Prosecutor: Calif. serial killer possibly linked to 6 more unsolved cases, tips pouring in

Prosecutor: Serial killer linked to more cases

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Convicted serial killer Rodney James Alcala may be linked to the unsolved cases of at least six people who disappeared or were killed, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said Thursday.

“We’re looking at about maybe six more cases that could possibly amount to actual cases,” Rackauckas said.

“What we’d like to do is to try to identify anybody who might be another one of his victims and try to help these people … find some sort of knowledge as to what it was that happened to their missing loved ones.”

A jury earlier this month recommended the death penalty for Alcala in the serial slayings of four Los Angeles County women and one 12-year-old Orange County girl between 1977 and 1979.

Witnesses testified that Alcala was seen snapping pictures of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe and her young friend on the beach just minutes before she disappeared. He was tied to the other four murders through forensic evidence, including DNA.

Last week, Huntington Beach police released more than 100 old photos of unidentified young women, girls and even babies. They believe Alcala took the images in the 1970s and placed them in a storage locker he rented before his arrest in 1979.

Hundreds of tips have been pouring in from around the country, and detectives in police departments from Washington state to Arizona are reviewing cold cases from that time period, said Susan Schroeder, district attorney spokeswoman.

She said none of the leads have been confirmed, however, and described the investigation as being in its early stages.

Even before the photos were released, New York City police were investigating Alcala in three other cases, while law enforcement agencies in New England were taking a look at five other cases, authorities have said.

Calls to police detectives and police spokesman Detective Sgt. Aaron Smith were not immediately returned.

Some of the calls came from relatives and friends of at least four women who disappeared or were killed in the 1970s.

Police are working to confirm any possible connection to the pictures and establish a timeline of Alcala’s whereabouts during that decade.