Woman who was attacked aged 8 by ‘Dating Game Killer’ portrayed in new Netflix film detailed how she survived traumatising ordeal

Warning: This article contains discussion of rape which some readers may find distressing.

When second-grade student Tali Shapiro was just eight-years-old, she narrowly escaped from the clutches of a man who would later be branded the 'Dating Game Killer'.

Now fully grown up, Shapiro has reflected on her harrowing encounter with serial murderer and former dating show contestant Rodney Alcala, whose 1970s crimes have become the focus of Netflix's new No. 1 star-studded crime-drama series, Woman of the Hour.

A feature-length film produced by and starring Pitch Perfect favourite Anna Kendrick was announced by the streaming service earlier this year, set to tell the real-life story of Rodney Alcala, who is understood to have murdered around 130 women in the 1960s and 70s.

Despite flying under the radar for over a decade, in the midst of his crime spree Alcara appeared on a televised blind date show alongside aspiring actress Cheryl Bradshaw, played by Kendrick on the show.

Though the pair were matched up on the show, in reality, the date never came to fruition.

And in the years that followed, Alcara would be finally apprehended by police for his multiple murders. He died in prison in 2021, having had a previous death sentence overturned.

As well as the murders he committed, the series also touches on the narrow escapes made by two children, who were tragically attacked and sexually assaulted by Alcala before his TV appearance - one of whom was Tali Shapiro.

Roger Alcala got his nickname because he had once appeared on The Dating Game (ABC)

Now, following the release of the popular drama, Shapiro has reflected on the incident during an appearance on Investigation Discovery documentary Surviving The Dating Game Killer.

The then-youngster had been walking on Sunset Boulevard when Alcala encouraged her to get into his car, before taking her to his house and knocking her unconscious, raping her at knife-point.

He was still assaulting her as police arrived, having been tipped off by a bystander who saw Shapiro getting into the car.

"They made a choice of saving me or chasing him,” said Shapiro, who was found by police in a pool of blood, near death.

With no memory of what happened, she spent more than a month in the coma.

At the time, she had no idea that he'd attacked 16-year-old Morgan Rowan and her friends at the same property weeks earlier.

Tali Shapiro is one of Alcala's survivors (ABC)

Morgan - who was also able to escape and spoke on the programme - said she and her friends hiding out in a nearby alley after escaping from his home, and didn't know about Shapiro's assault until reading about it weeks later.

"I wasn’t praying to live," she admitted recently. "I was praying to die."

Neither child had a clue that they'd endured a horrific encounter with a man who would go on to become known as the 'Dating Game Killer'.

Shapiro testified at Alcala’s trial for the murders of five women in 2021, which was when Rowan realised the eight-year-old girl she’d read about in the newspaper had survived.

"I had always felt responsible for her," Rowan said, having later reached out to Shapiro on Facebook. "I just poured my heart out that I was sorry, and I should have done something.”

But Shapiro told her there was ‘nothing to forgive’, adding: "There’s only one person that’s responsible for this, and he’s pure evil."

The pair now consider themselves 'chosen family', and are determined to not be ‘defined’ by the trauma they both share.

"Tali does not ever see herself as a victim, and I’m learning from her to see myself as strong also,” Rowan said.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact the Rape Crisis England and Wales helpline on 0808 500 222, available 24/7. If you are currently in danger or need urgent medical attention, you should call 999.