LOS ANGELES (AP) — The California Supreme Court has cleared the way for convicted serial killer Rodney Alcala to be extradited to New York City to face charges in two 1970s killings.

It wasn’t immediately clear Thursday how soon Alcala might be brought to a Manhattan court from California’s death row.

Court records show his bid to block his execution was turned down Wednesday.

The former amateur photographer and TV dating-show contestant was sentenced to death in 2010 for five stranglings in Southern California in the late 1970s. After his California conviction, he was charged with murdering two women in New York City the same decade.

Alcala’s lawyer and the Manhattan district attorney’s office didn’t immediately respond to inquiries Thursday.

The 68-year-old has been behind bars since his 1979 arrest in California.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)