Mar 9 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Rodney Alcala was convicted two weeks ago for the murders of four women and one girl. These murders occured between the years of 1977 and 1979. He is now acting as his own attorney during the penalty phase of the trial, and is hoping to persuade the jury not to give him the death penalty. The conviction was handed down in Santa Anna California.

It was during the time period of his killing spree that Alcala was a contestant on the television show, “The Dating Game” in 1978, and he won. He had already served time for the rape of a eight year old girl in 1968, which he was convicted of. Apparently, the producers of “The Dating Game” did not have very good screening techniques in the 70’s. One has to wonder what a man who had been convicted of raping a child less than a decade before was doing as a contestant on a show which portrayed him as an eligible bachelor and a “good catch” for the women looking for a date?

Host Jim Lange introduced Alcala, “Bachelor No. 1 is a successful photographer who got his start when his father found him in the dark room at the age of 13, fully developed,” host Jim Lange said. “Between takes you might find him skydiving or motor-cycling. Please welcome Rodney Alcala.”

Cheryl Bradshaw chose Alcala as the winner, but the refused to go out with him. Crime profiler Pat Brown suggests that the psychopath had watched the show and knew exactly what to say to “get the girl.” The psychopathic true nature came shining through in some way, which alerted Bradshaw’s instincts.(lucky for her). Brown also said, “When you go back and look, what’s most fascinating is that he had already committed a crime, raped a little girl. Here is a man portraying himself as a desirable young man when he is a violent sexual predator of children.”