The 7 Chilling Truths About Rodney Alcala: The Dating Game Killer's Post-Mortem Victims And The 1,000 Photos

Rodney Alcala, a man who projected charm on national television while secretly maintaining a dark life as one of America's most prolific serial killers, continues to cast a shadow over law enforcement and the families of his victims. His crimes, spanning from the 1970s until his final conviction, earned him the chilling moniker "The Dating Game Killer" after his infamous 1978 television appearance. As of December 12, 2025, the most compelling and current aspect of his legacy remains the investigation into a trove of over 1,000 photographs—a collection that suggests a victim count far exceeding the seven murders for which he was convicted.

This in-depth look explores the full profile of the convicted killer, the details of his most notorious murders, and the ongoing, post-mortem efforts to identify the dozens of women and children captured in his disturbing personal collection. The mystery surrounding these images ensures that even in death, the case of Rodney James Alcala is far from closed, providing a fresh and unique focus on the chilling aftermath of his reign of terror.

Rodney Alcala: The "Dating Game Killer" Biography and Confirmed Victims

Rodney James Alcala was born Rodrigo Jacques Alcala Buquor on August 23, 1943, in San Antonio, Texas. His life was marked by a chilling duality: a seemingly intelligent man who studied film at New York University and worked as a photographer, concealing the identity of a brutal serial predator. He used the aliases John Berger and John Burger during his crime spree.

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Alcala's criminal career began long before his most publicized crimes. In 1968, he was arrested for the brutal assault of 8-year-old Tali Shapiro in Hollywood, California, a crime for which he served a short sentence before being paroled.

His notoriety exploded on September 13, 1978, when he appeared as "Bachelor Number One" on the popular television show *The Dating Game*. The bachelorette, Cheryl Bradshaw, chose him for a date, but later declined to go out with him, reportedly finding him "creepy."

Alcala was on California's death row for decades before his death from natural causes at the age of 77 on July 24, 2021, at the California Health Care Facility in Corcoran.

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Confirmed Victims of Rodney Alcala

While authorities estimate Alcala's true victim count could be as high as 130, he was convicted of the murders of seven individuals, five in California and two in New York. The confirmed victims include:

• Jill Barcomb: 18, murdered in 1977 in Los Angeles County.
• Jill Parenteau: 21, murdered in 1977 in Huntington Beach.
• Georgia Wixted: 27, murdered in 1977 in Malibu.
• Charlotte Lamb: 32, murdered in 1977 in El Segundo.
• Robin Samsoe: 12, murdered in 1979 in Huntington Beach. Her murder was a key piece of evidence in his 2010 conviction.
• Ellen Hover: 23, murdered in 1974 in New York.
• Cornelia Crilley: 23, murdered in 1971 in New York.

His conviction for the murder of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe was pivotal, as her earrings were later found in Alcala's possession, linking him directly to the crime.

The Chilling Discovery: Alcala's Storage Locker and the Thousand Photos

The most enduring and terrifying piece of evidence in the Rodney Alcala case is the vast collection of photographs discovered in a storage locker in Seattle, Washington, in 1979. After his final conviction in 2010, police released a selection of over 100 of these images to the public, hoping to identify the women and children pictured. The total number of photographs is estimated to be over 1,000.

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The pictures, many of which appear to be portraits of women posing or taken in domestic settings, are not explicitly graphic. However, the context—being taken by a known serial killer—turned them into a macabre gallery of potential victims. The women and children in the photos were often captured in vulnerable, intimate, or suggestive poses, sometimes with a look of unease or fear.

The sheer volume of the collection suggested that Alcala's murder spree was far more extensive than the seven convictions indicated, leading to the widely cited estimate of up to 130 victims.

The Post-Mortem Cold Case Investigation and New Connections

Even after Rodney Alcala's death in 2021, the investigation into his photo collection continues to yield results, connecting him to cold cases across the country. Law enforcement agencies in states like California, New York, and Wyoming have used the released photographs to re-examine decades-old unsolved murders and disappearances.

One of the most significant recent developments occurred when a decades-old photo from Alcala’s collection was linked to the 1977 death of a pregnant woman whose body was found on a ranch in Wyoming. This connection led prosecutors to file charges against Alcala in that cold case, though he died before he could be brought to trial.

The ongoing investigative work by the Huntington Beach Police Department and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office is a testament to the commitment to finding closure for the families of the women in the photographs. The process involves meticulous cross-referencing of missing persons reports, forensic evidence, and geographical data linked to the photos' settings.

The Impact on Survivors and the Public

Alcala's case remains a dark fascination for true crime enthusiasts, largely due to his brazen appearance on *The Dating Game* and the sheer volume of his crimes. The two known survivors of his attacks, Tali Shapiro and Morgan Rowan, have shared their stories, providing crucial insight into his predatory methods and the luck that allowed them to escape.

The public release of the photos generated hundreds of tips, demonstrating the power of modern media in solving decades-old mysteries. The images served as a unique and disturbing form of evidence, essentially a "trophy wall" that inadvertently became the key to potentially unlocking the true scale of his murder spree. The investigation into the storage locker evidence is a modern-day cold case phenomenon, ensuring Alcala's legacy is defined not just by the lives he took, but by the potential for justice that still exists for the unidentified women in his terrifying collection.

The "Dating Game Killer" may be dead, but the search for his hidden victims continues, driven by the lingering presence of his chilling photographs. The hope remains that every face in Alcala's secret gallery will eventually be identified, finally bringing peace to the many families affected by this prolific killer.