A woman broke into a home of a Los Angeles entertainment consultant and killed him because he was friends with a movie director she was stalking, according to prosecutors.
Jameelah Elena Michl, 36, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Michael Latt at his home in the Mid-Wilshire area of Los Angeles, District Attorney’s Office said in a press release.
Michl allegedly knocked on the door of Latt’s home and then forced her way inside once someone inside opened the door. Michl then fired with a semi-automatic handgun, hitting Latt. Paramedics took Latt to the hospital where he died.
The Associated Press, citing court documents, reported director A.V. Rockwell filed a restraining order against Michl in June. Michl had served as an extra in Rockwell’s award-winning film “A Thousand And One.” Michl allegedly starting writing disconcerting letters after Rockwell rejected her overtures for a personal relationship. The now-accused murderer would allegedly deliver the handwritten letters to Rockwell’s home.
“My Glock is loaded as I write this,” Michl allegedly wrote in one letter. “One pull of the trigger and I’ll be free.”
Michael Latt, inset, was shot and killed at his Los Angeles home by an intruder on Monday night, according to police. Jameelah Elena Michl is facing a murder charge, cops say. (Inset: Michael Latt Instagram; Scene: KTLA/YouTube)
Rockwell also alleged that Michl approached her at public events, repeatedly called her cell phone and sent at least five “long and threatening” emails and texts.
“As you continue to bask in the glory of ‘A Thousand and One,’ l want you to remember, and not forget all the hell that people went through to help bring your masterpiece to the screen,” Michl allegedly wrote in an April 29 email.
Latt’s family posted a statement on his Instagram page, saying he “fell victim to a tragic act of violence.”
“Our family, Michael’s extraordinary friends and colleagues are shattered by the profound grief of losing our Michael,” the statement said. “He devoted his career to supporting others, championing organizations that raised up women and artists of color, along with leveraging storytelling, art and various mediums to create enduring change and instill communities with hope, love and inspiration. Michael will never be forgotten and we can all carry on his legacy of love, compassion and fierce dedication to positive and lasting change.”
As Law&Crime previously reported, cops say she lived in her car, which has been taken in for processing.
The shooting left neighbors stunned.
“I’m heartbroken, I’m shocked,” Avarie Shevin, Latt’s next-door neighbor, told CBS affiliate KTLA. “I was looking out my window and saw a female standing in the walkway with her hands up and they took her into custody.”
Shevin described Latt as a “super sweet guy” who lived in the home with his girlfriend along with their dog and cat.
“I can’t wrap my brain around what could’ve happened that caused him to be shot and killed. I keep picturing his face and I cannot believe he has passed,” she said.
Latt founded the charity Lead With Love which “harnesses the power of art to spark change, bring love, hope and healing to communities and empower others,” its Instagram page says. The charity helped organize events such as the 2017 “Hope & Redemption Tour” where the rapper Common performed concerts for inmates at more than 10 California prisons. From 2016-2020, Latt helped organize the MLK Now events on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Harlem’s Riverside Church that featured speakers such as Lupita Nyong’o, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Michael B. Jordan.
Latt talked about the importance of the prison tour in a 2019 interview with Forbes.
“Storytelling is imperative to creating lasting meaningful reform. Through stories and art, we can showcase incarcerated and formerly incarcerated men and women’s humanity, shine a light on injustices in the system and shift the narrative about how we talk about the issues,” Latt told the publication. “In order to change public policy, we have to change public perception.”
According to the article, he also worked on the marketing team that promoted the 2013 movie Fruitvale Station starring Jordan as Oscar Grant III, a Black man who was killed by police officer Johannes Mehserle in 2009 on a subway platform in Oakland, California.
“Working on Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station opened my eyes up to how prevalent and insidious white supremacy is in our country and also showed me the potent power of storytelling to change hearts and minds,” Latt told Forbes.
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