Man awaiting murder trial faces new charges

A man awaiting a third trial for the 1979 murder of a Huntington

Beach girl was arraigned Monday in Orange County Superior Court on a

grand jury indictment that he killed four women in the Los Angeles

area during the 1970s.

Prosecutors are now calling Rodney James Alcala, 62, a suspected

serial killer.

Alcala has twice been convicted of murder and sentenced to death

for the killing of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe. Both convictions were

overturned by appeals courts.

Samsoe was last seen on June 20, 1979, when she spent the day at

Sunset Beach with a friend. As she was leaving the beach, a man

approached her and asked to take her picture.

Two weeks later, her skeletal remains were found in the Angeles

National Forest.

The Orange County district attorney’s office said they will seek

the death penalty if Alcala is again convicted of Robin’s murder.

“Rodney Alcala is the poster child for the death penalty,” Orange

County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said in a prepared statement

Monday.

“We will prove that he is a cold blood killer with no compassion

for his victims.”

The Orange County and Los Angeles County district attorney’s

offices will prosecute the five murder cases together, according to a

statement issued Monday.

“By consolidating the charges, we will be able to pool our

resources and give the public a clearer understanding of who Mr.

Alcala is and what he did,” Rackauckas said.

Alcala is in custody awaiting a third trial for Samsoe’s murder.

Alcala’s arraignment on the new murder charges was continued to Oct.

6.