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Rodney Alcala Gets Death Sentence

Posted by: David Ring
March 10, 2010
Topic: L.A. Criminal Cases

Serial killer Rodney Alcala will get the death sentence for killing several women and girls in the 1970s.  A jury took only one hour to hand down the sentence of death rather than life in prison for the 66 year old Alcala. 

Alcala's crimes were notorious.  Originally, many years ago, he was only charged with the murder of a young girl in Orange County.  Alcala was convicted, appealed and obtained a new trial, and then was convicted a second time, appealed, and again obtained a new trial.  This was the third trial, but this time Alcala was charged with the murders of several other women after DNA testing linked him to those unsolved murders as well.

Alcala represented himself in this final trial, which made for bizarre proceedings in court.

Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy prosecuted Alcala this time around.  I know Matt personally.  He is an outstanding lawyer and was the perfect D.A. to take on Alcala in this case.  Matt had to interact with Alcala for months on the case since Alcala was acting as his own lawyer.  Not an easy task for any prosecutor in any case, much less in a case involving a rapist and serial killer of women and girls.  Yet Matt handled it perfectly, professionally, and obtained the conviction and the death penalty. 

In the past couple of years, Matt Murphy obtained convictions of all those involved in the horrific murders of Thomas and Jackie Hawks, who were literally thrown overboard from their yacht while out to sea by men who were posing as buyers of the yacht but who simply wanted to steal the yacht.