GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press Writer
SANTA ANA, Calif. – Rodney Alcala spent weeks making his case to jurors in a trial accusing him of five gruesome Southern California slayings. He will soon know if his risky bid to represent himself paid off.
Closing arguments begin Monday in the guilt phase of a potential death penalty case that has bordered on the surreal as Alcala cross-examined the mother of one of his alleged victims, questioned former prosecutors and police detectives and even quizzed himself when he took the stand in his own defense.
The 66-year-old amateur photographer and UCLA graduate has pleaded not guilty to five counts of first-degree murder for the slayings of four Los Angeles County women and Robin Samsoe, a 12-year-old who was abducted while riding her friend’s bike to ballet class in Huntington Beach in Orange County.