With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today during our fall member drive.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
SoCal Serial Killer Alcala Suspected In 1977 SF Cold Case
At left, police sketch of the mystery photographer who met Pam Lambson at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco in October 1977, drawn from the memory of a store clerk and at right, Photograph of serial killer Rodney Alcala, taken in the mid 1970s.(COURTESY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT)
()
At left, police sketch of the mystery photographer who met Pam Lambson at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco in October 1977, drawn from the memory of a store clerk and at right, Photograph of serial killer Rodney Alcala, taken in the mid 1970s.(COURTESY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT)
Condemned to death last year by an Orange County jury for five sexual assault slayings in the 1970s including a 12-year-old Huntington Beach girl, serial killer Rodney Alcala is now the primary suspect in a 34 year old unsolved murder of a 19-year-old woman in the Bay Area.
Charged also this year with two New York cold-case murders, Alcala "is suspected of the sexual assault, torture and strangulation of Pamela Jean Lambson, a computer assistant and aspiring actress and singer who disappeared from Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco on Oct. 8, 1977 after she went to pose for a freelance photographer," reports the OC Register. "Her nude, bruised and battered body found the next day" on a Mount Tamalpais trail a few miles from where Alcala now waits on death row at San Quentin Prison.However, despite Marin County officials being "absolutely certain" Rodney Alcala is responsible for the murder of Pam Lambson, he will will not be charged in her death due to disintegrated DNA evidence deemed not viable for testing and comparison with the Orange County lab.
After trying for more than 30 years to identify the pony-tailed photographer who met Lambson that day in 1977, Marin County Sheriff's detectives saw a television program, one year ago this week, about the catalogue of photographs of young women recovered by Huntington Beach police from a Seattle storage locker was rented by Alcala in 1979, notes the OC Register.
Support for LAist comes from
Lambson was not among the 100+ photos found and posted online, however detectives followed up with Huntington Beach Police to discuss similarities in the cases, Alcala's method of operation and compare suspect sketches and mug shots.
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The study found recipients spent nearly all the money on basic needs like food and transportation, not drugs or alcohol. -
Kevin Lee's Tokyo Noir has become one of the top spots for craft-inspired cocktails. -
A tort claim obtained by LAist via a public records request alleges the Anaheim procurement department lacks basic contracting procedures and oversight. -
Flauta, taquito, tacos dorados? Whatever they’re called, they’re golden, crispy and delicious. -
If California redistricts, the conservative beach town that banned LGBTQ Pride flags on city property would get a gay, progressive Democrat in Congress. -
Most survivors of January's fires face a massive gap in the money they need to rebuild, and funding to help is moving too slowly or nonexistent.
Best of LAist