Serial killer trial gets underway

Attorney Gina Satriano makes the opening statements for the prosecution in the trial of accused serial killer Rodney Alcala, shown in an old photo on the big screen.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Alcala is acting as his own attorney in his trial on charges of killing four Los Angeles women in the 1970s and 12-year-old Robin Samsoe of Huntington Beach in 1979.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Starting in 2001, while Alcala’s second conviction in the murder of Robin Samsoe was going through the appeals process, Los Angeles County investigators discovered DNA evidence they say links him to the murders of four L.A. women who were sexually assaulted, beaten and strangled in the two years before the 12-year-old’s slaying.  (Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times)

Prosecutor Gina Satriano puts her hand to her neck as she demonstrates to the jury how one of Rodney Alcala’s alleged victims was choked to death.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Opening statements in the trial of accused serial killer Rodney Alcala, center, begin in Orange County Superior Court.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)