Man kills 2 men he met on online dating app, California officials say. ‘Terror’
A man is accused of killing two men in separate “predatory acts” after California prosecutors say he met them through an online dating website.
Rockim Prowell, 34, of Inglewood, was charged with multiple counts, including murder, in the slayings of two men in 2021 and 2023, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a Sept. 8 news release.
Attorney information for Prowell was not immediately available.
First slaying
Prowell met with 51-year-old Miguel Angel King on July 20, 2021, after prosecutors say the men chatted over an online dating app.
Prowell fatally shot King, then stole his car, according to prosecutors.
When investigators found King’s car over a week later several miles away from where Prowell lived, they also found DNA evidence inside that tied Prowell to King’s death, according to prosecutors.
Nearly a month after the fatal shooting, King’s body was found in Angeles National Forest, prosecutors said.
Second slaying
Prowell met another man, Robert Gutierrez, from an online dating site about a mile from his home on Aug. 21, 2023, prosecutors said.
The 53-year-old’s family reported him missing two days later, prosecutors said.
When Prowell was arrested last week, prosecutors said investigators found Gutierrez’s car in his garage.
Investigators also found other evidence that linked Prowell to Gutierrez’s slaying, prosecutors said.
Gutierrez’s body, however, has not been found, according to prosecutors.
Third incident
Prowell spoke to a third man over the online dating app, and the pair met about 4 miles from Prowell’s home on Feb. 22, 2025, prosecutors said.
Prowell is accused of binding the 40-year-old man and beating him with a baseball bat, prosecutors said.
After the man escaped, prosecutors said Prowell chased him in his car and hit him, leaving the man with a broken leg.
‘The terror and horror’
Prowell is on probation in connection with a series of burglaries in the Beverly Hills and Los Angeles areas that happened between 2019 and 2021, according to prosecutors.
In addition to murder, Prowell was also charged with “one count of attempted murder, two counts each of carjacking and second-degree burglary and one count of assault with a deadly weapon,” prosecutors said.
“Imagine the terror and horror these victims felt after being duped into believing they were meeting for one reason, only to face inexplicable violence,” District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in the release. “These were predatory acts that showed a total disregard of life.”
A district attorney spokesperson said Prowell did not enter a plea at his Sept. 8 arraignment, which was continued to Oct. 16.
Prowell faces the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole if he is convicted as charged, prosecutors said.
