"Who Does That?": The Prosecution's Closing Argument Against Rodney Alcala, 2010

Name: "Who Does That?": The Prosecution's Closing Argument Against Rodney Alcala, 2010
Uploaded: 2015-07-19T00:00:00Z
Duration: 2 min 10 s
Description: Orange County Register report on Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy's closing argument at Rodney Alcala's 2010 murder trial, with Murphy's words to the jury filmed in court. Alcala, his own lawyer, would reply that afternoon.

Orange County Register report on Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy's closing argument at Rodney Alcala's 2010 murder trial, with Murphy's words to the jury filmed in court. Alcala, his own lawyer, would reply that afternoon.

Subject: Rodney Alcala
Recorded: February 22, 2010
Runtime: 2:10

Content warning: The argument concerns the abduction and murder of a 12-year-old girl and the brutality of the murders. No graphic detail.

The Interview

This is a 2-minute-10-second Orange County Register news video, published online on February 23, 2010 and posted again on the Register's YouTube channel in 2015. A Register narrator summarizes the closing argument that Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy delivered on the morning of Monday, February 22, 2010, in Rodney Alcala's death penalty trial, and the video includes several excerpts of Murphy addressing the jury in court. Alcala, who represented himself, is not heard.

Historical Context

Alcala was on trial in Orange County for five murders committed from 1977 to 1979: four women in Los Angeles County and Robin Samsoe, 12, of Huntington Beach, abducted on June 20, 1979. He had twice been convicted and sentenced to death for Robin Samsoe's murder; both convictions were reversed on appeal. Before the third trial, DNA evidence linked him to the four Los Angeles County murders, which were joined to the case. The jury convicted him on all five counts on February 25, 2010, and returned a death verdict on March 9, 2010.

Circumstances

According to the narration, Alcala did not contest during the six weeks of evidence that he had murdered the four women in Los Angeles County, but insisted he was not responsible for Robin Samsoe's abduction.

What the Interview Covers

Murphy calls Alcala a man "hunting through Southern California, looking for people to kill because he enjoys it." In the excerpts and the narration, he disputes Alcala's alibi that he was at Knott's Berry Farm ("There isn't a single witness that puts Rodney Alcala at Knott's after three o'clock, except for Rodney Alcala"), points to gold earrings belonging to Robin Samsoe recovered from a Seattle storage locker rented to Alcala, and questions why Alcala put new carpeting in his car after her disappearance ("Who does that?"). He cites a figure of "one in 5.4 million" while discussing the DNA evidence (what it measures is not explained in the clip; a slide behind him shows other match frequencies), and a palm print. These are the prosecution's arguments; Alcala denied killing Robin Samsoe.

What Makes the Recording Significant

It records the prosecution's summation in Alcala's third trial for the Samsoe murder, the first to include the four DNA-linked Los Angeles County murders, and is the counterpart to Alcala's own closing argument delivered the same afternoon.

Archival Importance

It is one of a set of Orange County Register videos from the 2010 trial: this prosecution closing, Alcala's own closing argument, the guilt verdicts, the penalty verdict, and the families' statements at the formal sentencing. The court reporter's transcript is the complete official record of the argument; this video is an edited excerpt.

Important Caveats

Alcala is not heard. Murphy's statements are arguments to a jury, not findings. The narration's "between 1970 and 1979" is wrong: the charged Los Angeles County murders were committed from 1977 to 1979. The YouTube description's "accused of killing four women" omits the fifth victim, a 12-year-old girl, whom the narration includes. Two short passages (00:00 and 01:13) are attributed to Murphy as a judgment call.

Matt Murphy: [unclear: "He's got no soul or feelings." (Whisper) / "This, he's got enough soul or feelings." (captions)]

Narrator: Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy delivered closing arguments Monday morning in the death penalty trial of Rodney Alcala, accused of killing four Los Angeles women between 1970 and 1979, and a 12-year-old girl from Huntington Beach in 1979.

Matt Murphy: These are first-degree murders. When you're talking about a guy like that, who is hunting through Southern California, looking for people to kill because he enjoys it.

Narrator: Murphy told jurors they'd never see cases with more brutality.

Matt Murphy: He gets off on the infliction of [unclear: "pain" (Whisper) / "other, of pain" (captions)] on other people.

Narrator: During the six weeks of evidence, Alcala, who was defending himself against the five murder charges, did not contest the accusations that he murdered the four women in Los Angeles County, but has been adamant that he is not responsible for the June 20, 1979, abduction of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe. But Murphy told jurors Alcala lied about his alibi that he was at Knott's Berry Farm.

Matt Murphy: There isn't a single witness that puts Rodney Alcala at Knott's after three o'clock, except for Rodney Alcala.

Narrator: And Murphy insisted gold earrings belonging to Samsoe were recovered from a storage locker rented to Alcala in Seattle.

Matt Murphy: He expressed relief to his sister that the police didn't know about the storage locker. So what does an innocent man have to hide, number one?

Narrator: And he questioned why Alcala changed the interior of his car shortly after Samsoe's disappearance.

Matt Murphy: He put new carpeting in his car. Who does that? And he said he spilled gas in there? Okay. Who does that?

Narrator: Alcala has twice been tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for murdering Samsoe, but both cases were reversed on appeal. Before he could be tried a third time, he was allegedly linked by DNA evidence to the four L.A. County slayings. DNA testing did not exist when the murders occurred.

Matt Murphy: Okay, one in 5.4 million. As a prosecutor with a DNA hit, I'll take that any day of the week. But in this case, we've also got a palm print.

Narrator: Alcala will have a chance to deliver his own closing arguments this afternoon. [About 02:05 to 02:10: no further speech in the machine text or captions. Clip ends.] ---