A man who had been sentenced to death in her state California for the murder of a 12-year-old girl and four other women died of natural causes, awaiting his execution.
According to the BBC, Rodney Alcala, 77, died at a hospital near California Corcoran State Prison in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Alcala, who was known as “Dating Game Killer »after appearing on a television show in the US, was convicted in 2010. In addition to the murders in California, he had also pleaded guilty to the murders of two other women in New York.
Alcala was first convicted with death penalty in 1980 for the abduction and murder of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe in Los Angeles the previous year.
However, his sentence was overturned by the California Supreme Court and he was tried again, and in the years that followed, investigators uncovered forensic evidence linking him to other murders in California. At a 2010 trial, he was found guilty of killing a minor and four other women between the ages of 18 and 32 between 1977 and 1979.
In September 1978, Alcala participated in The Dating Game, the American version of “Dating the Blind.” The female actress chose Alcala, but in the end said that she decided not to meet him after a conversation with him behind the scenes, describing him as “creepy”.
In 2012, Alcala was extradited to New York after being charged with two counts of murder between 1971 and 1977. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in New York to 25 years. California state prison officials said Saturday they were suspected of involvement in even more killings.
No further details were given about his death.
There are currently about 700 inmates on death row in California, but Gov. Gavin Newson has ordered a moratorium on executions.

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