Shivangi Sinha
In 1979, the police arrested a man named Rodney Alcala on suspicion of murder. What followed was a long legal battle in which he was convicted and appealed multiple times, but in 2010, he was found guilty on five murder charges. He spent the rest of his life behind bars and passed away in 2021. Morgan Rowan and Tali Shapiro are among his survivors who not only aided in his legal prosecution but have also spoken publicly many times about how they escaped him. ID’s ‘People Magazine Investigates,’ especially the episode ‘Surviving the Dating Game Killer,’ features their interviews and highlights the strength and courage they have shown.
Morgan Rowan and Tali Shapiro Were Attacked by Rodney Alcala in the Same House
Morgan Rowan was just 13 years old when she first met Rodney Alcala in 1965. She was living in Hollywood, California, at the time and was like any other teenage girl her age. She recounted an experience when she was hanging out with friends outside a teen nightclub and saw Rodney standing next to a car. She said she was being playful with him, but he dragged her to the road at the backside, which was the docking area, and attacked her. He left her there, and she rushed to the nightclub owners, who got her some help, after which she never saw him again. In August 1968, Morgan had recently turned 16 and was preparing to move to New York City with her family.
Morgan went out with her friends one night, and they later decided to go to a party. She sat in the back seat of a car between two friends, and that was when she realized that the person who had slipped in to drive was Rodney himself. Morgan was fearful, but she said her friends did not sense any real danger. The original plan was to go to an IHOP, but Rodney suggested that they instead go to his house in Los Angeles, California. Some friends were also at the house, but Rodney managed to trap Morgan inside his bedroom, shut the door, and assault her. The attack continued until one of her friends broke in through the window and rescued her. He fled the scene as Morgan’s friends got her out of the house.
Morgan has stated that the police officer she met that night was allegedly not very encouraging about pressing charges. She stayed with a friend for a couple of nights while she recovered, so her parents wouldn’t find out. Soon afterward, she moved to New York City. On September 25, 1968, Donald Haines saw a young girl getting into a car with an older man and alerted the police. Officers responded and found a badly injured 8-year-old named Tali Shapiro inside a house in Los Angeles. Tali lived at Chateau Marmont and had been on her way to school when a stranger approached her, claiming to be a friend of her parents, and asked her to get into the car. The man was later identified as Rodney, who had escaped before authorities arrived.
Morgan Rowan Has Built an Endearing Friendship With Her Fellow Survivor
In September 1968, when Morgan Rowan saw the news about the 8-year-old Tali Shapiro, she felt an immense sense of guilt. She believed that she should have followed through with charges against Rodney Alcala and blamed herself for Tali being found in such a horrific situation in the very same house where she had once been attacked. Morgan said that she struggled with those feelings for years, especially after learning that the young girl could not testify in court and that Rodney had escaped with only a minor punishment. It was only in 2021, after Rodney had passed away, that Morgan contacted the lead detective on the case and shared her story publicly for the first time.
She was also able to get in touch with Tali and immediately apologized to her. A natural friendship quickly formed between the two, and it has continued over the years. In 2023, she released her book ‘Stolen From Sunset: A True Story of Surviving the Dating Game Killer.’ When the film ‘Woman of the Hour’ was released in the same year, Morgan gave several interviews in which she spoke about how protective she had always felt toward Tali even before they knew each other. She also spoke at length about her perspective on true crime documentaries and the danger of audiences becoming desensitized to violence.
Morgan further added that she did not completely agree with the portrayal of Rodney in the thriller. Morgan now lives in California, not too far away from Tali, and shares a special friendship with her. She has spoken about how much she has learned from Tali and sees herself as both a survivor and an incredibly strong person who has overcome tremendous odds. After keeping her story to herself for so many years, Morgan has finally found a way to unburden herself and has found a great deal of peace through it.
Tali Shapiro is Working for Amtrak in California Today
After surviving the attack, Tali Shapiro spent 32 days in a coma. She had no recollection of the attack she endured, and the police had also not been able to capture her kidnapper at the time. It took her a long time to recover from her physical injuries, and because of that, she could not testify against Rodney Alcala. In 1971, Rodney pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of child molestation. In 2010, when Rodney was being tried for the murders of five women, Tali agreed to testify for the prosecution.
Tali spoke about her own attack, which helped provide background into his life and the motivations behind his crimes. Shapiro has also spoken about the friendship she shares with Morgan Rowan and how she does not see herself as a victim. Since 2023, Tali has been working at Amtrak, the passenger railroad service that operates long-distance and regional train routes across the country. She is also based out of California and has built a beautiful life for herself. She is surrounded by the love of her friends and her orange tabby cat and is happy with everything she has accomplished in her life.
Read More: Linae and Tricia Tiede: Where Are the Kidnapping Survivors Now?
