Michael Latt Killer Gets 35 Years To Life Sentence For Fatal 2023 Attack
This will do little to heal the wounds of loss, but Lady Justice may have brought some sense of relief today. The woman who fatally shot Michael Latt in November 2023 will be behind bars for decades and decades, a judge made clear Wednesday.
Charged with murder by authorities late last year, Jameelah Elena Michl was sentenced to 35 years to life. In his sentence L.A. Superior Court Judge Kerry White ordered Michl to serve her time in a California state prison. The odds of the 37-year-old Michl ever stepping outside the prison gates is pretty slim.
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The sentence is the maximum available to the judge under California law.
Arrested mere days after shooting and killing the beloved studio marketer and social justice advocate in his mid-Wilshire home, Michl has been in custody since November 27, 2023 when she was arrested at the scene of the crime. Held on a $3 million bail since then, Michl pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder, and one count of first-degree burglary on June 24.
Latt was “targeted” by Michl for “him for being friends with a woman she had been stalking,” the L.A. District Attorney’s office said at the time. The woman in question is A Thousand and One director A.V. Rockwell. Michl had been stalking and threatening Rockwell for months and the filmmaker had gotten a number of restraining orders against her.
Earlier in 2023, Latt posted a photo of himself, his mother and Rockwell online soon after A Thousand and One won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance that year.
The founder and CEO of Lead With Love and a communications and marketing advisor to the likes of Netflix, Ava DuVernay’s Array, Ryan Coogler, Warner Bros Pictures, Common, and Annapurna Pictures, Latt was shot at close range by a semi-automatic handgun as Michl forced her way into his home that November evening. Latt’s fiancée, Hannah Lovingood, was there at the time of the attack by Michl.
Latt, 33, passed away from his wounds soon afterwards at a local hospital.
“Today brings a measure of closure to a deeply painful chapter for Mr. Latt’s family, friends and our entire community,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement after sentencing Wednesday. “As a tireless advocate for social justice, Mr. Latt championed equality, justice and equity in our criminal legal system. Mr. Latt’s ability to uplift the community left an indelible mark. His legacy will continue to inspire us to strive for a more just and inclusive society.”
Widely mourned from all segments of Hollywood when news of his tragic death became known, Latt came from a family with deep ties to the industry. Latt’s brother is Franklin Latt, who is CAA’s head of talent and the representative of top names. Latt’s mother is Michelle Satter, who was honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at this year’s Governors Awards for her decades of work on behalf of the Sundance Institute.
Our prayers and thoughts are with Michael’s family today.
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