A 44-year-old Inglewood man allegedly killed and robbed two men he met through a dating website before savagely beating a third, prosecutors said Monday.
Rockim Prowell was charged with two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and multiple counts of carjacking and burglary in a string of attacks from 2021 to 2025, according to a criminal complaint made public Monday. In each case, Los Angeles County prosecutors said, Prowell met his victims through online dating.
“Imagine the terror and horror these victims felt after being duped into believing they were meeting for one reason, only to face inexplicable violence,” Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said in a statement. “These were predatory acts that showed a total disregard of life.”
In July 2021, Prowell met up with Miguel Angel King, 51, after they connected on the dating app, according to a news release issued Monday by the district attorney’s office. Prosecutors allege that Prowell shot King and stole his car, which was found a week later. Forensic evidence collected from the vehicle linked Prowell to the killing, according to the district attorney’s office. King’s remains were found in the Angeles National Forest the next month.
At the time of King’s death, Prowell was awaiting trial on multiple counts of burglary and theft. He was arrested in May 2021, court records show, and allegedly killed King two months before the district attorney’s office offered him a plea deal that placed him on probation.
A spokesman for the district attorney’s office declined to comment on the prior plea agreement or identify the dating app used in each attack.
The L.A. County public defender’s office, which last represented Prowell in 2021, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Prowell was scheduled to be arraigned Monday, but his hearing was delayed to Oct. 16th, according to a district attorney’s office spokesperson.
In August 2023, prosecutors said Prowell met up with Robert Gutierrez, 53, after again using a dating website to connect.
Gutierrez’s family reported him missing a week later and his body was never found, prosecutors said. But when Prowell was arrested last week, prosecutors said they found Gutierrez’s vehicle in his garage.
This year, prosecutors say Prowell also lured a 40-year-old man to meet him through the same dating website, after which he “bound the victim, stole his wallet and beat him with a baseball bat,” according to the news release. The man escaped, but Prowell chased after him in a car, running him over and breaking his leg.
Prosecutors could pursue the death penalty against Prowell, but a decision on whether to do so must be approved by a committee within the district attorney’s office.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
