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A Look at the Carnage of the Dating Game Killer · Murder Files Unsealed

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I everget this, like weird feeling about someone, you know,
• 0:03
  where they seem totally normal, but something just feels off.
• 0:08
  That's the unsettling territory we're diving into today, the case
• 0:10
  of Rodney el Kala, better known as the Dating Game Killer. Yeah,
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  now you're a true crime fan, so you know this
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  isn't just some sensationalized nickname. This guy actually appeared on
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  The Dating Game back in seventy eight and one. But
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  what makes this case truly bizarre, truly terrifying, is that
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  this charming bachelor was already a convicted child molester and
• 0:32
  suspected of.
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: Far worse right, And that's the chilling paradox of the
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  heart of this deep dives right, like, how could someone
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  so seemingly ordinary commit such horrific acts. It's more than
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  just a true crime mystery. It's a look into, you know,
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  the human capacity for deception and how easy it is
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  to miss even ignore the warning signs.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, so let's rewind to that fateful episode of the
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  Dating Game. The year is nineteen seventy eight. Disc goes
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  in full swing and rodneyl is charming his way through
• 1:02
  a televised dating game like it's just another Tuesday. He's witty,
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  he's engaging, and all the while he's hiding a horrifying secret.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: What's fascinating is how calculated Alcoholi's performance on this show seems.
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  In hindsight. He's using humor to deflect, to disarm. This
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  wasn't just a random appearance. It was a calculated move
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  by a predator, very aware of the power of image.
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  Speaker 1: It gives me chills just thinking about it. And Cheryl Bradshaw,
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  the bachelorette who picked him, actually refused to go on
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  the date. She said she got weird vibes from him.
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  Speaker 2: Even the show's staff felt something was wrong. Ellen Mesker,
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  the contesting coordinator, remember Cheryl calling after the show, deeply
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  treeped out by Alcola. And then there's a Jed Mills,
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  another contestant who described Alcohola barging into the green room
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  and saying, I always get my girl talk about a
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  red flag the size of a billboard right right.
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  Speaker 1: It makes you wonder what if someone had listened to
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  those gut feelings, could lives have been saved? But tragically,
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  al Calla's dark journey had already begun long before the
• 2:00
  dating game. His first known victim, eight year old Tali Shapiro,
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  barely escaped his clutches in nineteen sixty eight.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: This attack on Tally Shapiro is critical because it establishes
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  a pattern of violence that will tragically escalate. Al Kala
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  flees to New York, assumes the alias John Berger, and
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  seamlessly blends into society, even working as a camp counselor.
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  It's almost unfathomable.
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  Speaker 1: It's like he could switch between this normal persona and
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  his true nature, like flipping a switch. And sadly, his
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  crimes in New York became even more brazen. In nineteen
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  seventy one, Cornelia Crilly, a young flight attendant, was found
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  murdered in her Manhattan apartment.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, this is where we see a terrifying escalation in
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  Alkala's brutality. Cornelia was sexually assaulted and strangled, her body
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  carefully posed.
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  Speaker 1: Po's like he wanted to preserve the scene exactly.
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  Speaker 2: It's a chilling detail that speaks to a mind obsessed
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  with control, with exerting power over his victims even in death.
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  And tragically, it wouldn't be the last time this horrifying
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  signature would appear.
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  Speaker 1: So he's living this double life, evading capture, and leaving
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  a trail of victims across state lines. Just how long
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  did this go on? For?
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  Speaker 2: For years? Alkohla was finally apprehended in nineteen seventy nine,
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  but not before claiming the lives of at least four
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  more women in California, Jill Barkham, Georgia Wixted, Charlotte Lamb,
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  and Jill Parento. And what's truly disturbing is that these
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  murders might have remained unsolved if it weren't for a
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  chilling discovery in two thousand and three.
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  Speaker 1: You mean the storage locker. I read about that thousands
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  of photos of women and children, right.
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  Speaker 2: Over one thousand photos, many in sexually suggestive poses. It's
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  believed Alcala used his camera, this air of legitimacy as
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  a photographer to lure his victims into a false sense
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  of security. It was a tool of manipulation, just like
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  his charm, just like as a normal guy act.
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  Speaker 1: It's bone chilling to think that something as simple as
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  a camera could be be used as a weapon like that.
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  Speaker 2: And what's even more unsettling is that many of the
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  faces in those photos remain unidealied. It's a stark reminder
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  of the scope of Alcala's crimes and the possibility that
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  there were even more victims out there whose stories they
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  yet to be told.
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  Speaker 1: So we have this horrifying pattern of deception, violence, and
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  this almost preternatural ability to evade justice. What finally brought
• 4:20
  Rodney Alkala down.
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  Speaker 2: It was a combination of factors, forensic evidence, the tireless
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  work of investigators, and perhaps most crucially, the bravery of
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  one young survivor who refused to let her story be silenced.
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  Tally Shapiro.
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  Speaker 1: That's right, she testified against some years later. Right, What
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  a powerful testament to resilience.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, Tally's Shapiro's story is a beacon of hope in
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  this otherwise incredibly dark and disturbing case. Her courage to
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  confront her attacker, even after all those years, was instrumental
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  in finally bringing al Kala to justice.
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  Speaker 1: It makes you think about the ripple effects of these
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  kinds of crimes, how they touched so many lives, and
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  in Alcala's case, the ripples extended far beyond the victims
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  we know about. Remember those tho unidentified photos. It's heartbreaking
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  to think about those unknown faces, those families out there
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  still searching for answers. It's a stark reminder that even
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  though Alcohola is gone, the pain he inflicted continues to resonate.
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  Speaker 2: It really does, and for the families of his known victims,
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  the fight for justice was a long and arduous one.
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  Alcohola was a master manipulator even in the courtroom. He
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  went through multiple trials, often representing himself, dragging the process
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  out for years. Imagine the agony of reliving those horrors,
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  of facing the man who stole your loved one again
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  and again.
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  Speaker 1: It's almost unfathomable. But through it all, the victim's families
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  never gave up. They remained steadfast in their pursuit of justice,
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  their strength echoing that of Telly Shapiro's.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely and thankfully, their relentless pursuit of justice ultimately prevailed.
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  Rodney Alkala died in prison in twenty twenty one, convicted
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  of multiple murders. His reign of terror finally brought to
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  an end.
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  Speaker 1: While it doesn't erase the pain, there's a sense of
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  relief knowing he can't hurt anyone else. But it begs
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  the question, how do we prevent another al Khala? How
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  do we protect ourselves and others from predators hiding in
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  plain sight.
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  Speaker 2: That's the million dollar question, isn't it. Al Kella's case
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  underscores the importance of listening to our instincts, that nagging
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  feeling in your gut. Don't ignore it. It's better to
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  be overly cautious than to dismiss those red flags.
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  Speaker 1: It's chilling to think how many people brushed off those
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  weird vibes as nothing. It reminds us that evil often
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  wears a charming mask, a reminder as relevant today as
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  it was back in the disco era.
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  Speaker 2: Right, and remember, we all have a part to play
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  in keeping each other safe. Be aware of your surroundings,
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  trust your gut, and if something feels wrong, speak up
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  your voice. Your intuition could be the key to preventing
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  another tragedy.
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  Speaker 1: You've given us a lot to think about today. It's
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  a sobering reminder that the world can be a dangerous place,
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  but it's also a testament to the power of resilience,
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  the importance of speaking out, and the unwavering pursuit of justice.
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  We may never have all the answers in cases like
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  al Callas, but by understanding the dark side of human nature.
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  By recognizing those warning signs, perhaps we can work to
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  prevent history from repeating itself.