The Dating Game Serial Killer

the 405 can drive anyone insane........

Guillermo Diaz is too fat to play him.

Yeah I thought that was a comedy spoof at first.

MK ultra and cults.

Some think he may have killed over 100 people

He has the IQ of a genius

Guillermo Diaz is an extremely limited, one-note actor and is not as attractive as the real killer he’s portraying.

That actor is demasiado GORDO to play Alcala! Mr. EL CHUBBO, maybe. Geez.

Wondery has a riveting podcast on this

This old shit again!??

Yeah, give us some new shit.

Eerie resemblance?

I think that's the first time Hollywood ever cast someone far uglier than the real person.

I bet Bachelor #2 never thought anything beyond he is an arrogant guy at the time. Now that he knows he's a serial killer, he's trying to make the encounter into more than it actually was.

He kept the same hairstyle for 40 years.

Why so many serial killers in California?

Because of the weather, Rose.

R15 - easy to get lost with no trace...large open spaces, people mostly ignore each other and their neighbors. It can be a very hostile environment.

That was easier in the days before they invented the Internet.

Here is an article. Apparently the peak was in the 1980s.

R15, nobody really delves too deep into where you're from. People are used to transient people from all over the country and world trying to start something new -- ambitious people, hippies, etc. I think people pry more into your background/pedigree in other, older parts of the country. JMO.

I heard a theory that the banning of lead from gasoline caused a decline in violent crime. It is consistent with another theory I heard about lead poisoning contributing to the fall of Rome.

Edward Wayne Edwards admitted to killing five innocent people AFTER this appearance on "To Tell the Truth".

Let's try this again . . .

R21, I think you're onto something with the lead theory. I also think cellphones and GPS have rendered the old serial killer obsolete.

My theory is that Gen X has finally aged out of committing crimes. They are the current saeculum's version of the Lost Generation.

Personally, I wonder why there are fewer serial killers and more spree killers. Why'd they take to shooting up crowds instead of slowly picking off victims?

As for why there were more serial killers in California, or more highly publicized ones, IMHO because in the fifties through the seventies California was the place people came to start new lives. Ambitious professionals came, famewhores and whore-whores came, drifters and hippies and psychopaths came. It was a place they could be free of whatever it was they were getting away from, and for a serial killer, it meant a place where people didn't know their neighbors and people were focused on their own new lives, instead of watching their neighbors the way people do in places where there is little change.

I think it has something to do with this generation that was born in the repressed 40s and 50s suddenly encountering the sexual revolution and being unable to cope. There seems to be so much sexual deviancy in these killers.

D list cast. Why an ugly fat guy to play the killer?

I think Dahmer and Richard Ramirez were the youngest/last of that notorious serial killer mold. After that, they went out of fashion -- terrorists and mass shooters replaced them, however...

Am I chopped liver?

He studied film under Roman Polanski at NYU. Because of course he did.

I recently got enthralled by Wikipedia’s entry on serial killer. I didn’t realize how many serial killers have targeted men. Media portrays women as the overwhelming targets of serial killers, but men are often get victims. There been multiple male victimizing serial killers who killed over 20 men, including multiple ones in California, along I-70, and Indiana.

I think cell phones have really put a dent in serial killings.

Edward Edwards committed the Wisconsin Sweetheart Murders.

Hillside Strangler, Freeway Killer, Night Stalkers (both), and Dating Game Killer were Similar

Just read about a cross country killer who especially terrorized Georgia

I am surprised people still go in the wilderness to hike after all the serial killers who targeted hikers

People act as if cell phones, GPS, and other technology make it impossible to get away with murder these days. Some American cities have a 60 to 80% unsolved murder rate still today

R30, to put it in Whoopi terms, Cunanan wasn't really a serial killer-serial killer. I think he was more a sociopath who hit rock bottom and then went off the deep [violent] end, hence his spree killings. His whole life up until that point had revolved around keeping up appearances, not some insatiable murder lust.

R37, I'm more surprised that people kept hitchhiking back then despite how many ended up victimized in some way.

True

R26 hit on it. California was a place people went to chase lost dreams or victims. In the late 80s I read an article about serial killers in California and it noted that the overwhelming majority had moved there from other states.

Cell phones have put a dent in serial killings but I think the advent of DNA forensic technology has had an impact as well. The Golden Sate Killer/East Area Rapist stopped killing in the 90s right after DNA evidence was first used to obtain a conviction.

1) A person could still be a drifter below the radar in the '80s, it's increasingly difficult after that, with so much ability to demand ID and credit checks, the use of electronic payments and deposit requirements for dwellings. The days of picking up odd jobs and staying anonymously in boarding houses were long gone.

2) California is vast, with long, lonely freeways and highways that interconnect in particular urban areas. So much opportunity for meeting the right/wrong person, so many places to leave the evidence of crimes along the way.

Crime Capsule: Intelligence also doesn’t seem to be a factor. Intelligence quotients of a sample of 252 serial murderers ranged from 54 to 186. The IQ of a typical serial killer is slightly below average at 86.

While financial gain accounts for approximately one-third of all serial murders, the victims come from all walks of life. Prostitutes and hitchhikers are the most vulnerable because of their frequent interactions with strangers. Interestingly enough, home invasion is the most common circumstance surrounding the crime patterns.

Proportional to its population, Alaska is, without a doubt, the most popular state among serial killers, with 15.65 serial killings per one million inhabitants. A total of 51 serial murders took place in Alaska between 1900 and 2014, with more than half of those occurring between 1980 and 1990. The activities of serial killers spiked in the 1980s, and Alaska led the nation in serial killer murders during this decade. Experts have suggested a number of theories to account for why Alaska produces and houses so many serial killers.

Some experts point to environmental factors as a major influence. Extended winter nights for much of the year have a profound psychological impact on many people, although the most frequent symptom of seasonal affective disorder is severe depression.

The logging, construction, and oil industries that drive Alaska’s economy results in a high number of seasonal workers. The largely male population, in turn, contributes to a high number of sex workers in the state. Serial killers often target sex workers, both in Alaska and elsewhere in America.

The total number of sex worker victims by serial killers surpasses 850 nationwide. Experts suggest isolation and frequent interactions with strangers make them more susceptible. In a similar vein, around 325 serial murders have been linked to hitchhiking.

Alaska also has one of the highest rates of violent crimes in the country. In 2015, FBI statistics reported that Alaska had 730.2 violent crimes per 100,000 people, compared to the national average of 372.6 per 100,000. The environmental factors in Alaska play some part in this, however many experts believe the lack of law enforcement services in isolated regions of the state also drive up this statistic.

A Washington Post study claims at least 75 Native American-Alaskan villages have no law enforcement at all. In the case of a crime, they must rely on Alaska State Troopers, who may take hours to respond to the call. Sometimes, evidence becomes lost or removed, and solving crimes becomes much more difficult when the scene isn’t documented properly. Many serial killers remain at large due to compromised police work.

California is Fourth: During the “serial killer decade” of the 1980s, the chilling criminals in the State of California committed roughly a fifth of the 2,670 serial murders nationwide. Today, the total number of serial killings stands at 1,507 or 7.81 deaths per million inhabitants. Overall, California has seen a total of 128 cases of serial killing – the second highest number in the country.

This is a cruel slur on Latinos- and I will not accept your apology!

R45, interesting info. I did not know Alaska was once such a hotbed for serial killers.

Alcala is still living at age 76. He received the death penalty and is confined at Corcoran Prison in CA.

The internet made it possible for people to stay home and indulge their sexually deviant fantasies without having to go out and involve other people.

The internet is a factor, an outlet to help people bond who otherwise were isolated

Cameras everywhere

So many homes have security systems now.

People are packing

[quote] People are packing

I think that's way more true in rural areas than cities though.

Yeah, but gun sales are skyrocketing everywhere, including among women

Bachelor number one, how would you give me a killer date?

[quote] that the overwhelming majority had moved there from other states.

This is an interesting point. When you think of the most famous California serial killers, most were born out of state (Night Stalker, Charles Manson, Hillside Strangler). Of course, the Golden State Killer was raised in-state and nobody knows who the Zodiac is, much less where he is from.

The lead theory is a factor for sure.

I think many serial killers now don’t make it obvious such as using a calling card to attract attention. That way, you don’t have a task force out looking for you.

I once lived 5 streets over from Dean Corll.

The Zebra Killers are inexplicably never discussed, but the carnage they caused is horrific

Wondery

Casanova Killer Paul John Knowles had to be demon-possessed.

God, is it any wonder Sarah Palin was elected governor there? Full of actual psychos.

R25 This should be peak Millennial violence years, which I guess is manifesting in the recent riots.

I read horrible story once about a young female hitchhiker who was picked up by a M/F couple who proceeded to kidnap her. They kept her in a box under their bed for at least a year.

Scary R66

The actor looks more like Meatloaf than the creepy killer.

Alcala has an IQ of 170

Fine line between genius and madness...

Did any of the women come forward to say that he took their pictures? It’s eerie to see the hundreds of photographs of women that he took, possibly many of them unnamed victims of his evil.

Alaska is like the California desert, the low cost of land and low population attracts those who don't want to be bothered, who don't fit well in the working world, or in civilization. An environment like that can attract psychopaths, both because nobody will bother them, and a lot of the unstable people who want to live away from civilization are easy prey and they won't be missed.

I think there are still serial killers out there, but in the era of cybertracking and DNA analysis, they won't dare famewhore like the Zodiac did. I think today's serial killers picking off as many drifters and homeless and sex workers as they please, because the police don't investigate the disappearances of people who were never officially there. If the bodies are never found, there will be no investigation, and there are a lot of places to hide bodies in Alaska.

Now, I imagine this playing in the background during his murders.

For the third trial Alcala elected to act as his own attorney.[33] He took the stand in his own defense, and for five hours played the roles of both interrogator and witness, asking himself questions (addressing himself as "Mr. Alcala" in a deeper-than-normal voice), and then answering them.[32] During this bizarre self-questioning and answering session he told jurors, often in a rambling monotone, that he was at Knott's Berry Farm applying for a job as a photographer at the time Samsoe was kidnapped.[28] He showed the jury a portion of his 1978 appearance on The Dating Game in an attempt to prove that the earrings found in his Seattle locker were his, not Samsoe's.[34] Jed Mills, the actor who competed against Alcala on the show, told a reporter that earrings were not yet a socially acceptable accoutrement for men in 1978. "I had never seen a man with an earring in his ear", he said. "I would have noticed them on him".[30]

Alcala made no significant attempt to dispute the four added charges, other than to assert that he could not remember killing any of the women.[10] As part of his closing argument, he played the Arlo Guthrie song "Alice's Restaurant" in which the protagonist tells a psychiatrist that he wants to "kill".[35] After less than two days' deliberation the jury convicted him on all five counts of first-degree murder. A surprise witness during the penalty phase of the trial was Tali Shapiro, Alcala's first known victim.[17][21]

The Skid Row Stabber is an unidentified American serial killer, responsible for the murders of 11 people in the notorious Los Angeles neighorhood known as "Skid Row",[1] which is notorious for housing a huge number of homeless people, who are regularly subjected to victimization.[2][3] The criminal's signature weapon was a knife.

LA 1992: 1,094 homicides LA 2019: 258 homicides

I'm listening to The Dating Game Killer podcast and it really annoys me every time the narrator says the cops took samples for DNA. No they didn't! It was the 70s and they had never heard of DNA!

I noticed that too. I think they meant evidence from the 70s ultimately was DNA tested decades later

Can someone please post a picture of the dating game contestant? He looks rather handsome.

You mean Richard Alcala?

R79 Google Rodney Alcala. When he was young, he bore a strong resemblance to Richard Ramirez. Mexican with very angular facial features.

True

On show

Ugly story -But why bring it up now? The film in question is three years old now. I thought someone had resurrected an old thread...

[quote] He has the IQ of a genius

You mean like person, woman, man, camera, TV level?

Not the IQ Of a stable genius

The woman on the motorcycle was killed right after he took the photo.

[quote] Not the IQ Of a stable genius

I'm a stable genius.

"Check out the eerie resemblance between Guillermo Diaz and the real life serial killer." Is the resemblance called "eerie" because they look nothing alike?

One spree killing that has fascinated me were the Yellowstone Park murders back in the mid-90s. Apparently, the killer was the brother of child abuse survivor who was hailed as a hero for saving another kidnapped kid.

I'll give specifics down thread.

^^^Oops me bad - it's the Yosemite Park Murders^^^

Link below.

One reason I don’t go hiking and camping

Vile serial rapist X Factor wannabe filmed attacks and taped women's mouths shut

Creepy man

It is chilling to hear the story of one of the survivors in the 70s who was brutally attacked in a remote location. After being hit on the head by him using a rock, she later awoke to find him in a bizarre state of gibberish. She somehow convinced him she was sorry for Doing something wrong. She then got in the car with him, silent. He stopped off at a store or restaurant along the way back to the city, and she ten ran for it. Cops arrived, but he was gone.

There's a special place in hell for the person responsible for the Atlanta murders. How can you kill children?

[quote]I heard a theory that the banning of lead from gasoline caused a decline in violent crime. It is consistent with another theory I heard about lead poisoning contributing to the fall of Rome.

How's about demographics? Probably not a lot of serial killers still killing in their 80s. They do it when they're younger. There were a lot of young baby boomers in the 1970s.

There’s the impact of legalized abortion theory as well.

The social upheaval and revolutions of the 60s and 70s is a factor. Divorce, sexual license, drugs, urbanization and suburbanization, smaller families, and decreased membership in strong social networks such as churches are factors.

His photos of women, creepy as they are, have an interesting late 70s L.A. feel to them.

Yeah

The woman he won the date with ultimately canceled because she got a creepy vibe from him.

[quote]There's a special place in hell for the person responsible for the Atlanta murders. How can you kill children?

Well, first you feed them pineapple ...

Bumping an interesting thread. I love everyone's theories.

Were the Golden State murders publicized much in the 70s and 80s?

^ Yes, back then he was known as the East Area Rapist and Night Stalker. When Richard Ramirez down in L.A. was dubbed Night Stalker in the mid-80s, the East Area Rapist then was called the "Original" Night Stalker.

Crime rates increased from the late 60s onward and topped out in the 80s, so of course there were more serial killers/killings then.

Alaska has a relatively small population which makes the computation of rates difficult (lots of potential error), so even if other low population states aren't as high, I would still question any rate calculated for Alaska.Another complication is that Alaska has a large seasonal shift in population---people of at least middle class means often have somewhere to go come fall and a lot of people who work in hospitality/tourism go somewhere else once the tourist season ends. The population is therefore "larger than it looks"and also more transient.

He still hasn’t cut his hair

He’s stuck in 1971

Bump

There are still serial killers. The Gilgo Beach murders will probably never be solved. And all the bodies were found by complete fluke. Killers are working in isolated areas and targeting hookers.

CNN — A convicted serial killer known as the “Dating Game Killer” died early Saturday morning at a hospital near Corcoran State Prison in central California, prison officials said. Rodney James Alcala, 77, had been on the state’s death row since being condemned in 2010 for the murders of four women and a 12-year-old girl, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Alcala was first sentenced to death in 1980 for the 1979 kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe, but his conviction was reversed by the California Supreme Court and he was granted a new trial. He was sentenced to death again in 1986 after a second trial, but that sentence was overturned by a federal appeals court in 2003 and a third trial was granted. By the time of his third trial in 2010, Alcala’s DNA had been connected to four other homicides and an Orange County jury convicted him of five counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to death a third time for Samsoe’s murder and for the 1977 deaths of 18-year-old Jill Barcomb and 27-year-old Georgia Wixted; the 1978 death of 32-year-old Charlotte Lamb, and the 1979 death of 21-year-old Jill Parenteau. After Alcala’s conviction, authorities released more than 100 photos of unidentified women and children found in a storage unit that belonged to the killer in an attempt to find out if there were further victims. Robin Samsoe’s earrings had been found in the same unit. In 2012, Alcala was indicted in New York for the 1971 killing of Cornelia Crilley and the 1977 killing of Ellen Jane Hover. After he was extradited, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 2013 to 25 years to life. Investigators considered him a suspect or linked him to other deaths in four other states, according to the California corrections department. He became known as the “Dating Game Killer” because he had been a contestant on “The Dating Game” in 1978, although none of his victims had any connection to the game show. Alcala was introduced on the show as a “successful photographer” who might also be found sky diving or motorcycling. He had already been convicted in the 1968 rape of an 8-year-old girl and served a 34-month sentence, authorities said. Fellow contestant Jed Mills later said, “He was creepy. Definitely creepy.”

I just saw something in the past couple days about a Jeopardy champ who slowly poisoned his wife over the course of a year for her insurance money.

Who?

Paul Curry was a 2-time Jeopardy winner.

The House of Horrors Killer

Over 100 victims possible

Linda Curry looks like ET in the photo at r115.

Stop 🛑

One of the Hillside stranglers did some landscaping work for my grandmother in Los Feliz.

Oh my. That’s chilling

I am watching the documentary on this guy and googled him The absolutely craziest part is that he worked at the Blue Cross Blue Shield with ANOTHER really prolific serial killer named Richard Cottingham who killed and raped at least 18 women.

Fascinating update and well worth the necro of a thread that’s been dead for almost as long as Alcala.

Too bad he’s not alive today — he’d be one of your best friends on kiwifarms.

The photos found in Alcala’s storage locker. Some were identified, but I don’t think most were. You can tell they had to crop a lot of them because they were nude/pornographic.