'Dating Game Killer: The Lost Victims': Release date, plot and all you need to know about the Reelz special
Serial killers almost always have catchy monikers given to them by the media, but their crimes normally remain the same. Their victims are usually women and there is a high probability of some form of sexual sadism involved. Some of the most talked-about serial killers include Ted Bundy and the Green River Killer aka Gary Ridgway.
However, there are more and one of them was dubbed the Dating Game Killer because he appeared on the television show 'The Dating Game' while he was in the middle of his killing spree. The real name of the Dating Game Killer is Rodney Alcala and while he was convicted for five murders in California between 1977 and 1979 and two murders in New York in 1971 and 1977, it is believed he could have killed many more.
Alcala would photograph women and teenage girls, often in sexual poses, and had a collection of over 1,000 photographs, so officials estimate that his victim count could be much higher.
Prosecutors have said that Alcala "toyed" with his victims, strangling them until they lost consciousness, then waiting until they revived, sometimes repeating this process several times before finally killing them. It is also known that Alcala studied film under Roman Polanski at New York University.
Among its slate of October specials, Reelz has got one focused on Alcala and his crimes titled 'Dating Game Killer: The Lost Victims' which examines the real lives impacted by Rodney Alcala whose haunting trove of photographs lays out his path of mayhem and murder. Read on to know more details about the special.
Release date
'Dating Game Killer: The Lost Victims' will premiere on Reelz on Saturday, October 10, at 10/8c.
Plot
Rodney Alcala was a contestant who earned a date on the TV show 'The Dating Game' in 1978 despite being a convicted rapist, registered sex offender and under investigation for multiple murders. Thankfully his date sensed something was off about the overly sly and dominant Alcala and she passed on the date. With estimates that run as high as 130 victims, Alcala had a ruthless spree of murder, rape and sexual assault in the 1970s.
Posing as a photographer, he would lure young women by asking them to model before brutally killing them. During the investigation, authorities in Seattle discovered a rented storage locker with more than 900 photographs taken by Alcala. Authorities are still connecting Alcala to cold cases through 120 photographs that were made public (most are too graphic for public release) after his trial in 2010 when he was sentenced to death.
Since then, 21 missing women have been accounted for through the online database. Crime author and radio show host Alan Warren takes viewers on a journey through the public photographs and the case itself.
Cast
The special is hosted by Alan Warren. Viewers will also hear from retired LAPD detective Steve Hodel who investigated Alcala's case, Bruce Barcomb, brother of Alcala victim Jill Barcomb, Matt Murphy, former Chief Deputy Attorney in Orange County, LA County Prosecutor Gina Satriano and Marianne Connely, whose daughter was killed by Alcala, also feature in the special.
Producers
'Dating Game Killer: The Lost Victims' is produced by AMS Pictures.
Trailer
There is no trailer for 'Dating Game Killer: The Lost Victims' yet but keep watching this space for future updates.
If you like this, you will love these:
'Ted Bundy: The Survivors'
'Green River Killer: I Met My Sister's Killer'
'The Killing Game'
'The Dating Game Killer'
'Murder Made Me Famous'