When he was 17, Alcala joined the army. In 1964, he was discharged and was diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. In 1968, he gained a bachelor's degree from UCLA. He committed five murders in California from 1977 to 1979. He was sentenced to death in 2010. He was given an extra sentence of 25 years to life after he pled guilty to two homicides in New York which took place in 1971 and 1977.