DONALD Haines is a former sales representative whose quick thinking saved 8-year-old Tali Shapiro from serial killer Rodney Alcala’s clutches.
Donald’s job meant he was constantly on the road and a chance spotting of Tali and Rodney in 1968 changed Tali’s life forever.
A heroic rescue
Not much is known about Donald’s life before he rescued Tali Shapiro from the Dating Game Killer, except for the fact he was a sales representative.
Donald recalled that he saw Rodney on the corner of Wiltshire Boulevard and thought that he seemed “fixated on this little girl”.
This disturbed Donald, who watched Tali get into Rodney’s car when she was clearly meant to be on her way to school.
Unbeknownst to him, Rodney had claimed to know Tali’s parents in a vile bid to lure her to his home.
Concerned for Tali’s safety, he followed the pair as Rodney’s car pulled away from Wiltshire Boulevard and headed to the Dating Game Killer’s apartment.
Once they arrived, Donald had seen enough to know Rodney was dangerous and knew he had to act fast to save Tali.
He phoned the police, who rushed to the scene, and kicked down the door to discover Tali lying in a pool of her own blood.
Thankfully, a police officer named Chris Camacho, Jr. was able to rescue the 8-year-old before Rodney could kill her.
She had been attacked with a metal bar and showed signs of being sexually assaulted, but Rodney had fled the scene by the time the police had broken down the door.
Tali was Rodney’s second confirmed victim.
His first, Morgan Rowan, also survived her brush-in with the killer which took place just a month before Rodney attacked Tali.
Morgan was 16-years-old when she was kidnapped by Rodney Alcala and attacked.
Luckily, her friends managed to break a window and dragged her out before Rodney could killer her.
The Dating Game Killer
Unfortunately, Rodney went on to claim even more victims in a crime spree that lasted into the 1970s.
Rodney went to New York and claimed another victim named Cornellia Crilley, while using the alias Jack Berger.
However, two children recognised his picture on the FBI Most Wanted list and he was soon extradited to California to face justice for his horrific attack on Tali.
Tali’s parents refused to let her take the stand, making it difficult to charge Rodney with rape or murder.
The killer was sent to prison for child molestation, but by 1977 he was at large once again.
Rodney is known to have then killed a 27-year-old nurse named Georgia Wixted and an 18-year-old named Jill Barcombe, before going on the game show that would earn him his nickname.
He appeared on The Dating Game in 1978, where he tried to charm Cheryl Bradshaw into choosing him as a date.
Ultimately, she couldn’t go through with the date because his sinister humour suggested that Rodney was not the man that he seemed.
Eventually, Rodney was brought to justice after murdering 12-year-old Robin Samsoe.
A police sketch of the killer reached his old parole officer, who had been assigned to him after his attack on Tali.
This launched a search for Rodney, who was arrested in 1979 and sentenced to death in 1980.
The sentence was eventually overturned in 1984 and he instead spent the rest of his life in prison, before dying of natural causes in 2021.
Woman of the Hour
Rodney’s crimes, and particularly his appearance on The Dating Game, are dramatised in Netflix’s Woman of the Hour.
The film was directed by Anna Kendrick, who also stars in the movie as Cheryl Bradshaw.
Woman of the Hour made its Netflix debut on October 16, 2024, and is available for streaming.
