A man from California is accused of murdering two men who met through an appointment application and trying to kill a third in what prosecutors described as acts of “inexplicable” and “predators” violence.
Rockim Prowell, 34, of Inglewood, has been accused of two positions of murder for the death of men’s prosecutors, they say he met through a nameless appointment application in 2021 and 2023.
The third alleged victim also met with the suspect through the same appointment application in February, prosecutors said. After being tied and beaten with a baseball bat, the man managed to escape, police said.
“Imagine the terror and horror that these victims felt after being deceived to believe that they met for a reason, only to face an inexplicable violence,” said Los Angeles County District prosecutor, Nathan Hochman, in a statement Monday announcing the charges. “These were predatory acts that showed a total contempt of life. This suspect has now been stopped in dry due to the diligent and tenacious work carried out by investigators both in the Los Angeles Police Department and in the department of the Sheriff of the Los Angeles County.”
The stolen vehicles of the two murder victims were linked to Prowell, according to prosecutors, who said the suspect is a series thief.
One of the victims, Miguel Angel King, 51, met with Prowell on July 20, 2021, after connecting with the suspect in the appointment application, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors claim that Prowell murdered King, then stole the victim’s vehicle, which was found more than a week later, several miles from Prowell’s house.
“The forensic evidence recovered from the vehicle linked Prowell with the murder,” said the district prosecutor’s office.
King’s remains were ultimately found in the National Forest of Angels in August 2021, prosecutors said.
Two years later, on August 21, 2023, prosecutors said Prowell agreed to meet with the second victim of murder, Robert Gutiérrez, 53, a mile from the suspect’s house after interacting through the appointment application. Gutiérrez’s family informed him that he disappeared two days later, and his body was never found, prosecutors said.
On February 22, prosecutors say that Prowell met with a 40 -year -old man with whom he had connected through the appointment application about four miles from the suspect’s house.
“Prowell supposedly tied the victim, stole her wallet and hit him with a baseball bat,” said the district prosecutor’s office. “The victim managed to escape, but Prowell pursued man in a vehicle, hitting and breaking him.”
When Prowell was arrested last week, they found Gutierrez’s car in his garage, prosecutors said.
Prowell has been accused of two positions of murder with the accusation of special circumstances of multiple murders, as well as a charge of murder attempt, two charges of car theft and second degree theft and one of the assault accounts with a mortal weapon.
It is detained with a bail of $ 2 million, as shown in the online jail records. It is scheduled to be prosecuted on Monday. It is not clear if you have a lawyer right now.
If he is convicted as accused, he faces death or life in state prison without the possibility of probation. A decision on whether to seek the death penalty will be taken at a later date, said the Office of the District Prosecutor.
Prosecutors said the suspect is currently on probation for robberies he committed in the areas of Beverly Hills and Los Angeles between 2019 and 2021.
Prowell was arrested in May 2021 in relation to a series of robberies in Beverly Hills. The police said at that time that he had a Prosthetic mask With a wig during crimes.
