With the trial in 1984, the jury found Alcala guilty of first-degree murder in Robin's death. He received the death penalty, which was overturned by the California Supreme court. They felt, by learning of Alcala’s past sex crimes, that the jury was prejudiced. It took six years put him back on trial.
After after Alcala's first was overturned, he was tried and convicted a second time in 1986. He was sentenced to death, but once again, the verdict was overturned by Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel in 2001.
31 years after the murder, Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy, who in 1979, was about the same age as Robin Samsoe, had the task of putting together the case again.
“The ’70s in California was insane as far as treatment of sexual predators. Rodney Alcala is a poster boy for this. It is a total comedy of outrageous stupidity,”
Murphy said in 2010.
Alcala announced that he would be his own lawyer in his third trial.
He asked himself questions, referring to himself as “Mr. Alcala”, in a deep voice, which he would then answer. This would continue for five hours. He used an Arlo Guthrie song as part of his closing argument.
This time investigators had concrete evidence against him on four different murders from decades past, thanks to the prison’s DNA swabs. The prosecution was able to combine these new murder charges along with Robin Samsoe.
There was also a surprise witness at his sentencing,Tali Shapiro, the girl that Alcala had raped and beaten within an inch of her life about 40 years before.
The court handed Alcala the death penalty again, for the third time. Justice for Robin Samsoe, 12; Jill Barcomb, 18; Georgia Wixted, 27; Charlotte Lamb, 31; and Jill Parenteau, 21, had finally been achieved.
Investigators have continued to link the “Dating Game Killer” to many other cold case murders.
Rodney Alcala has not been executed and sits on death row in Corcoran State Prison, California, planning an appeal for his third death sentence.
"I want it carried out,"
Robin's mother says.
"I wanna live one day longer than him. I wanna live one day without feeling or hearing the name Rodney Alcala in my mind. I could die a happy woman."
Will the third time be the charm?
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