The real story of Rodney Alcala, also known as ‘The Dating Game Killer’

Know more about the 1978 incident where a woman narrowly escaped from getting murdered

This is a story that true-crime lovers would have looked into. The story of Rodney Alcala, known better as ‘The Dating Game Killer’ isn’t as sensationalised as others like Ted Bunty or Jeffery Dahmer, but he did claim multiple lives. Read on

Chery Bradshaw’s close encounter with death

Alcala had appeared in the popular The Dating Game show in 1978. He managed to woo Cheryl Bradshaw, the woman who appeared to find her perfect match. The prize was a date, but Bradshaw’s gut instincts kicked in after seeing Alcala’s creepy behaviour, and turned down his offer to meet again, as she told the Sunday Telegraph in 2012.

It was later reported that before Alcala’s television appearance, be had already murdered four women. He was accused for killing seven women towards the end of the ’70s. But it’s believed now that he’s had over 100 victims. He was first charged a year after his television appearance, for the murder of a 12-year-old girl named Robin Samsoe.

But what felt strange was that although Alcala was found guilty for his first charge, the verdict was dismissed due to unfair information presented to the jury. It was only in 1986 that Alcala was charged again. Alcala’s charges kept coming afterwards. In 2016, he was charged for the murder of a pregnant woman named Christine Ruth Thornton in 1977.

Alcala however, did not received a death sentence despite all his crimes. He’s still alive and serving his prison sentence in a California prison. He is currently 77 years of age. His possible murders are still being investigated by the police. In 2010, a set of photos of different women, taken by Alcala was released to the public in hopes that some of them could be identified.