Alcala ordered to have 2 trials in 5 slayings
- Share via
Rodney Alcala, an alleged serial killer facing murder charges for the 1970s slayings of an Orange County girl and four Los Angeles County women, will have two trials, the state’s 4th District Court of Appeal decided Wednesday.
The prosecution had hoped to try Alcala for all five murders at once in Orange County; his defense team had argued for five separate trials.
The justices ordered one trial in the deaths of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe of Huntington Beach; Charlotte Lamb, 32, of Santa Monica; and Jill Parenteau, 21, of Burbank. Another trial will be held in the deaths of Jill Barcomb, 18, a prostitute working in the area of Sunset Boulevard, and Georgia Wixted, 27, of Malibu.
Alcala has been jailed since 1979 for the murder of Robin, but has twice won a retrial of the case.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
John Orr was a renowned fire investigator who was also a prolific arsonist, and whose thinly veiled novel helped to convict him. In this episode we hear from the fire captain who first suspected him—and from Orr himself.
Madison McGhee is joined by legendary Dateline host Josh Mankiewicz and esteemed L.A. Times Reporter Richard Winton as the three of them dive into all-things Menendez Brothers, the good, the bad, and the still unknown.
NPR climate editor Sadie Babits talks about why the media has long overlooked the climate crisis, and how that’s starting to change.
