Prosecutors Say He Used Dating App to Kill — and Was Caught After Torture Survivor's Daring Escape By Nicole Acosta

A California man is accused of killing two men he met on a dating app and torturing a third, who ultimately escaped, authorities said.

Rockim Prowell, 34, has been charged with two counts of murder with the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders in connection with the deaths of two men he met on an unspecified dating app in 2021 and 2023, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office announced in a statement on Monday, Sept. 8.

Prosecutors allege Prowell first met Miguel Angel King, 51, on July 20, 2021, and fatally shot him before fleeing in his car. King’s car was found more than a week later several miles from Prowell’s Inglewood home, and King’s remains were found on Aug. 14, 2021 in Angeles National Forest. Forensic evidence recovered from the vehicle linked Prowell to the slaying, prosecutors claimed.

On Aug. 21, 2023, Prowell and 53-year-old Robert Gutierrez agreed to meet at a location about a mile from Prowell’s home. Two days later, Gutierrez’s family reported him missing and his body still has not been found, prosecutors said.

However, prosecutors believe there is enough evidence to suggest Prowell killed Gutierrez, noting the discovery of Gutierrez’s car in Prowell’s garage when he was arrested last week, per the statement.

Earlier this year, on Feb. 22, Prowell allegedly lured a third man he met on a dating app to a spot about four miles from where he lived, prosecutors said.

“Prowell allegedly bound the victim, stole his wallet and beat him with a baseball bat,” the statement reads. “The victim managed to escape but Prowell chased the man in a vehicle, striking him and breaking his leg.”

At the time of his arrest, Prowell was on probation in two separate cases for a series of burglaries he committed in the Beverly Hills and Los Angeles areas between 2019 and 2021, prosecutors said.

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During those burglaries, police claimed Prowell, who is Black, wore a wig and a face mask depicting someone of a different skin tone, local Fox 11 reported. Police allegedly found the mask in Prowell’s car after pulling him over, per the report.

Prowell is also facing 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.

He was expected to be arraigned Monday at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center. It’s unclear if he has entered a plea or retained an attorney to speak on his behalf. Online inmate records show he is being held on $2 million bail.

If convicted as charged, Prowell faces the death penalty or life in state prison without the possibility of parole, 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,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in the statement.

“These were predatory acts that showed a total disregard of life,” Hochman added. “This suspect has now been stopped in his tracks because of the diligent and tenacious work done by investigators at both the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.”