Serial Killer Wins Dating Game Contest While Police Hunt Him for Murder

Serial Killer Wins Dating Game Contest While Police Hunt Him for Murder: The Decades-Long Hunt for Rodney AlcaláSeptember 13, 1978. A man smiled at television cameras, charmed a national audience, and won a prime-time dating contest. Off-screen, he had already killed at least three times that year. No producer, no investigator, no one in the studio knew they were broadcasting a serial killer in real time.This episode explores the impossible contradiction at the heart of a true crime investigation that spanned fifty years: how a convicted predator with a documented psychiatric diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder and extreme sadism was repeatedly released by the justice system, diagnosed as rehabilitated after thirty-four months in prison, and allowed to keep killing for over a decade. From the moment Alcalá assaulted eight-year-old Tali Shapiro in 1968, the system saw him, documented him, and still let him go-not once, but multiple times.Victim: Robin Samsoe (primary case); also Ellen Hoover, Jill Barcomb, Georgia Wixted, Charlotte Lamb, Jill Parenteau, and othersDate: 1968-1979 (primary crimes); trials through 2010Location: Los Angeles, California; New York; New Hampshire; multiple statesStatus: Convicted of 7 confirmed murders; estimated 130+ victims; died in prison July 24, 2021- Eight-year-old Tali Shapiro survived a skull-crushing assault in 1968, yet Alcalá was arrested, served thirty-four months, and was released- Two months after release, he reoffended and was arrested for parole violation-then freed again in June 1977- Between November 1977 and June 1978, four women were murdered in Los Angeles; their cases remained unsolved for twenty-four years until DNA linked them to Alcalá in 2002- Police recovered over 1,000 photographs in a Seattle storage unit, with names, dates, and addresses written on the backs of images; one jewelry bag contained an earring from victim Robin Samsoe and DNA from victim Georgia Wixted, connecting two murders a year apartRodney Alcalá, The Dating Game, serial killer, Los Angeles murders, 1970s unsolved cases, antisocial personality disorder, forensic failure, criminal history ignored, true crime EnglishTo listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected] listen ad-free and access premium episodes, start your 30-day free trial at obomedia.comOBOMEDIA presents true crime storiesa true crime podcast built on real cases.Every true crime story in our crime files follows the crime investigation from the missing person report to the trial: investigators and police building a murder case, a police investigation gone cold, justice for the victim and those who survived.We open the unsolved murder, the cold case reopened decades later, the mysterious death, the disappearance, the serial killer, the family murder, the murder mystery; the missing persons  a missing woman, a missing girl, a missing man found dead and the missing and murdered.From the infamous case to the unsolved case, from classic true crime to dark true crime and disturbing true crime: true crime reports, real crime stories, real murder cases, true murder stories and unsolved mysteries one true crime case at a time, from the OBOMEDIA true crime vault.© 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text and related materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing and business inquirie