Rodney Alcala

A DATE WITH DEATH

Mug Shot from San Quentin State Prison, Public Domain

“Love, the priceless possession I try to find. It’s not in my body, it’s in my mind.”-Jill Barcomb, murdered by Rodney Alcala

GROWING UP ALCALA

Rodrigo Jacques Alcala Buquor was born August 23, 1943, in San Antonio, Texas. He is infamously known as Rodney James Alcala. His parents, Raoul Alcala Buquor and Anna Maria Gutierrez, had four children. When Rodney was eight, the family relocated to Mexico. Raoul abandoned his wife and children in 1953. When it became clear that Raoul would not return, Anna and her children moved to Los Angeles to build a better life.

“U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880–2012”; School Name: Cantwell High School; Year: 1959

Rodney joined the U.S. Army when he was 17-years-old. He worked there as a clerk until he had a nervous breakdown. During his mental break, he went AWOL and hitchhiked to his mother’s home. Once the Army caught up with him, they performed a psychological evaluation and diagnosed Rodney with Antisocial Personality Disorder

EARLIEST CRIME

Tali Shapiro was eight years old and walking to school in Hollywood. A man driving a beige car approached and asked…