The Dating Game Killer

The Life and Crimes of Rodney Alcala

De: Mark Stokes

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Rodney Alcala—dubbed “The Dating Game Killer”—beguiled the public with seemingly innocent charm and intellect. A handsome photographer with a purported background at NYU, he even appeared as a contestant on the popular TV show The Dating Game during the height of his killing spree in 1978. Beneath that façade, however, lurked a sadistic predator who murdered young women across California, presenting himself as both gentleman and monster in the same breath.

The Dating Game Killer painstakingly reconstructs Alcala’s reign of terror—from early assaults in 1968 and his evolution into a serial murderer, to the grotesque discovery of posed victims and the chilling revelation of his extensive photographic “portfolio,” which contained thousands of nude photos of women and children whose fates remain uncertain. You’ll trace the harrowing arc of his crimes, the procedural missteps that let him slip deeper into evil, and the eventual DNA breakthroughs leading to his convictions. Against the backdrop of lurid headlines and courtroom spectacle, the narrative chronicles how his cold calculation nearly let him escape justice.

But this isn’t merely a true-crime retelling—it's a deeper examination of the eerie intersection between charisma and cruelty, and the systemic failures that allowed violence to masquerade in plain sight. Highlighting the bravery of survivors and investigators, the book probes unsettling questions of intuition, empathy, and vigilance. One near-miss life—like that of the Dating Game contestant who declined a date with Alcala—serves as a chilling reminder: evil often lurks behind the most ordinary smiles