First-time reveal: Officer attributes ‘Dating Game’ killer’s downfall to his rise in fame

The individual responsible for apprehending serial killer Rodney Alcala, who served as the basis for the recent Netflix special “Woman of the Hour,” shared the authentic account depicted in the popular film and how Alcala’s participation in a dating show from the 1970s ultimately led to his apprehension. 

Referred to as the “Dating Game killer”, Alcala gained this moniker after his appearance on a television program called “The Dating Game” as Bachelor No. 1 in 1978 while actively engaging in his series of killings.

“Despite possessing a notably high IQ… the issue with individuals like him, I believe, is that the majority of their intelligence is not directed towards fostering personal connections… or similar aspects… instead, it is entirely focused on seeking out his next victim and formulating ways to manipulate women and girls,” Craig Robison, the chief investigator in the Alcala case at the Huntington Beach police department, conveyed to Fox News Digital during his inaugural public discussion of the investigation. “If we had not intervened, he would undoubtedly still be pursuing these actions.”

Robison is also a retired California prosecutor and judge. Since judges in the state are not permitted to speak on “pending” cases, he has never spoken publicly about the investigation previously and was even prohibited from testifying during the serial killer’s third trial. Robison said the case was considered “pending” from Alcala’s arrest up until he died in prison in 2021. 

In this March 30, 2010 file photo, convicted serial killer Rodney Alcala listens as victim-impact statements are read in a Santa Ana, Calif. (AP)

Alcala died of natural causes on July 24, 2021, while awaiting execution in California. He was 77 at the time of his death. 

Though it took over 30 years to sentence Alcala for his crimes, he remained incarcerated from the time Robison arrested him in 1979 up until his death. 

“Huntington Beach back at the time, I think maybe they had 150 police officers, but it was a small, much smaller community than it is today…locals were able to catch this guy with all of this intelligence and put him behind bars,” Robison said. “That’s what started his complete undoing, was his arrest that we made in July of 1979.”