Afgespeeld
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On December 1, 1994, nineteen-year-old Melissa Witt planned to meet her mother at a Fort Smith, Arkansas bowling alley, but by all appearances, she only made it as far as the parking lot. Two days later, investigators discovered Melissa’s car abandoned in the Bowling World parking lot, a trail of blood leading away from the vehicle. Six weeks later, animal trackers located Melissa’s nude body in an isolated part of the Ozark National Forest and the hunt was on to find her killer.
In the thirty years since Melissa Witt’s murder, a number of strong suspects have popped up on investigators’ radars, including serial killer Charles Ray Vines, yet to this date no one has been charged with her death. After three decades of unanswered questions, Witt’s family are desperate to know, what happened to Melissa on the night she went missing, and will detectives ever be able to hold her killer responsible for her tragic death?
If you have information regarding the murder of Melissa Witt, please call the Fort Smith Police Department at 479-709-5116 or email them at [email protected].
Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!
References
Alvey, Tina. 1995. "Fort Smith teen's body found near Turner Bend." Madison County Record, Janaury 19: 4.
Associated Press. 1995. "Man questioned about girl; police say he's not a suspect." Batesville Guard, June 14: 6.
Cavallier, Andrea. 2024. "A teenager was snatched from the parking lot of a bowling." The Independent, August 10.
Kilby, Brenda. 1996. "Long-sought man awaits questioning ." Tulsa World , May 6: 29.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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A botched murder plan leads the killer to an unsuspecting door. Inside, the killer does something he can never undo. Later, he brags about his deeds in taunting letters to the police and media.
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The killer strikes again. This time, he stalks a young college student. His methods improve, but not without some failure. He reconsiders his choices. But realizes it's too late. It's time to double down.
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January 1974. Four members of a family are killed in their home in Wichita, Kansas. Investigators are mystified. Nothing like this has ever happened before in Wichita. Little did they know, this was just the beginning.
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The killer's face comes to light. This is not who we were expecting. How did this man become a ruthless murderer? And who else did he kill?
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When Cheryl Bradshaw appeared on the popular game show The Dating Game in 1978, she was charmed by bachelor number one, Rodney Alcala, and by the end of the episode, she’d chosen him to take her on a date. However, just minutes after the episode finished taping, Cheryl met bachelor number two in person backstage and was immediately uncomfortable and quickly contacted producers of the show to cancel the date. What Bradshaw didn’t know at the time was that, in doing so, she had narrowly avoided spending an evening in the company of one of America’s most notorious serial killers.
At the time of his appearance on The Dating Game in 1978, Alcala was a convicted sexual predator who had served time for sexual assault and had only avoided a charge of attempted murder on a technicality. After his arrest, investigators would learn that, by the time he appeared on the game show, he was also a killer. In the year that followed, Alcala would go on to murder several other women until he was finally caught and convicted for his crimes. At his trial, Rodney Alcala was found guilty of eight murders, among other crimes, but he is suspected of several other murders, perhaps as many as one hundred or more.
Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!
References
Associated Press. 1980. "Forest worker tells of grisly body find, fingers defendent ." Daily Breeze (Torrence, CA), March 23: 7.
—. 1980. "Witness in Alcala trial admits lying." Los Angeles Times, March 26: 44.
—. 1980. "Jury deliberate murder charge." Oakland Tribune, April 30: E3.
Brown, Doug. 1980. "Jury asks for the death penalty." Los Angeles Times, May 9: 32.
—. 1980. "Prosecution rests case in penalty part of Alcala trial." Los Angeles Times, May 8: 63.
CBS News. 2024. "Rodney Alcala: The Killing Game." 48 Hours .
Dunn, Edward. 1977. "Oneida woman slain in L.A." Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY), November 15: 1.
Esquivel, Paloma. 2010. "Alcala gets death penalty." Los Angeles Times, March 10: 72.
Falcon, Gabriel. 2010. Convicted serial killer won on 'Dating Game'. March 10. Accessed November 18, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240814201903/https://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/08/dating.game.killer/index.html.
Hicks, Jerry. 1986. "Alcala again given death sentence in slaying of girl, 12." Los Angeles Times, June 21: 50.
—. 1986. "Alcala asks jury to spare him, insists he isn't a murderer." Los Angeles Times, June 19: 141.
Jarlson, Gary. 1979. "Hunt for missing girls spreads to Oxnard." Los Angeles Times, June 28: 10.
—. 1979. "In search for girl's killer, time is the principal foe." Los Angeles Times, July 14: 22.
Kaye, Peter. 1981. "The long, painful path to justice." Daily Breeze (Torrence, CA), June 18: 19.
Kirkman, Edward. 1971. "Fear of a new sex killing spurs 6 on trail." Daily News (New York, NY), August 8: 75.
Levenson , Michael, and Eduardo Medina. 2021. "'Dating Game killer,' who preyed on woman in 1970s, dies in prison." New York Times, July 26.
Liff, Mark, Joseph Martin, and Paul Meskil. 1977. "Attorney urges FBI to hunt daughter." Daily News (New York, NY), July 31: 3.
Los Angeles Times. 1980. "Alcala defense wtiness's story repeated to jury." Los Angeles Times, April 30: 42.
—. 1979. "The Southland." Los Angeles Times, June 22: 30.
—. 1977. "Police now see link in strangulation murders of 10 LA women." Sacramento Bee, December 1: 22.
Moynihan, Colin. 2012. "Convicted killer pleads guilty to 2 New York murders." New York Times, December 15: 20.
OC Weekly. 2010. Rodney Alcala's murderous romp through polite society brings him to an Orange County courtroom again. January 21. Accessed November 19, 2024. https://www.ocweekly.com/rodney-alcalas-murderous-romp-through-polite-society-brings-him-to-an-orange-county-courtroom-again-6402172/.
Pelisek, Christine. 2010. "Rodney Alcala: the fine art of killing." LA Weekly, January 21.
Reyes, David. 1986. "Man convicted second time in murder of girl." Los Angeles Times, May 29: 43.
Sands, Stella. 2011. The Dating Game Killer: The True Story of a TV Dating Show, a Violent Sociopath, and a Series of Brutal Murders. New York, NY: St. Martin's.
Secret, Mosi. 2011. "After decades, charges in 2 Manhattan murders." New York Times, January 27: 24.
Smith, David. 2024. "The terrifying true story behind Woman of the Hour." The Guardian, October 22.
The People v. Rodney James Alcala. 1984. 36 Cal. 3d 605 (Supreme Court of California, August 23).
Weinstein, Henry. 2003. "New trial, new charge in old cases." Los Angeles Times, June 28: 32.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Happy Friday! Today's episode begins with What You Need to Know and includes listener comments and questions that have come in.
In part two:
President Trump speaking virtually at the World Economic Forum Lots and lots of food news An astrologer predicts the luckiest days of 2025 Oscar Nominations Lots more -
Today's episode is a full summary of everything President Donald Trump did on day 1 in office. It includes the executive orders that were signed, the performances, the reaction, and lots more.
Also included is Canada's response to President Trump's announcement that tariffs will be imposed on Canada on February 1, 2025.
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Today's episode includes Pierre Poilievre appearing on CP24 and discussing an executive order that President Trump signed regarding gender. Other topic discussed today include:
More youth arrested for carjacking vehicles The Buffalo Bills are in the AFC Championship this weekend Amazon shutting down warehouses in Quebec Connor McDavid suspended by the NHL Hollywood is still planning to go ahead with their award shows and parties Nominations for the iHeart Radio Awards President Trump spoke to the media again yesterday -
Today's episode starts with some listener DM questions and continues on to a discussion about Alberta oil and Pierre Poilievre's plan to build more pipelines.
Other topics include:
Where older adults can go out dancing The NFL schedule this weekend Tiger Woods' TGL golf Restaurant suggestions Mark Carney enters the Liberal leadership race The benefit concert for victims of the L.A. wildfires A pilot was arrested in a plane for (almost) flying impaired New coughdrops that taste like chicken soup Lots more ...
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