Charges filed in 1977 murder

A murder investigation dating back to 1982 has finally resulted in criminal charges filed after Sweetwater County investigators found evidence linking a serial killer from California to the crime.

Tuesday, the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office announced charges were filed against Rodney James Alcala, a 73-year-old man, who became known as the Dating Game Killer after a 1978 appearance on the popular television game show. Alcala is currently on death row in California for five murders he committed in the state between 1977 and 1979.

He received an additional sentence of 25 years to life after confessing to two murders in New York, which occurred in 1971 and 1977.

Tuesday Alcala was charged with first-degree murder in Wyoming, though representatives at the Sweetwater County Attorney’s Office or the sheriff’s office don’t know when he will be brought to Wyoming to answer to the charge.

County investigators believe Alcala murdered 28-year-old Christine Ruth Thornton, a resident of San Antonio, Texas, in 1977 and hid her body northeast of Granger. Thornton’s remains were discovered in 1982 by a rancher, but remained unidentified until 2015. Despite the dilapidated nature of the crime scene, investigators at the time determined the incident to be a homicide.

According to a media release from the sheriff’s office, Det. Jeff Sheaman picked up the cold case in 2013 and continued the investigation, submitting tissue samples recovered during the initial investigation to the North Texas Center for Human Identification for a mitochondrial DNA analysis and inclusion into the National Missing and Unidentified Person System, also known as NamUS. Mitochondrial DNA is often utilized in cold case investigations because the high sensitivity of the tests can be used to gain information from small samples. Mitochondrial DNA is inherited from the mother and can be matched with samples provided by any maternally-related individual. NamUS helps law enforcement agencies identify missing or unidentified people by comparing samples with other samples in the database, as well as samples provided by relatives of missing people.

Photographs in Alcala’s possession were released by the Huntington Beach Police Department after Alcala’s conviction in 2010 in an attempt to identify other potential victims. Thornton’s family searched for her since her disappearance from San Antonio, Texas, in 1977. A relative reviewing those photos in 2013 found a picture of Thornton in the set and contacted the HBPD. In 2014, DNA samples from Thornton’s siblings were included in NamUS and county detectives received an alert regarding a potential match to Thornton in 2015. Detectives were able to positively identify Thornton’s remains and determined the photograph Alcala had of Thornton was taken close to the site where her remains were found. Other evidence discovered by detectives link him to Thornton’s murder as well.

According to the sheriff’s office, while Alcala is considered a “prolific serial killer,” the full extent of his crimes remain unknown and could total approximately 130 victims across the U.S. While he is charged with the murder, he is considered innocent until proven guilty.

If convicted, he could face life in prison or the death penalty in Wyoming.

Regarding the television appearance that would become his nickname, Alcala was described by host Jim Lange as “a successful photographer who got his start when his father found him in the dark room at the age of 13, fully developed. Between takes you might find him skydiving or motorcycling.”

Alcala would ultimately win the game he was featured in, though Cheryl Bradshaw, the woman who selected him on the game show, later decided to decline the date with Alcala.