Rodney Alcala seemed to have it all: he was handsome, charming, and women were constantly throwing themselves at him. In other words, he was a shoo-in for The Dating Game, which he appeared on in 1978. However, all was not what it seemed. Prior to his appearance, he had actually killed dozens of women, with his total count being estimated somewhere near 100.
- He actually won The Dating Game. Rodney Alcala’s appearance on the show resulted in him winning a date with a woman named Cheryl Bradshaw. However, when filming stopped, she allegedly told producers that he weirded her out and she refused to go out with him. Probably a good idea since he’d already committed a number of murders by that point. “I started to feel ill. He was acting really creepy,” she told The Sunday Telegraph in a 2012 interview. “I turned down his offer. I didn’t want to see him again.”
- One of the other contestants noticed something was off. Jed Mills, who also appeared on the episode hoping to get a date, spoke about Rodney Alcala in an interview with a local newspaper. “Rodney was kind of quiet,” he remembered. “I remember him because I told my brother about this one guy who was kind of good-looking but kind of creepy. He was always looking down and not making eye contact.”
- Rodney Alcala wasn’t brought to justice until 1980. Partly due to his appearance on The Dating Game, Alcala was arrested in 1980 for the rape and murder of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe and sentenced to death. While the death sentence was later overturned, that wasn’t the last of his issues. In February 2010, he was convicted of killing four women and a 12-year-old girl via strangulation. Not only that, but police believed there were more than 100 other possible victims they hadn’t been able to charge him with.
- Now, he’s the subject of a new podcast. The Dating Game Killer is a six-episode podcast that was released back in March and is well worth a listen. It goes into the story of Rodney Alcala and his crimes in chilling detail and will seriously freak you out.
