A Killer Targeted Men Using Grindr, Police Say. One Survived To Help Catch Him - Beritaja

When his day pulled retired handcuffs, the man thought it was for consensual sex.

He submitted to having his wrists cuffed and ankles bound together. Then the different man pulled retired a shot bat.

The Feb. 22 incident, recounted successful a detective’s affidavit, began connected Grindr, a hookup app for cheery men. It ended pinch the handcuffed man severely injured — but alive.

With his cooperation, detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department said, they identified his alleged assailant arsenic Rockim Prowell, 34, and suspected it wasn’t the first clip he’d lured a unfortunate utilizing Grindr.

Prowell was charged successful September pinch sidesplitting 2 men whose deaths had gone unsolved for years, authorities said.

“We needed to link the dots,” said Det. Ray Lugo of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Prowell has yet to participate a plea to charges of murder, attempted murder, carjacking, robbery, burglary and assault. His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Carlos Bido, didn’t return a petition for comment.

The way of grounds that led detectives to Prowell began successful 2021, authorities say, erstwhile a joined begetter of 5 near location astatine 1 a.m. for a day pinch a man he’d met online.

Inglewood constabulary officers recovered Miguel Angel King’s achromatic Toyota CHR parked connected Queen Street the day of July 22, 2021. The vehicle’s hatchback area, Lugo said, was covered successful blood.

King, 51, had been reported missing by his woman and children days earlier, Lugo said.

A autochthonal of Tijuana who came to Los Angeles arsenic a child, King raised 5 children, including 3 girls he adopted from foster care, said his daughter, Angela King. He worked hard, moving a child-care business and helping his sister pinch a burger restaurant, she said.

As the family waited for news, Angela King said she tried to person herself that her begetter was conscionable taking an unannounced vacation.

“I didn’t cognize what to think,” she recalled. “I was scared. My begetter was location each azygous night, each azygous day.”

Lugo and his partner, Det. Leo Sanchez, reviewed King’s telephone information and learned it was past progressive adjacent a lagoon successful Playa del Rey. Sheriff’s divers searched the h2o but recovered nothing.

On Aug. 14, 2021, constabulary discovered a decomposed assemblage successful the Angeles National Forest supra Glendora, Lugo said. Two weeks later, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner identified the remains arsenic King’s. The origin of decease was a azygous gunshot to the head.

Then the lawsuit went cold.

Robert Gutierrez near location successful South Los Angeles the evening of Aug. 21, 2023, an LAPD detective wrote successful a hunt warrant affidavit. He told his nephew he was gathering personification he’d encountered connected Grindr.

Launched successful 2009, Grindr is now a publically traded institution that claims much than 14 cardinal users successful 190 countries and territories.

In a written statement, a Grindr spokesperson said the institution cooperates pinch rule enforcement and encourages group to usage its video calling characteristic to verify connections for information earlier gathering successful person.

“We return our domiciled arsenic a connector for the queer organization earnestly and activity diligently to supply a safe situation for our users,” the spokesperson said.

Police about the world person investigated homicides wherever killers met their victims connected Grindr. In London, authorities investigated the deaths of 4 men successful 2014 and 2015 who were drugged, raped and killed by a fishy they’d met connected Grindr, the BBC reported.

In 2023, a Scottish begetter of 2 was killed by a 19-year-old he’d met connected Grindr. Only aft Paul Taylor’s decease did his family study of his double life.

“I will ne'er person the opportunity to perceive from Paul about his manner choices,” his widow told a court, according to the BBC, “but I do not judge him.”

Two days aft Gutierrez near home, his nephew reported him missing.

According to a hunt warrant affidavit, LAPD detectives searched impound logs and metropolis licence sheet readers for Gutierrez’s achromatic Infiniti FX35, uncovering nothing. His slope records showed personification had utilized his in installments paper to salary the $132.60 monthly rent for a retention portion successful San Bernardino.

When detectives sewage a tribunal bid to hunt Gutierrez’s Grindr account, they saw he’d made plans to meet personification astatine an flat building connected Imperial Highway successful Inglewood, according to the affidavit.

The man’s name: Rockim Lee Prowell.

Prowell had a humble criminal record, but thing to bespeak violence. Detectives from the Beverly Hills Police Department arrested him successful 2021 for burglary and theft, according to a probation report.

The erstwhile year, constabulary were alerted to an intruder astatine a vacant five-bedroom house. They recovered a shattered sliding solid doorway and 2 televisions missing, the probation study said. In April 2021, a existent property supplier showing a $19-million, 7,500-square-foot location arrived to find the spot burglarized and 3 televisions stolen, according to the report.

From surveillance footage, detectives identified the suspect’s car arsenic a achromatic Toyota Prius. In the video, the fishy appeared to beryllium a achromatic man pinch agelong curly brownish hair, according to a rule enforcement root who wasn’t authorized to talk the lawsuit publically and requested anonymity.

Two weeks later, Beverly Hills officers spotted the Prius astatine Lexington Road and Beverly Drive, the probation study said. The car was outfitted pinch a stolen licence plate.

Prowell was down the wheel. Inside the car, detectives recovered a brunette wig and a rubber disguise resembling a achromatic antheral that the rule enforcement root said looked realistic capable to beryllium “movie quality.”

According to the probation report, Prowell, who is Black, admitted burglarizing the houses successful Beverly Hills. He was bum and had “fallen connected reliable times,” he said.

He looked up properties that were listed for sale, knowing they’d beryllium vacant, and burglarized them for televisions that he sold online, Prowell told police. With his inheritance successful construction, he said he knew that turning disconnected the homes’ circuit breakers would disable their surveillance systems.

The rule enforcement charismatic said Prowell was linked to burglaries successful North Hollywood, Van Nuys, West L.A., Santa Monica, South Pasadena and Newport Beach, but location is nary grounds of him being charged for those alleged crimes.

Charged pinch burglary, expansive theft and vandalism for the Beverly Hills break-ins, Prowell was released connected bail May 6, 2021. He pleaded nary title 4 months later to 2 counts of burglary and 1 count of expansive theft.

When it came to the condemnation that Prowell would receive, a probation serviceman wrote that his “callous and premeditated” crimes would person continued if he hadn’t been caught. But pinch nary anterior criminal history, Prowell was eligible for probation.

The judge agreed pinch the officer’s proposal of nary jailhouse time, sentencing Prowell to 2 years’ probation.

By then, authorities allege, Prowell had already killed.

Around 3 a.m. connected Feb. 22, 2025, LAPD officers raced to 59th Place successful South L.A., wherever they’d been dispatched by a study of “unknown trouble,” a detective wrote successful a hunt warrant affidavit.

They recovered a 40-year-old man pinch a surgery leg, according to the affidavit and a connection by the L.A. County territory attorney. The man, who is not named successful the affidavit, told the officers a harrowing story.

After messaging for months connected Grindr, he and a man made plans to meet for the first time. His date, whose sanction he didn’t know, sent him an address. When he arrived, the man said he allowed himself to beryllium handcuffed and person his ankles bound, reasoning they were going to person consensual sex.

Instead, his day pepper-sprayed him, hit him pinch a metallic bat and demanded the PIN to his slope cards, he told police. After covering his eyes pinch a blindfold, gagging him pinch a sock and taping his rima shut, the fishy dragged the man to a car, threatening to put him successful the trunk.

The man said he managed to get his legs free and ran retired the car shed door, screaming.

The fishy — identified by constabulary arsenic Prowell — started the car and collapsed into the man, breaking his leg. He sewage retired of the car and tried to seduce the unfortunate to travel backmost inside, moreover removing the handcuffs, the affidavit said.

Instead, the unfortunate took disconnected moving and asked a neighbour to telephone the police. By the clip the officers arrived, the fishy alleged to beryllium Prowell had vanished.

The unfortunate recalled his date’s Grindr username, and detectives served a hunt warrant connected the company, tribunal records show.

It’s unclear really detectives identified Prowell arsenic the suspect, but Lugo said the surviving victim’s relationship was the break authorities needed.

“Our lawsuit was a batch of circumstantial evidence,” Lugo said.

When detectives searched a location associated pinch Prowell successful Inglewood, they recovered Gutierrez’s Infiniti successful the garage, according to a connection from the L.A. County territory attorney’s office. His assemblage has still not been found.

Last month, prosecutors charged Prowell pinch murdering King and Gutierrez and attempting to termination the 3rd unfortunate who described being bound, assaulted and deed pinch a car.

If convicted, Prowell faces life successful situation without parole aliases the decease penalty, prosecutors said successful a statement. The territory attorney’s agency has yet to make a determination whether to activity superior punishment.

Angela King said she wanted her begetter to beryllium known for much than really he died.

She cited the Gospel of Matthew: “Judge not, that you beryllium not judged. For pinch the judgement you pronounce you will beryllium judged, and pinch the measurement you usage it will beryllium measured to you.”