Meet Jillian Lauren – wife of Weezer bassist charged with attempted murder

Jillian describes herself as a "writer, storyteller, mom, rock-wife, and Los Angeleno, by way of Jersey", according to Motherhood Later.

She is a New York Times best-selling author for her memoir, Some Girls: My Life in a Harem – about her experiences in the harem of Prince Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei – and the novel Pretty.

She has also written the memoir, Everything You Ever Wanted, and writes essays and articles for the likes of The New York Times, The Paris Review, Vanity Fair, Los Angeles Magazine, Elle, and more.

Jillian is also a "true crime expert", according to her website, and in 2023, she released Behold the Monster: Facing America's Most Prolific Serial Killer, a "personal, haunting account of confronting serial killer Samuel Little, who confessed to committing 93 murders between 1970 and 2005.

Jillian and Scott – who married in 2005, two years before he joined Weezer – adopted their son, Tariku, from Ethiopia in 2009.

"My husband Scott and I had a long and circuitous road to parenting, including the whole painful infertility thing," she told Motherhood Later. "We eventually found the right path for us and adopted our son from Ethiopia."

Jillian revealed that Tariku suffers from PTSD and Sensory Integration Issues. "As a trauma survivor, my kid responds to every perceived danger as a threat to his very existence, and he fights it accordingly," she explained.

"It takes patient, consistent, fearless love to help these kids feel safe in the world, and as a result to begin to rewire their brains."

In 2016, Jillian revealed that she and Scott had adopted a second son, Jovanni. 

"This kid sparkles with joy and sweetness and resilience and mischief and creativity and curiosity and music and dancing and delight," she said in a post on her website.

Jillian confessed she had "a pretty wild pre-baby life" which included drug addiction and her "infamous years in the harem of the prince of Brunei".

Discussing how this shaped her path to parenthood, she explained: "On paper, I might not be considered the best candidate for motherhood.

"In our early years of parenting, I put a lot of pressure on myself to be very, very good in order to make up for my scandalous past. This was supposed to be my redemption story. 

"What I found instead is that being a good mother wasn't so much about transcending my past but rather about drawing from my entire range of experiences and learning to embrace the imperfections."

Jillian was charged with attempted murder after she allegedly pointed a gun at a man in her neighborhood who was suspected of a hit-and-run on April 8, 2025.

The unnamed man and two other suspects were involved in a three-car crash on the 134 Freeway around 3 pm before they all fled the scene.

One of the alleged suspects ended up on Jillian's street and was hiding from police by attempting to blend into the neighborhood by stripping down to his underwear and jumping into a swimming pool, as well as watering the property's plants.

According to local reports, Jillian exited her Eagle Rock home and pointed the gun at the suspect. Officers ordered her "to drop the handgun numerous times; however, she refused", according to a LAPD press release. 

The police claim Jillian pointed her gun at officers, which is when one fired at her, reportedly hitting her in the shoulder.

She ran back into her home before exiting a short time later with her babysitter. 

Both Jillian and the babysitter were taken into custody, and Jillian was transported to a local hospital where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

The women were later released from police custody, although the author was absentee booked on suspicion of attempted murder. 

She was charged early Wednesday with attempted murder, with bail set at $1 million, according to the public arrest record. She was released on bond Wednesday night.