'Dating Game Killer’ Rodney Alcala Sentenced To More Jail Time

Rodney Alcala, otherwise known as the “Dating Game Killer,” received an additional 25 years to life sentence for the murder of two young women in New York City in the 1970s.

Prior to this trial in New York, Alcala was already on death row in California. He was convicted in February 2010 of kidnapping and murdering a 12-year-old girl, and raping and murdering four women in L.A. County between November 1977 and June 1979.

"This kind of case is something I've never experienced, hope to never again," said New York Supreme Court Judge Bonnie Wittner, according to the Wall Street Journal. "I just want to say I hope these families find some peace and solace for these inexplicably brutal and horrific acts."

It was Alcala’s appearance on The Dating Game that game him his tabloid moniker. He appeared on the show in 1978 alongside actor Jed Mills. At this point in his life, Alcala had already been convicted for the 1968 rape of an 8-year-old girl. Backstage on the show, Mills took a dislike to Alcala instantly.

"Something about him, I could not be near him," Mills recalled to CNN. "I am kind of bending toward the other guy to get away from him, and I don't know if I did that consciously. But thinking back on that, I probably did."

Although Alcala was picked by the show's “bachelorette” Cheryl Bradshaw, she declined to go on a date with him. Bradshaw had detected something disconcerting about Alcala after selecting him, according to police, reported LA Weekly.

Before he landed behind bars in 1980, Alcala earned his living as a photographer. While behind bars, he took to writing—eventually publishing You, the Jury in 1994, in which he claims his innocence. With an IQ of 135, Alcala has also represented himself in his rape and murder trials. While two separate juries have found that Alcala should receive the death penalty, he has had their sentences reversed on technical grounds.

Members of the victims’ families spoke out in court on Monday in New York. "To think that smile of hers, that you were the last to see it," said the sister of Cornelia Criley directly to Alcala. "It's not about you today, it's about her."

Watch a video of New York District Attorney Cyrus R. France Jr. honoring the victims of Alcala and their families below: