True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

If you've seen documentaries about Rodney Alcala before, you've probably noticed that he is often compared to the likes of Ted Bundy due to the nature of his crimes, his smart appearance (as well as academic ability) and that he had represented himself at one of his trials. Like Ted Bundy and other serial killers, the number of actual victims is always called into question. There are the victims that we know about and there are the possible victims that we don't know about. One of the reasons Rodney Alcala is often referred to as 'The Worst Serial Killer in American History' is partly down to the fact that investigators believe that he could be responsible for the deaths of as many as 130 people. Rodney was a keen photographer as both a hobby pastime and an aid in his crimes. He would often photograph his victims and these photographs would be part of his 'trophy' collection. Serial killers often like to either record, photograph or keep personal items of their victims as a way to remind themselves of what they have done. 

Rodney would collect items such as earrings and took photographs of his victims. Some of the victims that were photographed were later identified but there are hundreds of unidentified pictures that still remain a mystery to this day. I'm going to delve into this case which is to be the first in my new series of serial killers of the 1970s posts. I will be focusing on 6 serial killers of each decade, from the 1970s, the 1980s and the 1990s. It's a tough job but somebody has to do it and writing about true crime is my passion. My readers who I appreciate so very much, have mentioned on so many occasions that my posts on serial killers are the most intriguing, so here we are. 

I hope you find my upcoming posts on serial killers of each decade to be interesting and informative. 

So before we go further in to the crimes of Rodney Alcala, I have to remind you that I will be sharing some disturbing details so please bare that in mind. 

Rodney James Alcala came into the world on the 23rd of August 1943, he was originally known as Rodrigo Jacques Alcala Buquor. He was mostly brought up in a female household with his mother and sisters after his father walked out on the family. With Rodney not having a proper father figure in his life, the shocking abandonment could have contributed to his issues later on. As the only male in a female household it can sometimes be difficult for a young boy to feel masculine and in control. To be dominated in a female environment can sometimes have a soft affect on a male child where they are more loving and in touch with their feminine side and able to communicate with members of the opposite sex in a positive manner. In other ways though, this can have a negative affect, especially if there is abuse in the household. Young men in this environment often grow up to be angry, bitter and seeking revenge which is often played out in future romantic relationships and with possible victims if it happens to be a serial killer. 

Rodney was academically gifted and got on really well at school. He had a close group of friends and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. His home life was also relatively normal. As well as being a good student, he was a very sociable individual who took part in sporting events as well as being on the year book staff. The future looked bright for Rodney Alcala, a bit of a shaky start when his father left the family but they seemed to have been able to pick themselves up and Rodney was able to achieve quite a lot in school. He claimed to have a high IQ and demonstrated his natural ability to learn fast and like Ted Bundy he was able to read people, manipulate them to his own advantage and come across as quite charismatic.

He had a short stint as a clerk in the United States Army around 1960 but was soon discharged due to mental health reasons, reportedly to be a nervous breakdown. He had also been reported to have assaulted a number of women. Not one to give up the chance of a bright future and wanting to put his academical as well as creative skills to good use, Rodney enrolled himself in a course at the UCLA School of Fine Arts. He excelled here and was popular with the professors and his fellow students. During his time at UCLA, Rodney changed his name to John Berger.

With his time at UCLA being promising you'd have thought that this would continue Rodney on to a positive path but for some reason there was something within him that was beginning to boil to the surface just like it had done with Ted Bundy. Rodney (like Bundy) appeared to be this model student and friendly guy but beneath the surface he was something else entirely. 

That same year in 1968, Rodney reportedly committed his 'second crime'. He kidnapped an 8 year old child by the name of Tali Shapiro and the poor girl was subjected to a horrendous sexual assault and beating. Rodney struck her several times with a steel bar at his home and the little girl was basically on the floor in a pool of her own blood. It was a miracle that she was still breathing but only barely. Right at that moment, police officers (who had previously been informed by a member of the public who witnessed Tali being abducted) burst into the house and found the child, Rodney made a swift escape. The policeman who first discovered Tali was more focused (and to be honest he did the right thing at that moment) on getting the little girl to a hospital and saving her life that there wasn't enough time to chase after Rodney who seemed to have vanished into thin air. Fortunately, Tali was able to make a complete recovery (physically at least. Nobody can imagine the emotional trauma that the poor girl must have went through and probably still goes through to this day if she is still alive, I'm hoping she is) but her family moved her out of the country as soon as she was well enough. The whole ordeal was very traumatic for Tali and the people closest to her that they just didn't want to be in the country anymore. 

Again, like Ted Bundy, Rodney moved around to different states, changed his appearance slightly and went by an alias. He was soon found out in 1971 when he was recognised by some people who had seen his picture on an FBI wanted poster. He was swiftly arrested and taken back to California where he was to face charges. Since the Shapiro family had left the country the police had a difficult time tracking them down. It was soon made clear that the family didn't want to put Tali through any more trauma so refused to go back to California to face trial. Despite the evidence that Tali had been subjected to a horrendous sexual assault and beating before being left for dead, a deal was struck which saw Rodney Alcala admitting to a lesser charge basically admitting to molestation but nothing else. 

To add even more outrage to the circumstances, Rodney only served a total of 34 months due to the fact that he painted himself as a model prisoner and managed to charm and manipulate the parole board. So they released a dangerous sex offender and potential serial killer on to the streets. Within (reportedly) two months he was he was caught trying to kidnap a 13 year old girl by trying to entice her with drugs. Again, he served a pathetic sentence and was back on the streets after serving only two years. 

As I mentioned previously, for serial killers such as Alcala and Bundy, moving around, changing names and switching jobs was quite easy back then in the 1970s because everything was mostly done on paper. Rodney had managed to land on his feet again and in 1977 obtained a role as a typesetter for the Los Angeles Times. In a chilling twist, Rodney Alcala was one of the men interviewed by the police who were investigating The Hillside Stranglers (I covered this infamous case earlier this year, you can find it here). 

In 1977, Rodney was responsible for the horrific sexual assault and murders of three women. Jill Barcomb who was just 18 years old and originally suspected to be a victim of The Hillside Stranglers (there is suspicion to this day that Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono were the perpetrators of this particular murder but they never confessed to this crime), was found deceased in the Hollywood Hills. Jill had been viciously beaten and sexually assaulted. He'd also raped and murdered 32 year old Charlotte Lamb. Charlotte was found in the laundry room of an apartment complex. Both women had been strangled. Due to the nature in which he killed his victims, Rodney also drew comparisons with The Hillside Strangler and Ted Bundy. He was also responsible for the murder of 27 year old Georgia Wixted. Georgia had been savagely beaten with a hammer and strangled. Rodney had used the hammer to also mutilate Georgia's vagina. 

As I mentioned previously, Rodney would use his photography hobby as an aid in his quest to either attempt to abduct a girl or a woman by posing as a professional photographer wanting to compete in a photography competition. He would also try to persuade his victims to pose in sexually explicit poses for him. Sometimes he would just take random pictures of people but he had hundreds of these haunting photographs and the majority of them are very disturbing. Some of the people pictured were able to be identified and some have yet to be known. 

Rodney would often rely on the kindness and naivety of his victims when it came to taking their pictures. he was able to charm and manipulate them into posing voluntarily and other pictures were taken obviously done out of fear. It's important to note that Rodney was suspected and linked to a number of murders around this time which are still being investigated. He has been linked to various murders around that time. It was around 1978 when he made his infamous appearance on The Dating Game (the American version of Blind Date). It just goes to show the absolute audacity and raving narcissist that he actually was. He believed that he was untouchable and now here he was on national television on a popular TV show. He turned on the charm and actually won a date with a lady but she refused to go out with him once she spent about 5 minutes off of camera with him. She thought he was creepy and made her feel uncomfortable. 

A number of people who were there at the filming of the show all commented that Rodney Alcala came across as a complete weirdo. The presenter of the show described him as a successful photographer. One has to wonder what was going through Rodney Alcala's mind considering that he'd already been responsible for the sexual and physical attacks as well as some deaths of women and girls before and during his appearance on this show. He must have thought that he was too clever for everyone and to be honest, he was able to fool a lot of people. 

In 1979 he was reported to have been responsible for the horrific sexual battery and murders of a 12 year old girl (Robin Samsoe) and a 21 year old woman by the name of Jill Parenteau. He was eventually linked to these crimes and arrested that same year and from 1979 he remained behind bars (I'm pleased to say that partly because we know he would have carried on more sickening attacks and murders and it was bad enough what he had already done). 

The lyrics to Alice's Restaurant which included the lines.....''Kill, I wanna, I wanna see, I wanna see blood and gore and guts and veins in my teeth,'' It was a poor excuse for a defense and showed just how delusional he actually was. One of the stand out moments from the final trial was when Tali Shapiro turned up on the stand, much to everyone's shock. The little eight year old girl that he so savagely attacked and attempted to murder all of those years ago, was now stood before him as this very brave, strong and beautiful woman. In that moment she had beaten him right back and she had won. Even he looked surprised to see her and the  strength that it took for her to stand there and face him was nothing more than awe inspiring. He told her that he was sorry for what he had done but again there was no real genuine feeling or emotion to it. Tali had this strong attitude about her as if to say that she didn't want his apologies and no longer cared. She'd outgrown her fear of him, she survived him and she beat him. It was like she stood there representing all of the victims and survivors of Rodney Alcala. 

Rodney Alcala was sentenced to death in 2010 after years of endless court proceedings, convictions overturned and constant back and forth, the families and the survivors could finally breathe a sigh of relief. It had been a long time coming and for it to have carried on so long is a disgrace. Tali Shapiro said it best when she said that it should have stopped with her, he should have been punished whether she was there in court or not. Tali went through hell and was lying in a pool of her own blood, he was charged with molestation and nothing more and served a pathetic sentence and released for good behaviour. That is not justice, that is a joke. We know he had attacked women and girls before this but how many? nobody knows. That is the added mystery to the evil Rodney Alcala, just how many lives did this monster take away and who exactly were the unidentified people in the remaining photographs? Will we ever find out? Questions still remain. 

My heart breaks for the families and survivors because he not only took away their precious loved ones, their childhoods, their sense of security, but he also destroyed their lives too. Three trials he put them through, years having to face him and be put through everything time and time again. It should never have been allowed. I'm very against convicted murderers who are sentenced to death with overwhelming evidence, being able to appeal. These monsters just play with the system and put the families through hell as well as draining tax payers money. If he had been put to death years before, the families and survivors would have some closure. Robin Samsoe's mother who began fighting for her 12 year old daughter's justice, was just a young woman herself when it all started. In 2010, she was now a much older woman, she'd lost most of her life because of this. She said in an interview that she wanted to live to see the day that he was put to death, even if she was to live one day longer than him, that would be enough. She said that she wanted to have just one day to properly breathe knowing that he was no longer alive. 

Justice (in the courtroom at least) was finally done but too much time had passed and been wasted. I hope that the families and survivors are still with us now and are able to have some sort of positive lives because lord knows, they have been to hell and back. 

Maybe one day more questions will be answered in this case, we might find out who the unidentified people in the photographs are. Until that day, all we can do is hope but it is one small relief that Rodney Alcala is finally gone. 

I thank you as always for joining me in this case and I know it's a long one to get through but these serial killer posts, when done properly, are often long and this case was a roller coaster. 

I'm thinking of the victims, the families and survivors and the unknown and unidentified victims. RIP Robin Samsoe, Jill Barcomb, Georgia Wixted, Charlotte Lamb, Jill Parenteau, Cornelia Crilley, Ellen Hover and those we don't yet know about. 

Click here to view the photographs that were taken of unidentified individuals by Rodney Alcala. If you recognise anyone in the photographs, please contact Sgt. Sam Shepherd of Huntington Police Department on (714) 536 5947

Further Reading & Sources: 

- Rodney Alcala: Article | New York Times

- Rodney Alcala: Article | Rolling Stone

- Rodney Alcala: Article | Daily Mail

- Rodney Alcala: Article | NBC News

- Rodney Alcala: Article | Washington Post

- Rodney Alcala: Article | Crime + Investigation

- The Killing Game | Book by Alan R. Warren

- Rodney Alcala: Article | The Hollywood Reporter

- Rodney Alcala | Wikipedia

- Rodney Alcala | Murderpedia

- Serial Killers of The 1970s | Book by Jane Fritsch

- The Big Book of Serial Killers | Book by Jack Rosewood & Rebecca Lo

- Rodney Alcala: The Dating Game Killer | ABC News Documentary

- 48 Hours Mystery: The Killing Game | CBS News Documentary

- Rodney Alcala Dating Game Clip | Inside Edition

- Rodney Alcala in Court | Orange County Register

- Rodney Alcala: Article | Los Angeles Times

- Rodney Alcala: Article | Sky News

I hope you will join me again in the next post in this series, if you would like to share your thoughts, please do so in the comments below, elsewhere on my socials or simply email me at Jo: jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com 

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Much love & stay safe! x