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The Murder Across the Street
On Tuesday, November 28 at 6:07 pm, a 36-year old woman named Jameelah Elena Michl knocked on an apartment door in midtown Los Angeles. The apartment belonged to Michael Latt, a social justice advocate who worked in the film industry. Latt’s fiance opened the door. Michl said she was a friend of Latt and wanted to give him a book. Michl then burst past Latt’s fiance into the apartment and found Latt in the living room. She pointed a semi-automatic handgun at Latt and fired several shots. One shot hit Latt in the head, another in the chest. Latt’s fiance ran for help. While a neighbor called 911, Michl remained in the apartment until police arrived. She was arrested without incident while paramedics tried to save Latt. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The murder occurred directly across the street from where I live. I didn’t learn about it until the following evening when I came home to find several news vans on the street. A KTLA reporter told me about the murder then pointed to the nice looking building I’d walked past hundreds of times. I didn’t know Latt or his fiance. But I immediately felt sickened. The fact someone was killed 200 feet from where I live filled me with anxiety.
My wife and I Googled the incident. The LA Times posted a front page article with several definitive conclusions. The murder was “random.” The victim “did not know” the murderer. The…
