Legal News

Rodney Alcala's closing statements

By Richard Binder

After prosecutor Matt Murphy delivered his closing statements in the Alcala trial, the time came for Rodney Alcala himself to deliver his last argument.

For two hours, Alcala insisted to the jury that the evidence against him was made up of "gimmicks ... magical thinking ... and lies." He said that the eyewitnesses who identified him as the long-haired photographer who took pictures of Robin Samsoe on the day she disappeared were either lying or just confused.  He claimed that Samsoe's mother, Marianne Connelly, made up the story about her daughter's earrings, which prosecutors say Alcala kept as trophies from her murder. 

Strangely enough, he addressed none of the other charges against him in the murders of four other women in the 1970s.  Alcala is expected to finish his closing arguments this morning.

Full story here.

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on February 23, 2010 (boomark / email).