The woman charged with fatally shooting social justice advocate Michael Latt in his home earlier this week had been accused of stalking and threatening a Hollywood film director, according to court documents reviewed by The Times.
Jameelah Michl, who was arrested and charged in Latt’s killing, previously had a restraining order against her filed by film director A.V. Rockwell, who said in court filings that Michl worked as an extra in one of her films, “A Thousand And One.” After production wrapped, Michl allegedly began to stalk Rockwell.
Rockwell said in court documents that after she did not pursue a personal relationship with Michl, the former employee hand-delivered distressing letters to the director’s home threatening self-harm.
“My Glock is loaded as I write this,” said one letter, according to the documents. “One pull of the trigger and I’ll be free.”
The documents, filed as part of a request for a restraining order, were submitted to the court in June.
On Nov. 27, Michl shot and killed Latt in his home for “being friends with a woman she had been stalking,” according to Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón. Gascón did not name the director as the stalking victim.
Michl had worked as a background actor and as a stand-in for the lead actress on “A Thousand And One,” the film directed by Rockwell. The film won the grand jury prize at Sundance in 2023.
Latt and Rockwell both attended Sundance in 2023 and took photos together. Latt posted the photo on Instagram with the caption, “Congratulations to @AVRockwell on your incredible feature film directorial debut, A Thousand and One.”
After shooting wrapped, Michl sent a gift box to Rockwell, according to court documents.
“Just wanted to ask you to pass on my congrats to AV!!!” Michl wrote in a January email to another staff member on the show. “I know l probably went a little overboard with the gift box I sent her LOL. But l’m hoping now after all the rave reviews and people telling her how much the film meant to them that she sees why I went all out and knows how incredible she is.”
Michl continued sending follow-up emails to Rockwell throughout the year, though Rockwell does not appear to have responded. Often Michl wrote that it was the final time she would be writing.
The emails began with extreme congratulations, but grew progressively more frustrated as time went on.
“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 wrote in an April 29 email.
Days later, she wrote again threatening suicide.
“I’m taking my Glock into Griffith Park and not coming out,” she said in a May 3 email.
Rockwell got the restraining order reissued on numerous occasions, according to court documents. She declined to comment when reached by The Times.
Police were contacted around 6 p.m. Monday about a shooting at Latt’s residence in the 900 block of Alandele Avenue. Officers arrived to find him with a gunshot wound to his head. He was transported to a hospital, where he died of his injuries.
A preliminary investigation found Latt, 33, was shot by a woman who had entered his home without his permission. Michl, 36, was arrested on suspicion of murder at the scene. She was taken into custody by responding officers, and is currently being held in lieu of $3-million bail.
Michl was described by law enforcement as a person living in her vehicle, which was parked nearby and removed as evidence by police.
Latt did not know his assailant, and initial information indicated she was not given access to the home, law enforcement sources told The Times.
Latt was the chief executive of Lead With Love, an entertainment marketing consulting firm he founded in 2019 with an emphasis on elevating Black creatives and other underrepresented voices in Hollywood. He was the son of film producer David Latt and Michelle Satter, the founding senior director at the Sundance Institute. His brother, Franklin Latt, is an agent at CAA.
The woman charged with fatally shooting social justice advocate Michael Latt in his home earlier this week had been accused of stalking and threatening a Hollywood film director, according to court documents reviewed by The Times.
Jameelah Michl, who was arrested and charged in Latt’s killing, previously had a restraining order against her filed by film director A.V. Rockwell, who said in court filings that Michl worked as an extra in one of her films, “A Thousand And One.” After production wrapped, Michl allegedly began to stalk Rockwell.
Rockwell said in court documents that after she did not pursue a personal relationship with Michl, the former employee hand-delivered distressing letters to the director’s home threatening self-harm.
“My Glock is loaded as I write this,” said one letter, according to the documents. “One pull of the trigger and I’ll be free.”
The documents, filed as part of a request for a restraining order, were submitted to the court in June.
On Nov. 27, Michl shot and killed Latt in his home for “being friends with a woman she had been stalking,” according to Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón. Gascón did not name the director as the stalking victim.
Michl had worked as a background actor and as a stand-in for the lead actress on “A Thousand And One,” the film directed by Rockwell. The film won the grand jury prize at Sundance in 2023.
Latt and Rockwell both attended Sundance in 2023 and took photos together. Latt posted the photo on Instagram with the caption, “Congratulations to @AVRockwell on your incredible feature film directorial debut, A Thousand and One.”
After shooting wrapped, Michl sent a gift box to Rockwell, according to court documents.
“Just wanted to ask you to pass on my congrats to AV!!!” Michl wrote in a January email to another staff member on the show. “I know l probably went a little overboard with the gift box I sent her LOL. But l’m hoping now after all the rave reviews and people telling her how much the film meant to them that she sees why I went all out and knows how incredible she is.”
Michl continued sending follow-up emails to Rockwell throughout the year, though Rockwell does not appear to have responded. Often Michl wrote that it was the final time she would be writing.
The emails began with extreme congratulations, but grew progressively more frustrated as time went on.
“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 wrote in an April 29 email.
Days later, she wrote again threatening suicide.
“I’m taking my Glock into Griffith Park and not coming out,” she said in a May 3 email.
Rockwell got the restraining order reissued on numerous occasions, according to court documents. She declined to comment when reached by The Times.
Police were contacted around 6 p.m. Monday about a shooting at Latt’s residence in the 900 block of Alandele Avenue. Officers arrived to find him with a gunshot wound to his head. He was transported to a hospital, where he died of his injuries.
A preliminary investigation found Latt, 33, was shot by a woman who had entered his home without his permission. Michl, 36, was arrested on suspicion of murder at the scene. She was taken into custody by responding officers, and is currently being held in lieu of $3-million bail.
Michl was described by law enforcement as a person living in her vehicle, which was parked nearby and removed as evidence by police.
Latt did not know his assailant, and initial information indicated she was not given access to the home, law enforcement sources told The Times.
Latt was the chief executive of Lead With Love, an entertainment marketing consulting firm he founded in 2019 with an emphasis on elevating Black creatives and other underrepresented voices in Hollywood. He was the son of film producer David Latt and Michelle Satter, the founding senior director at the Sundance Institute. His brother, Franklin Latt, is an agent at CAA.