'Dating Game' Killer Rodney Alcala Pleads Not Guilty To New York Murders [PHOTO]

Alcala, a photographer who appeared on The Dating Game in 1978, was described as scraggly-haired when he pleaded not guilty to the New York charges in Manhattan Supreme Court, the New York Post reported.

Rodney Alcala, 68, is a suspect in the killings of TWA flight attendant Cornelia Crilley and Manhattan resident Ellen Hover, who were both 23 years old when they were murdered in 1971 and 1977, respectively.

Crilley was found raped and strangled in her Upper East Side apartment, while Hover was discovered murdered in Westchester County, N.Y.

Alcala was extradited to New York City from California Wednesday.

After more than three decades, the defendant will finally face the justice system in New York for the murder of two victims, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement about Alcala's arraignment. My office's Forensic Sciences/Cold Case Unit was created because all crime victims and their families deserve closure, no matter how long ago the crime occurred. Today's arraignment brings us a step closer to obtaining justice for Ms. Crilley and Ms. Hover.

A grand jury in New York indicted Alcala for the Crilley and Hover killings in January after evidence from the Manhattan DA's Foresnsic Sciences/Cold Case Unit linked him to the crimes, Vance's office said. He faces charges of intentional murder, felony murder and second-degree murder.

Alcala allegedly used his position as a photographer to lure Hover to a spot in Westchester where he shot photos of women.

Hover's appointment book showed that she planned to meet a John Berger, which was Alcala's alias, according to the Post and the DA's office.

Alcala is on death row in California after being convicted in 2010 of killing four Los Angeles women and a 12-year-old girl from Huntington Beach, the Los Angeles Times reported. The victims were also killed in the 1970s, the same decade as the murders of Crilley and Hover.

While Alcala is known as The Dating Game killer, he never actually killed anyone related to his television appearance. He got the moniker because his killing spree occurred around the time he appeared on the 1970s show. Contestant Cheryl Bradshaw picked Alcala out of the three bachelors on the show, but decided not to go on a date with him.