rodney and his two sisters. The now single mother took her children and moved to suburban Los Angeles, settling down into their new normal.

Rodney, at age 17, joined the US Army, serving as a clerk. He was only there for three years before he had an emotional breakdown that led him to hitchhike to his mother’s home, going AWOL. Shortly after returning he was diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder and was medically discharged from his service. After his discharge, Alcala enrolled and shortly later, graduated from UCLA School of Fine Arts. It was after he graduated that his first known crime was committed, based on the severity of the crime it is unlikely to have been his first criminal act.

Tali Shapiro (8) was heading to school on the morning of September 25th, 1968 when a man stopped her, offering her a ride to school. Instead of taking the girl to school, the man instead took her to his apartment, making her follow him inside. There he showed her a psychedelic poster before attacking her. A witness had seen when Tali had first gotten into the car and felt as though something was wrong and followed the car. The second that Tali was in the Hollywood apartment they called the police. Just ten minutes went by when a car arrived. Alcala was standing at the front window, looking out whilst completely unclothed, he rushed out the back as the police entered his apartment. Tali was found on the kitchen floor, unconscious, naked and barely breathing with a metal pole near where she lay. Thankfully she would make a full, physical recovery from her ordeal.

Alcala managed to escape the police and ran to New York under a new name, John Berger. Whilst he was in New York, he began attending the New York University, studying film. In 1971 he would obtain a job as a counsellor at a New Hampshire arts camp for children.

Despite being on the run, Alcala’s next crime would be on 24th June 1971. Not much is known about the night of the murder but the police found Cornelia Crilley (23) dead inside her Manhattan apartment. She was naked, strangled with a bite mark on her breast and material left in her throat that suggested she’d been gagged. The case went unsolved despite the police’s best efforts.

Alcala’s first victim would finally catch up to him when two of the children from the New Hampshire camp he worked at recognised his picture plastered in the local post office. It was a part of the FBI’s most-wanted list, Alcala being one the more recent criminals to be added.

After his arrest, Alcala was convicted of child molestation and given a three-year sentence. There was also a possibility of him being charged with attempted murder and rape but Tali Shapiro’s parents denied Tali being the primary witness at the trial.

Just 17 months later, Alcala was released on parole. Despite this fact, Alcala continued his behaviour under two months after release.

“Julie J” (13) was sitting at the bus stop, waiting for her bus to school when Alcala approached and inserted himself into the conversation. Eventually, he convinced Julie to get in his car for a ride to school. Julie began started to feel terrified after passing the building and Alcala refused to stop, not letting her out. He finally stopped at some cliffs that overlooked the beach, making Julie get out of the car, grabbing ahold of her leg when she tried to leave. Alcala forced Julie to smoke marijuana before sexually assaulting her. A park ranger found them and both parties were arrested for marijuana violations. Alcala was charged with parole violation and providing marijuana to a minor. He would serve three years before being released on parole yet again.

Despite being a repeat offender and considered a flight risk, his parole officer allowed Alcala to fly out to New York from California under claims of going to visit family. It was one week after he landed in New York and Alcala committed what would be his fourth crime.

Ellen Hover (23) was reported missing in June of 1977 with no trace, the only lead was a note on her calendar about meeting a man by the name of John Berger. It was a year later when remains were found buried under heavy rocks near Phelps Memorial Hospital, the body was badly decomposed the only way to identify them was with dental records. It was Ellen.

A month after Ellen was first reported missing, Alcala had potentially struck again.

Antoinette Witaker (13) walked out of her foster home with an unknown man on the night of July 9th 1977. She was reported missing after she didn’t return from the walk. Just a week later Antoinette was found stabbed to death and posed in a vacant lot in Lake City, Seattle. Police believed she had been there the entire week and they didn’t believe that she was sexually assaulted. Antoinette’s murder is still unsolved to this day.

Christine Ruth Thornton (28) was a month later and potentially one of the longest cases caused by Alcala to be solved. Christine went missing in August 1977 and it wasn’t until five years later that her body was found but she remained unidentified until 2015.

There was a small break in the timeline, Alcala going quiet or at least that is what records show. His potentially sixth victim came on the 9th of October, 1977.

Pamela Lambson (19) disappeared after a trip to Fisherman’s Wharf, she was meant to be meeting a photographer. She was found battered and nude on a Marin County hiking trail, there was no useable DNA or fingerprints at the scene but police are confident that Pamela was one of Alcala’s victims.

The next confirmed victim was Jill Barcomb (18). She was a New York runaway that was found “rolled up like a ball” in a Los Angeles ravine. It was originally believed that she was a victim of another pair of serial killers, The Hillside Stranglers, active at the time and area. She was found with evidence of sexual assault, bludgeoned and strangled with a pair of trousers.

Alcala’s next victim was found in December 1977. Georgia Wixted (27) was found bludgeoned and strangled inside her Malibu apartment. Alcala had used a hammer to attack her, her nylon stocking to strangle her and during the attack, he had sexually assaulted her.

With the new year, came a new job, Alcala’s time began to be spent being a typesetter for Los Angeles Times, he had also started using a tactic to find new people to attack, that seemingly wasn’t his go-to at first. He was going up to people, women and children, and claiming he was a professional photographer who wanted to add them to his portfolio. With that rouse, he would either make them pose provocatively and/or sexually assault them, by the time of his capture there were 1020 pictures in his portfolio.

Jumping forward in time to 2010, 120 of the photos were released to the public where twenty-one women came forward to identify themselves and at least six families came forward believing to have spotted missing loved ones within the photos. The other 900 pictures were deemed too explicit to be released.

Back on the timeline, the next potential victim was Joyce Gaunt (17). She had walked out of her group home the night of the 16th for a walk, refusing to go back when she was called to return. She was found on the morning of February 17th 1978, face down, nude. Her skull was crushed and she had been strangled by a shoelace. Once again it isn’t known if Alcala committed the crime but it’s widely believed that he did.

Rodney Alcala is also known as The Dating Show Killer this is because of his appearance and later victory on the show The Dating Game. He was introduced by Jum Lange, the host, a “successful photographer who got his start when his father found him in the darkroom at the age of 13, fully developed. Between takes you might find him skydiving or motorcycling.”. One of the other bachelors on the show described Alcala as a “very strange guy” with “bizarre opinions” and his would-be date Cheryl Bradshaw turned down the date because she found him to be “creepy”.

The next confirmed victim was on the 23rd of June 1978. Charlotte Lamb (31) was found in the laundry room of an apartment block, she had been sexually assaulted and strangled with a shoelace.

On the 14th of June 1979, Jill Parenteau (21) was found inside her Burbank apartment, she had been sexually assaulted. Alcala had cut himself at the scene, the blood matched but shockingly, it was dismissed.

Just six days later, Robin Samsoe (12) was approached on the beach with some friends by a man claiming to be a photographer. Two of the group left with him to take photos but a concerned adult followed to check on the pair of children and Robin took off on her bike. Despite the initial escape, Robin never made it to her ballet lesson and was found twelve days later dumped in the beach foothills. Police made a sketch from what Robin’s friends saw and it was quickly recognised by Alcala’s parole officer.

On the 24th of July 1979, Rodney Alcala was finally caught and held without bail. It wasn’t until 2016 that all of Alcala’s crimes were sentenced, below are the crimes and charges that Alcala was given if any.

September 25th, 1968. Tali Shapiro was sexually assaulted and almost beaten to death. | Alcala was convicted of child molestation in 1971.
June 24th, 1971. Cornelia Crilley was strangled and sexually assaulted in her apartment. | Alcala was indicted for her murder in 2011.
October 13th, 1974. “Julie J” was forced to smoke marijuana and sexually assaulted. | Alcala was convicted of providing marijuana to a minor and a parole violation in 1974.
June 15th, 1977. Ellen Hover was missing for a year before she was found dead. | Alcala was indicted for her murder in 2011.
July 16th, 1977. Antoinette Witaker was stabbed to death. | No one has been charged for her murder.
August 1977. Christine Ruth Thornton unknown cause of death, missing 38 years. | Alcala was charged with her murder in 2016.
October 9th, 1977. Pamela Lambson was found battered and nude. | Alcala is the prime suspect but no evidence to prove it.
November 10th, 1977. Jill Barcomb was found bludgeoned, strangled and sexually assaulted. | Alcala was convicted for her murder in 2010.
December 16th, 1977. Georgia Wixted was found bludgeoned, strangled and sexually assaulted. | Alcala was convicted of her murder in 2010.
February 17th, 1978. Joyce Gaunt was found with her skull crushed, strangled and sexually assaulted. | No one has been charged for her murder.
June 23rd, 1978. Charlotte Lamb was found strangled and sexually assaulted. | Alcala was convicted of her murder in 2010.
June 14th, 1979. Jill Parenteau was found sexually assaulted and strangled in her apartment. | Alcala was convicted of her murder in 2010.
June 20th, 1979. Robin Samsoe was kidnapped and murdered, she was found in the foothills. | Alcala was convicted three different times for her murder. 1980 was overturned due to a misinformed jury. 1986 was nullified. His final charge for this murder was in 2010.