New “20/20: The Dating Game Killer” Focuses on Case of Rodney Alcala

ABC has shared more details about their next installment of 20/20 which will focus on the case of serial killer Rodney Alcala. 20/20: The Dating Game Killer airs this Friday on ABC.

What’s Happening:

  • The next story to be explored on ABC News’ 20/20 focuses on serial killer Rodney Alcala.
  • For more than a decade starting in the late 60s Alcala traveled across the country posing as a professional photographer to lure his victims.
  • His most brazen move came in 1978 when he went on the popular game show The Dating Game and won.
  • The 20/20 special will offer first-hand accounts from investigators, victims, eye witnesses and even his court-appointed psychologist.
  • Additionally, the two-hour program will feature interviews with:
    • Tali Shapiro, who miraculously survived an attack by Alcala when she was just eight years old
    • Chris Camacho, former LAPD officer who saved Shapiro’s life
    • Jed Mills, who sat beside Alcala on The Dating Game as a fellow contestant
    • Gina Satriano, LA prosecutor
    • Matt Murphy, Orange County prosecutor
    • victims’ family members
    • And more
  • 20/20 also exclusively features the 2013 interrogation of Alcala by Wyoming authorities about his alleged role in the murder of Christine Thornton 36 years earlier, which he denies.
  • 20/20: The Dating Game Killer airs on Friday, January 8 (9:00 – 11:00 pm ET) on ABC.
  • David Sloan is senior executive producer.
  • Colleen Halpin is senior producer, and Tim Gorin and Amanda Karrh are producers of this episode.

More on This Story:

  • ABC previously reported that the Huntington Beach Police Department is asking the public to help identify individuals from photographs found in a storage locker belonging to Alcala.
  • The photographs were publicly released in 2010 but the individuals have not yet been identified. Police do not know if these people were victimized by Alcala.
  • More information and photographs can be found on the abcnews website.