Serial killer dies

A prolific serial torture-slayer dubbed “The Dating Game Killer” died of natural causes on Saturday while awaiting execution in California, authorities said. Rodney James Alcala was 77. Alcala was sentenced to death in 2010 for five slayings in California between 1977 and 1979, including that of a 12-year-old girl, though authorities estimate he may have killed up to 130 people across the country. He received further sentences for two killings in New York and another in Wyoming.