July 9, 2025 • 28 mins
The camera flash was just a distraction. Behind the lens stood one of America's most prolific serial killers - Rodney Alcala, a man whose charm and seemingly legitimate profession as a photographer allowed him to approach women in broad daylight and lure them to their deaths.
We trace Alcala's disturbing evolution from troubled military serviceman to calculated predator. Discharged from the Army after a psychiatric diagnosis, Alcala's first known attack came in 1968 when he lured eight-year-old Tali Shapiro to his apartment, nearly killing her before escaping justice. After assuming a new identity as "John Berger," he continued his reign of terror across both coasts, leaving a trail of victims while developing his signature approach - approaching women with the promise of modeling opportunities.
Perhaps most chillingly, at the height of his killing spree in 1978, Alcala appeared as a contestant on national television. Competing on "The Dating Game," he won the affection of bachelorette Cheryl Bradshaw with his witty responses and charismatic presence. Fortunately, Bradshaw's instincts warned her something was off, and she declined their date - a decision that likely saved her life. Just one year later, Alcala would be arrested for the murder of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe, leading investigators to a storage locker containing over 1,000 photographs of unidentified women and girls, many in vulnerable positions.
Though convicted of five murders, authorities believe Alcala's true victim count may exceed 130. His case exemplifies how predators can hide behind legitimate occupations and charming personalities, moving through society undetected for years. Follow along as we unravel how this monster in plain sight was finally brought to justice after decades of legal battles.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to Clue Trail , where true stories unravel one
step at a time, from crimes andcolds to survival stories and
the downright strange.
We follow the twists that leadto the truth.
If you're enjoying the show,check out Patreon for bonus
(00:31):
episodes and early access.
Just search Clue Trail or hitthe link in the show notes.
And don't forget to follow,rate or review the podcast.
It helps more curious mindsfind us.
Now let's dive into today'scase.
(00:53):
It was 1978 when a woman namedCheryl Bradshaw appeared on the
(01:29):
Dating Game, a popular showwhere women would choose a
mystery suitor based on theiranswers alone.
Bachelor number one introducedhimself as a successful
photographer.
Bachelor no 1 introducedhimself as a successful
photographer.
He appeared confident,quick-witted, charming in that
smug, cocky kind of way, andvery flirty.
(01:53):
He won the date.
But what Cheryl didn't know infact what no one in that studio
knew knew was that she had justpicked a predator.
(02:14):
Bachelor number one's real namewas Rodney Alcala and by the
time he appeared on that show1943, in San Antonio, texas, he
(02:35):
was the third of four childrenin a Mexican-American family.
His early childhood took asharp turn when his father moved
the family to Mexico in 1951,only to abandon them three years
later, in 1945, alcala's motherbrought him and his sisters to
(02:58):
suburban Los Angeles, where heseemed to fit in well.
He attended the Cantwell SacredHeart of Mary High School,
where he joined the track andcross-country teams and even
helped plan the school yearbook.
By all accounts, rodney Alcalaappeared like a bright and
(03:20):
sociable teen with a promisingfuture, but as we have seen over
and over again, sometimesappearances are deceiving.
At 17, he joined the US Armyand trained as a paratrooper.
His service record, however,was far from spotless.
(03:44):
He was repeatedly disciplinedfor insubordination, and not
only Allegations emerged of himassaulting young women.
In 1964, after going AWOL andhitchhiking more than 2,500
(04:06):
miles from Fort Bragg back toCalifornia, alcala suffered what
was described as a nervousbreakdown.
A military psychiatristdiagnosed him with antisocial
personality disorder.
Later examinations would painta darker picture, with experts
diagnosing him with narcissisticpersonality disorder,
(04:26):
borderline traits, psychopathyand sexual sadism.
After being discharged from thearmy, alcala enrolled at UCLA's
Schools of Arts andArchitecture, and later he
attended New York University.
He attended New York University.
His growing interest in filmand photography would soon
(04:48):
become the bait he'd use to lurehis victims.
(05:13):
It was a quiet morning inSeptember 1968.
An eight-year-old, tali Shapirowas walking to school.
Nothing felt particularlyspecial about that day.
Just another day, another shortwalk to school.
But then, through the noise ofthe city stirring back to life,
(05:41):
tali heard something.
It was a beige car pullingbeside her.
The driver then proceeded tospeak to her.
He said he knew her parents,that he wanted to show her some
photographs.
He was calm and softly spoken,even reassuring After a moment.
(06:06):
She got in.
Luckily, a witness saw theinteraction and something about
it felt wrong.
The car didn't even havelicense plates.
So he trusted his instinct andfollowed the car and quickly
called the police.
When officers arrived at theapartment and they knocked after
some time, a man answered thedoor and claimed he was in the
(06:28):
shower.
The officer warned him, gavehim ten seconds to come back.
When no one returned, he kickedthe door and what he saw inside
would stay with him for therest of his life.
Lying on the kitchen floor wasa child's body, blood pooled all
(06:49):
around her and a metal bar laynearby.
The scene was so brutalofficers assumed she was already
gone, but then they heard thesound.
She was breathing.
Tali was rushed to the hospital, still clinging to life, and,
(07:12):
against the odds, she survived.
As officers searched theapartment, they uncovered
something deeply unsettlingDozens of photographs of young
girls, some clearly underage,and amongst the scattered
belongings they also found astudent ID for a man named
(07:36):
Rodney Alcala, enrolled at UCLA.
But Alcala was gone Whilepolice entered through the front
door.
He had slipped out the back.
A man who had nearly killed thechild just vanished, and the
trail he left behind was justthe beginning.
(08:00):
After escaping out the backdoor of his Los Angeles
apartment in 1968, rodney Alcalavanished.
He fled the state, changed hisname and enrolled in film school
(08:22):
at NYU using the alias JohnBerger.
Under this new identity heblended in effortlessly, but in
reality he was simply hiding inplain sight, and it wouldn't
(08:44):
take long before he struck again.
In June 1971, the body of23-year-old Cornelia Creeley was
discovered in her Manhattanapartment.
That evening, when herboyfriend couldn't reach her and
the door went unanswered,police were called to check on
her.
Inside, they found a horrifyingscene.
(09:06):
Cornelia had been strangledwith a nylon stocking.
Her body was found naked, herhands bound and a cloth stuffed
into her mouth.
A deep bite mark had been lefton her chest, a brutal signature
that would become hauntinglyfamiliar.
Hauntingly familiar.
(09:33):
The case shook investigators,but with close to 2,000 murders
in New York that year alone andno immediate leads, it went cold
.
There were no fingerprints, noDNA tools, no suspects.
Ronnie Alcala wasn't even ontheir radar.
After the murder, alcala quietlyleft New York and took a job at
an arts and drama camp forgirls in New Hampshire.
(09:54):
Still going by the name JohnBerger, he kept a low profile
and tried to blend in, until oneday when everything unraveled.
Two young girls spotted hisface on a most wanted poster at
their local post office.
It was unmistakable their campcounselor, mr Berger, was
(10:21):
actually Rodney Alcala.
The girls alerted the staff,who then called the authorities
and Alcala was arrested andreturned to California, where
police were eager to finallycharge him for the brutal
assault of Tally Shapiro.
But by then her family had leftthe country and without their
(10:43):
testimony the case fell apart.
With no main witnesses,prosecutors were forced to offer
Alcala a plea deal.
He pled guilty to a lessercharge of child molestation,
registered as a sex offender,and then was sentenced to one
year to life.
Shockingly, alcala was releasedon parole after serving just 34
(11:09):
months.
Less than three years afternearly killing a child, rodney
Alcala was free and no oneseemed to be watching.
He quickly reintegrated intosociety and even got a job at
the Los Angeles Times as atypesetter.
And in 1978, he did somethingunthinkable.
(11:32):
He went on national television.
Alcala appeared as a contestanton the Dating Game, a
light-hearted TV show wherethree bachelors compete for a
date.
On stage he delivered wittyone-liners and woos the charm,
and in the end he won.
(11:53):
But as soon as the stage lightsturned off, the woman who chose
him said something felt off.
Luckily, she backed out beforethey even went out, a decision
that may have very well savedher life, because what no one in
that filming studio knew bythat point was that Rodney
(12:17):
Alcala was already a serialkiller.
Between 1974, when he wasreleased from prison, and 1979,
(12:40):
when he was finally caught again, rodney Alcala committed some
of the most horrifying murdersin California and New York.
Alcala approached his victims inbroad daylight, in public
spaces, on the beach, even atcoffee shops.
His method was deception.
(13:00):
He'd pose as a photographer,claim he worked with magazines
and offer young women theopportunity to model.
He'd flash his camera and askdo you want to be a model?
But this wasn't by no meanscasual.
It was very calculated.
He didn't just wander aroundwith a camera slung around his
(13:26):
neck.
He carried himself like aprofessional and had a demeanour
that made people trust him.
Sometimes he even produced fakereferences to back it up.
Many of the women he approachedwere aspiring dancers,
actresses or students.
(13:46):
They were drawn by the promiseof art, maybe of opportunity,
but they had no idea they werestepping into a trap.
One of his early known victimswas Jill Barcon.
She was just 18 years old,found in Los Angeles in 1977,
(14:09):
raped and strangled.
Then came Georgia Wickstead, 27, a nurse from Malibu, found in
her apartment the same year.
Charlotte Lamb, 32, wasdiscovered in 1978.
(14:31):
Her body was posed in a laundryroom in El Segundo.
And Jill Parenteau, 21, wasmurdered just weeks later in her
Burbank apartment.
Each case bore the samedisturbing pattern strangulation
, sexual assault and adisturbing level of control over
(14:52):
the crime scene.
Investigators later believed heprolonged his victims'
suffering intentionally.
In some cases they suspected herevived his victims after
strangulation only to torturethem again.
He wasn't just killing.
Across all these years he wasexperimenting, testing the
boundaries to see how far hecould go, and then in 1979, once
(15:19):
more, he targeted a child.
This was the final murder thatwould finally lead police back
to Rodney Alcala and bring thismonster out of the shadows.
(15:44):
It was June 20th 1979.
A bright golden afternoon inthe Huntington Beach area, the
kind of day made for bike rides,ocean air and lingering summer
plans.
Twelve-year-old Robin Samsoewas riding her bike to ballet
(16:06):
class.
This was a routine trip on thefamiliar streets of her
neighbourhood, just anothersummer day.
But Robin never arrived at theballet.
Later, robin's friend wouldrecall a man who approached them
earlier that day.
They'd been enjoying theafternoon just two girls
(16:30):
spending time at the beach.
When he appeared, he had longdark hair and carried a camera.
But what stood out wasn't justthe equipment, it was him His
clothes, his shoes.
He looked out of place, like hedidn't belong there.
He wasn't dressed for the beachor even the heat.
(16:51):
Still, they brushed it off.
When he asked if he could taketheir picture, both girls
hesitated.
Then, reluctantly, agreed.
He told them it's for aphotography contest.
It's for a photography contest,smiling softly, with a calm
voice and very friendly.
But something about the momentfelt off.
(17:14):
It felt rehearsed and just asthe camera started clicking, a
neighbor who had been watchingfrom nearby Stepped outside and
shouted towards them.
The man didn't say a singleword, he just turned and took
off by that evening.
(17:36):
Robin was gone For 12 days herfamily waited for her return.
They never lost hope whilst thesearch was ongoing, but
tragically her body was found inthe foothills near Los Angeles,
badly decomposed, almostunrecognizable.
(17:57):
Robin was just 12 years oldwhen she tragically died.
She was bright, sweet and fullof energy, the kind of child
who'd lit up a room withouttrying.
She loved ballet and was knownfor being a good sister,
determined, focused and kind.
(18:18):
She had her whole life ahead ofher, a life cut short in the
most senseless, brutal way.
Robin's disappearance shook theHuntington Beach community and
the discovery of her remainsshifted the case into high gear.
Detectives retraced everymoment of her day, speaking to
(18:43):
friends, neighbours and anyonewho might have seen something.
Finally, a composite sketch wasdrawn up based on their
description, which showed a manwith long, dark hair and an
unnerving presence.
That sketch soon led police tosomeone already in the system,
rodney Alcala, a registered sexoffender with a violent past.
(19:07):
When detectives looked intoAlcala's record, they were
stunned.
He had already served time forassaulting a child, talia
Shapiro, and had somehow beenreleased.
The arrest warrant was issuedand Alcala was arrested, but the
nightmare wasn't over.
(19:29):
During a search of a storageunit rented in Rodney Alcala's
name, investigators foundsomething they didn't expect A
conspicuous-looking box sattucked away in the corner, and
inside the box they foundphotographs of young women,
hundreds of them.
(19:49):
The investigators found over1,000 photographs, most of them
(20:11):
of women and teenage girls.
Some of these looked likeheadshots, some were more candid
and there were a fair few whichhad clearly been taken without
the subject's knowledge.
And then there were theextremely disturbing ones,
(20:31):
photographs of girls whoappeared afraid, confused and
even posed in unnaturalpositions.
Some looked eerily similar toRobin.
But the photographs weren't theonly thing they found in that
storage unit.
Tucked away, there wassomething else small personal
(20:53):
items like jewelry.
They found earrings, rings andnecklaces.
Some of them looked liketrinkets a child might wear,
others looked like keepsakesdetectives knew what they were
looking at Trophies, and at thecenter of it all was Rodney
(21:14):
Alcala.
Rodney Alcala was finallybehind bars and in 1980, he
stood trial for the murder ofRobin Samson.
The prosecution's case wasstrong.
They had eyewitnesses sketchedthat matched a disturbing
(21:36):
criminal history and the damningevidence found in Alcala's
storage unit.
The defense pushed back hard,challenging every survivor's
testimony, questioning thecredibility of witnesses, trying
to cast doubt whatever theycould.
But it wasn't enough, as RodneyAlcala was found guilty and
(21:59):
sentenced to death.
But justice, like everythingelse in this case, was far from
straightforward.
That conviction was lateroverturned and then overturned
again, all because of legaltechnicalities, procedural
(22:21):
errors, issues with the evidencepresentation presentation, and
each time the case was retried,the families of the victims had
to sit through it all over again.
For 30 years Alcala stayed inthe system, filing appeals and
exploiting loopholes, and itwasn't until 2010 when he
(22:46):
finally stood trial for good,this time not just for Robin's
murder, but for four additionalvictims Jill Barcom, georgia
Wickstead, charlotte Lamb andJill Parenteau.
Fortunately, by that pointforensics had caught up and DNA
(23:10):
from those old crime scenesfinally mashed Alcala and, in a
final twist, he chose torepresent himself.
He stood before the jury,questioning witnesses and even
speaking to the grievingfamilies of the women he was
accused of murdering.
He even played a bizarreself-narrated video titled I,
(23:36):
rodney Alcala.
For over five hours he rambled,asked himself questions in two
different voices and delivered achilling monologue.
This wasn't defense, it wasjust a performance.
By the time the trial ended,there was no doubt left.
(23:58):
Rodney Alcala was convicted ofall five murders and sentenced
to death again, and this time itwould stick.
But even as the courtroom doorsclosed, many questions remained
, because what investigators haduncovered in that storage unit
(24:20):
was far bigger than five murdersand far from over.
Rony Alcala may have beensentenced, but justice didn't
(24:41):
bring closure.
For many families of hisvictims, the wounds never truly
healed.
Robin Samsoe's mother, marianne, spent decades haunted by his
face.
She once said he stole morethan a child.
He stole time.
He stole peace.
(25:02):
Another family member describedsitting through the trials as a
second punishment, and Alcala'scalm, cold and manipulative
presence in the courtroom was areminder that this nightmare had
never ended.
It had just changed form.
(25:23):
After his conviction inCalifornia.
Form After his conviction inCalifornia, alcala faced
additional charges in New Yorkfor the 1970s murders of
Cornelia Creeley and Ellen Hover.
He was found guilty once againand sentenced to 25 years to
life.
He would never face executionIn 2021,.
(25:46):
Rodney Alcala died of naturalcauses in prison.
He never disclosed theidentities of the women in the
photographs or the owners of thejewelry and trophies he kept.
To this day, dozens of faces inthose images remain nameless
and the true number of hisvictims may never be known.
(26:08):
Some stories stay with us, notbecause of what we know, but
because of everything we stilldon't.
This was the case of RonnieAlcala, a man who used charm as
a weapon and a camera as a trap.
(26:32):
Thanks for listening to ClueTrail.
We'll be back soon with anotherstory, another path to follow
and another truth to uncover.
Until next time, stay curiousand stay safe.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Thank you.
Welcome to Clue Trail , where true stories unravel one
step at a time, from crimes andcolds to survival stories and
the downright strange.
We follow the twists that leadto the truth.
If you're enjoying the show,check out Patreon for bonus
(00:31):
episodes and early access.
Just search Clue Trail or hitthe link in the show notes.
And don't forget to follow,rate or review the podcast.
It helps more curious mindsfind us.
Now let's dive into today'scase.
(00:53):
It was 1978 when a woman namedCheryl Bradshaw appeared on the
(01:29):
Dating Game, a popular showwhere women would choose a
mystery suitor based on theiranswers alone.
Bachelor number one introducedhimself as a successful
photographer.
Bachelor no 1 introducedhimself as a successful
photographer.
He appeared confident,quick-witted, charming in that
smug, cocky kind of way, andvery flirty.
(01:53):
He won the date.
But what Cheryl didn't know infact what no one in that studio
knew knew was that she had justpicked a predator.
(02:14):
Bachelor number one's real namewas Rodney Alcala and by the
time he appeared on that show1943, in San Antonio, texas, he
(02:35):
was the third of four childrenin a Mexican-American family.
His early childhood took asharp turn when his father moved
the family to Mexico in 1951,only to abandon them three years
later, in 1945, alcala's motherbrought him and his sisters to
(02:58):
suburban Los Angeles, where heseemed to fit in well.
He attended the Cantwell SacredHeart of Mary High School,
where he joined the track andcross-country teams and even
helped plan the school yearbook.
By all accounts, rodney Alcalaappeared like a bright and
(03:20):
sociable teen with a promisingfuture, but as we have seen over
and over again, sometimesappearances are deceiving.
At 17, he joined the US Armyand trained as a paratrooper.
His service record, however,was far from spotless.
(03:44):
He was repeatedly disciplinedfor insubordination, and not
only Allegations emerged of himassaulting young women.
In 1964, after going AWOL andhitchhiking more than 2,500
(04:06):
miles from Fort Bragg back toCalifornia, alcala suffered what
was described as a nervousbreakdown.
A military psychiatristdiagnosed him with antisocial
personality disorder.
Later examinations would painta darker picture, with experts
diagnosing him with narcissisticpersonality disorder,
(04:26):
borderline traits, psychopathyand sexual sadism.
After being discharged from thearmy, alcala enrolled at UCLA's
Schools of Arts andArchitecture, and later he
attended New York University.
He attended New York University.
His growing interest in filmand photography would soon
(04:48):
become the bait he'd use to lurehis victims.
(05:13):
It was a quiet morning inSeptember 1968.
An eight-year-old, tali Shapirowas walking to school.
Nothing felt particularlyspecial about that day.
Just another day, another shortwalk to school.
But then, through the noise ofthe city stirring back to life,
(05:41):
tali heard something.
It was a beige car pullingbeside her.
The driver then proceeded tospeak to her.
He said he knew her parents,that he wanted to show her some
photographs.
He was calm and softly spoken,even reassuring After a moment.
(06:06):
She got in.
Luckily, a witness saw theinteraction and something about
it felt wrong.
The car didn't even havelicense plates.
So he trusted his instinct andfollowed the car and quickly
called the police.
When officers arrived at theapartment and they knocked after
some time, a man answered thedoor and claimed he was in the
(06:28):
shower.
The officer warned him, gavehim ten seconds to come back.
When no one returned, he kickedthe door and what he saw inside
would stay with him for therest of his life.
Lying on the kitchen floor wasa child's body, blood pooled all
(06:49):
around her and a metal bar laynearby.
The scene was so brutalofficers assumed she was already
gone, but then they heard thesound.
She was breathing.
Tali was rushed to the hospital, still clinging to life, and,
(07:12):
against the odds, she survived.
As officers searched theapartment, they uncovered
something deeply unsettlingDozens of photographs of young
girls, some clearly underage,and amongst the scattered
belongings they also found astudent ID for a man named
(07:36):
Rodney Alcala, enrolled at UCLA.
But Alcala was gone Whilepolice entered through the front
door.
He had slipped out the back.
A man who had nearly killed thechild just vanished, and the
trail he left behind was justthe beginning.
(08:00):
After escaping out the backdoor of his Los Angeles
apartment in 1968, rodney Alcalavanished.
He fled the state, changed hisname and enrolled in film school
(08:22):
at NYU using the alias JohnBerger.
Under this new identity heblended in effortlessly, but in
reality he was simply hiding inplain sight, and it wouldn't
(08:44):
take long before he struck again.
In June 1971, the body of23-year-old Cornelia Creeley was
discovered in her Manhattanapartment.
That evening, when herboyfriend couldn't reach her and
the door went unanswered,police were called to check on
her.
Inside, they found a horrifyingscene.
(09:06):
Cornelia had been strangledwith a nylon stocking.
Her body was found naked, herhands bound and a cloth stuffed
into her mouth.
A deep bite mark had been lefton her chest, a brutal signature
that would become hauntinglyfamiliar.
Hauntingly familiar.
(09:33):
The case shook investigators,but with close to 2,000 murders
in New York that year alone andno immediate leads, it went cold
.
There were no fingerprints, noDNA tools, no suspects.
Ronnie Alcala wasn't even ontheir radar.
After the murder, alcala quietlyleft New York and took a job at
an arts and drama camp forgirls in New Hampshire.
(09:54):
Still going by the name JohnBerger, he kept a low profile
and tried to blend in, until oneday when everything unraveled.
Two young girls spotted hisface on a most wanted poster at
their local post office.
It was unmistakable their campcounselor, mr Berger, was
(10:21):
actually Rodney Alcala.
The girls alerted the staff,who then called the authorities
and Alcala was arrested andreturned to California, where
police were eager to finallycharge him for the brutal
assault of Tally Shapiro.
But by then her family had leftthe country and without their
(10:43):
testimony the case fell apart.
With no main witnesses,prosecutors were forced to offer
Alcala a plea deal.
He pled guilty to a lessercharge of child molestation,
registered as a sex offender,and then was sentenced to one
year to life.
Shockingly, alcala was releasedon parole after serving just 34
(11:09):
months.
Less than three years afternearly killing a child, rodney
Alcala was free and no oneseemed to be watching.
He quickly reintegrated intosociety and even got a job at
the Los Angeles Times as atypesetter.
And in 1978, he did somethingunthinkable.
(11:32):
He went on national television.
Alcala appeared as a contestanton the Dating Game, a
light-hearted TV show wherethree bachelors compete for a
date.
On stage he delivered wittyone-liners and woos the charm,
and in the end he won.
(11:53):
But as soon as the stage lightsturned off, the woman who chose
him said something felt off.
Luckily, she backed out beforethey even went out, a decision
that may have very well savedher life, because what no one in
that filming studio knew bythat point was that Rodney
(12:17):
Alcala was already a serialkiller.
Between 1974, when he wasreleased from prison, and 1979,
(12:40):
when he was finally caught again, rodney Alcala committed some
of the most horrifying murdersin California and New York.
Alcala approached his victims inbroad daylight, in public
spaces, on the beach, even atcoffee shops.
His method was deception.
(13:00):
He'd pose as a photographer,claim he worked with magazines
and offer young women theopportunity to model.
He'd flash his camera and askdo you want to be a model?
But this wasn't by no meanscasual.
It was very calculated.
He didn't just wander aroundwith a camera slung around his
(13:26):
neck.
He carried himself like aprofessional and had a demeanour
that made people trust him.
Sometimes he even produced fakereferences to back it up.
Many of the women he approachedwere aspiring dancers,
actresses or students.
(13:46):
They were drawn by the promiseof art, maybe of opportunity,
but they had no idea they werestepping into a trap.
One of his early known victimswas Jill Barcon.
She was just 18 years old,found in Los Angeles in 1977,
(14:09):
raped and strangled.
Then came Georgia Wickstead, 27, a nurse from Malibu, found in
her apartment the same year.
Charlotte Lamb, 32, wasdiscovered in 1978.
(14:31):
Her body was posed in a laundryroom in El Segundo.
And Jill Parenteau, 21, wasmurdered just weeks later in her
Burbank apartment.
Each case bore the samedisturbing pattern strangulation
, sexual assault and adisturbing level of control over
(14:52):
the crime scene.
Investigators later believed heprolonged his victims'
suffering intentionally.
In some cases they suspected herevived his victims after
strangulation only to torturethem again.
He wasn't just killing.
Across all these years he wasexperimenting, testing the
boundaries to see how far hecould go, and then in 1979, once
(15:19):
more, he targeted a child.
This was the final murder thatwould finally lead police back
to Rodney Alcala and bring thismonster out of the shadows.
(15:44):
It was June 20th 1979.
A bright golden afternoon inthe Huntington Beach area, the
kind of day made for bike rides,ocean air and lingering summer
plans.
Twelve-year-old Robin Samsoewas riding her bike to ballet
(16:06):
class.
This was a routine trip on thefamiliar streets of her
neighbourhood, just anothersummer day.
But Robin never arrived at theballet.
Later, robin's friend wouldrecall a man who approached them
earlier that day.
They'd been enjoying theafternoon just two girls
(16:30):
spending time at the beach.
When he appeared, he had longdark hair and carried a camera.
But what stood out wasn't justthe equipment, it was him His
clothes, his shoes.
He looked out of place, like hedidn't belong there.
He wasn't dressed for the beachor even the heat.
(16:51):
Still, they brushed it off.
When he asked if he could taketheir picture, both girls
hesitated.
Then, reluctantly, agreed.
He told them it's for aphotography contest.
It's for a photography contest,smiling softly, with a calm
voice and very friendly.
But something about the momentfelt off.
(17:14):
It felt rehearsed and just asthe camera started clicking, a
neighbor who had been watchingfrom nearby Stepped outside and
shouted towards them.
The man didn't say a singleword, he just turned and took
off by that evening.
(17:36):
Robin was gone For 12 days herfamily waited for her return.
They never lost hope whilst thesearch was ongoing, but
tragically her body was found inthe foothills near Los Angeles,
badly decomposed, almostunrecognizable.
(17:57):
Robin was just 12 years oldwhen she tragically died.
She was bright, sweet and fullof energy, the kind of child
who'd lit up a room withouttrying.
She loved ballet and was knownfor being a good sister,
determined, focused and kind.
(18:18):
She had her whole life ahead ofher, a life cut short in the
most senseless, brutal way.
Robin's disappearance shook theHuntington Beach community and
the discovery of her remainsshifted the case into high gear.
Detectives retraced everymoment of her day, speaking to
(18:43):
friends, neighbours and anyonewho might have seen something.
Finally, a composite sketch wasdrawn up based on their
description, which showed a manwith long, dark hair and an
unnerving presence.
That sketch soon led police tosomeone already in the system,
rodney Alcala, a registered sexoffender with a violent past.
(19:07):
When detectives looked intoAlcala's record, they were
stunned.
He had already served time forassaulting a child, talia
Shapiro, and had somehow beenreleased.
The arrest warrant was issuedand Alcala was arrested, but the
nightmare wasn't over.
(19:29):
During a search of a storageunit rented in Rodney Alcala's
name, investigators foundsomething they didn't expect A
conspicuous-looking box sattucked away in the corner, and
inside the box they foundphotographs of young women,
hundreds of them.
(19:49):
The investigators found over1,000 photographs, most of them
(20:11):
of women and teenage girls.
Some of these looked likeheadshots, some were more candid
and there were a fair few whichhad clearly been taken without
the subject's knowledge.
And then there were theextremely disturbing ones,
(20:31):
photographs of girls whoappeared afraid, confused and
even posed in unnaturalpositions.
Some looked eerily similar toRobin.
But the photographs weren't theonly thing they found in that
storage unit.
Tucked away, there wassomething else small personal
(20:53):
items like jewelry.
They found earrings, rings andnecklaces.
Some of them looked liketrinkets a child might wear,
others looked like keepsakesdetectives knew what they were
looking at Trophies, and at thecenter of it all was Rodney
(21:14):
Alcala.
Rodney Alcala was finallybehind bars and in 1980, he
stood trial for the murder ofRobin Samson.
The prosecution's case wasstrong.
They had eyewitnesses sketchedthat matched a disturbing
(21:36):
criminal history and the damningevidence found in Alcala's
storage unit.
The defense pushed back hard,challenging every survivor's
testimony, questioning thecredibility of witnesses, trying
to cast doubt whatever theycould.
But it wasn't enough, as RodneyAlcala was found guilty and
(21:59):
sentenced to death.
But justice, like everythingelse in this case, was far from
straightforward.
That conviction was lateroverturned and then overturned
again, all because of legaltechnicalities, procedural
(22:21):
errors, issues with the evidencepresentation presentation, and
each time the case was retried,the families of the victims had
to sit through it all over again.
For 30 years Alcala stayed inthe system, filing appeals and
exploiting loopholes, and itwasn't until 2010 when he
(22:46):
finally stood trial for good,this time not just for Robin's
murder, but for four additionalvictims Jill Barcom, georgia
Wickstead, charlotte Lamb andJill Parenteau.
Fortunately, by that pointforensics had caught up and DNA
(23:10):
from those old crime scenesfinally mashed Alcala and, in a
final twist, he chose torepresent himself.
He stood before the jury,questioning witnesses and even
speaking to the grievingfamilies of the women he was
accused of murdering.
He even played a bizarreself-narrated video titled I,
(23:36):
rodney Alcala.
For over five hours he rambled,asked himself questions in two
different voices and delivered achilling monologue.
This wasn't defense, it wasjust a performance.
By the time the trial ended,there was no doubt left.
(23:58):
Rodney Alcala was convicted ofall five murders and sentenced
to death again, and this time itwould stick.
But even as the courtroom doorsclosed, many questions remained
, because what investigators haduncovered in that storage unit
(24:20):
was far bigger than five murdersand far from over.
Rony Alcala may have beensentenced, but justice didn't
(24:41):
bring closure.
For many families of hisvictims, the wounds never truly
healed.
Robin Samsoe's mother, marianne, spent decades haunted by his
face.
She once said he stole morethan a child.
He stole time.
He stole peace.
(25:02):
Another family member describedsitting through the trials as a
second punishment, and Alcala'scalm, cold and manipulative
presence in the courtroom was areminder that this nightmare had
never ended.
It had just changed form.
(25:23):
After his conviction inCalifornia.
Form After his conviction inCalifornia, alcala faced
additional charges in New Yorkfor the 1970s murders of
Cornelia Creeley and Ellen Hover.
He was found guilty once againand sentenced to 25 years to
life.
He would never face executionIn 2021,.
(25:46):
Rodney Alcala died of naturalcauses in prison.
He never disclosed theidentities of the women in the
photographs or the owners of thejewelry and trophies he kept.
To this day, dozens of faces inthose images remain nameless
and the true number of hisvictims may never be known.
(26:08):
Some stories stay with us, notbecause of what we know, but
because of everything we stilldon't.
This was the case of RonnieAlcala, a man who used charm as
a weapon and a camera as a trap.
(26:32):
Thanks for listening to ClueTrail.
We'll be back soon with anotherstory, another path to follow
and another truth to uncover.
Until next time, stay curiousand stay safe.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Thank you.
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