A 44-year-old Ingwood man allegedly killed and robbed two men he met on a dating site and then savagely defeated the third, prosecutors said Monday.
Rockim Prowell is charged with two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and carjacking and burglary from 2021 to 2025, according to a criminal lawsuit released on Monday. In each case, Prowell encountered victims through online dating, Los Angeles County prosecutors said.
“Imagine these victims were deceived into thinking that they were meeting for a reason, just facing inexplicable violence, terror and horror.” Atty. Nathan Hochman said in a statement. “These are predatory behaviors that show complete disregard in life.”
In July 2021, Prowell met with 51-year-old Miguel Angel King after making a connection on the dating app, according to a press release released Monday by the District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors claimed Prowell shot King and stole his car, which was discovered a week later. Forensic evidence collected from vehicles links the killing, according to the District Attorney’s Office. The king’s body was found in the Angeles National Forest next month.
At the time of the king’s death, Prowell was awaiting multiple trials for theft and theft. He was arrested in May 2021 and he allegedly killed King two months before the District Attorney’s Office provided him with a defense agreement, court records show, putting him on probation.
A spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the previous plea agreement or to determine the dating app used in each attack.
The Los Angeles County Public Defender Office, which last represented Prowell in 2021, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to a spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office, Prowell was scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, but his hearing was postponed until October 16.
Prosecutors said in August 2023 that Prowell met with 53-year-old Robert Gutierrez after he connected with the dating website again.
Prosecutors said Gutierrez’s family reported that he was missing a week later and that his body was never found. But when Prowell was arrested last week, prosecutors said they found Gutierrez’s vehicle in his garage.
Prosecutors said this year, Prowell also tempted a 40-year-old man to meet him through the same dating website, and since then he “restrained the victim, stole the wallet and beat him with a baseball bat.” The man escaped, but Prowell chased him in a car, hit him and broke his leg.
Prosecutors can sentence Prowell to death, but the decision on whether to do so must be approved by a committee within the District Attorney’s Office.
