| For Immediate Release September 19th, 2005 |
Contact: | Mark Macaulay Media Relations Spokesperson (714) 347-8405 |
SUSPECTED SERIAL KILLER INDICTED FOR THE MURDERS OF FOUR YOUNG WOMEN IN THE 1970’S
Santa Ana – Suspected serial killer, Rodney James Alcala, 62, appeared in Orange County Superior Court this morning to face charges that he brutally murdered four women from the Los Angeles area in the late 1970’s. Alcala is currently in jail awaiting a third trial for the 1979 murder of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe from Huntington Beach. These five murder cases will be combined and jointly prosecuted by the Orange County and Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Offices. If Alcala is convicted, the Orange County District Attorney will seek the death penalty for the murder of Robin Samsoe. A decision regarding the death penalty in the Los Angeles murders will be made by District Attorney Cooley at a later date.
Why joint prosecution?
California law allows for multiple murder cases committed in a variety of jurisdictions to be combined into one case (Penal Code section 790). “By consolidating the charges we will be able to pool our resources and give the public a clearer understanding of who Mr. Alcala is and what he did,” said Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas.
Los Angeles Cases
On November 10, 1977, 18-year-old Jill Barcomb’s partially naked body was discovered on Franklin Canyon Drive in the Hollywood Hills. She had been severely beaten, strangled, and sexually assaulted.
On December 16, 1977, the naked body of a 27-year-old cardiac care nurse named Georgia Wixted was discovered inside her Malibu apartment. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled, and had suffered severe blunt force trauma to her head.
On June 24, 1978, the naked body of 32-year-old Charlotte Lamb was discovered in a laundry room of an apartment complex in El Segundo. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled.