November 12, 2023 • 81 mins
Send us a text and let us know what you think about the episode!
Imagine the sense of betrayal when the very institution you trust to keep you safe fails at doing so, leading to the most disastrous outcome. This is the heartbreaking reality we face as we uncover the tragic story of Lauren McCluskey. As we peel back the layers of this sorrowful tale, we confront the harsh issues of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and suicide. We expose the shocking negligence in the handling of Lauren’s case by the University Police and the disturbing oversight in Sean Fields' parole status.
We are compelled to question the efficacy of the security measures at educational institutions, as we dive into the ripple effects of Lauren's demise - the outrage, the controversy, and the legal ramifications that followed. We scrutinize the University of Utah's response to the incident, the lawsuit filed by Lauren's parents, and the urgent call for reform in campus security. As we navigate these turbulent waters, we are in awe of the fortitude and resilience shown by Lauren's parents in their relentless pursuit of justice.
This episode is more than just recounting a tale of loss and justice. It is an exploration of the systemic failures in our society and a call for immediate reform. We delve into the aftermath of the tragedy, the sweeping changes demanded, and the legacy that Lauren leaves behind. Join us for this candid conversation- a testament to the enduring strength of the human spirit, even in the face of unbearable pain and loss.
Source Material:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GB6UYPRW-YtMdC3kz72WY1mYAYGn0f90UE5hkwxJmus/edit?usp=sharing
Resources for Victims of Domestic Violence:
www.thehotline.org
fadv.org
1-800-799-7233 (SAFE)
or text "START" to 88788
Thanks for being a loyal Crime Connoisseur! Enjoy your free 30-Day Audible Trial Membership
Discover your dog's DNA with a simple cheek swab for their genetic testing.
BoxDog and BoxCat are premium customizable subscription boxes for dogs and cats.
Thanks for being a loyal Crime Connoisseur! Enjoy your free 30-Day Audible Trial Membership
Your cat deserves better. Have fresh, human-grade meals for your cat straight to your door each month.
Free 30-Day Audible Trial MembershipThanks for being a loyal Crime Connoisseur! Enjoy your free 30-Day Audible Trial Membership
Smalls
Your cat deserve better. Have fresh, human-grade meals for your cat straight to your door each month
Wisdom Panel
Discover your dog's DNA with a simple cheek swab for their genetic testing.
BoxDog
BoxDog and BoxCat are premium customizable subscription box for dogs and cats.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/crimeconnoisseurs
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey all my fellow crime connoisseurs, I'm your
host, grace D, and before we getstarted with today's episode, I
just want to apologize for thedelay that it's been in getting
this out to you.
There are some things going onin my personal life right now
that I've really had to justtake a step back and do what is
necessary for myself, and Ithink that's very important for
(00:21):
everyone to do.
So I do apologize and I dopromise to make a much better
attempt in the future to nothave it be the period in time
that it was, and that I'll bemore forward with you guys.
So when I say like, hey, I needa break, we're going to take a
little hiatus, you know we'llhave new episodes coming back
(00:43):
this week.
I'm going to be more diligentwith that.
So, with that being said, Istarted doing this episode, and
it was back in October.
Now, most people know thatOctober is breast cancer
awareness month, but did youknow that it's also domestic
violence awareness month?
So in this week's case, we'regoing to be covering one.
(01:04):
One in four women and one innine men are victims of domestic
violence, and between the agesof 16 to 24 are the highest
rates of intimate partnerviolence.
Now that's not to say that itcan't happen at any age.
Today's case is a long one, butI didn't want to make you guys
wait on a part two by breakingit up.
But before we begin I want togive everyone a massive trigger
(01:29):
warning.
Topics that will be covered inthis case include domestic
violence, sexual abuse andsuicide.
Listener, discretion is advised.
A young woman who's a starathlete goes away to college at
a university that prides itselfon saying they are the safest
school around.
Unfortunately, that seemed tobe all smoke and mirrors for
(01:52):
this young woman.
This is quickly spiraled out ofcontrol from top athlete and
student to noticeable changes inappearance and behavior.
This is the case of LaurenMcCluskey.
Lauren McCluskey was born inBerkeley, california, on
(02:41):
February 12, 1997.
Her parents, jill and MatthewMcCluskey, both joined
Washington State University asprofessors in 1998 and the
family moved to PullmanWashington.
She was bright, sensitive andvery active from an early age.
She fearlessly climbed treesand climbing walls.
Lauren entered her first JuniorOlympic Association track meet
(03:05):
at eight years old and set theJunior Olympic records in the
high jump, long jump and 400meter run.
At age nine she was told thatif she qualified for Nationals
she could go and, to no surpriseto those who knew her, she
qualified for Nationals in thenine to ten year old age group.
She continued to competenationally in the high jump,
(03:27):
hurdles and multi-events,earning USA Track and Field
All-American Top 8 19 times andsetting many USA Track and Field
Association youth records, 12of which still stand, and the
Junior Under 20 Associationrecord for the Hepathalon.
Being a HEPTA athlete meantthat Lauren competed in seven
(03:50):
events.
As she competed nationally, shemade friends with athletes,
their families and coachesacross the United States.
As a high school freshman, shewas Washington State High School
Champion in high jump andsecond in the 100 meter hurdles.
In her sophomore year she highjumped five foot six inches
(04:10):
before pulling her hamstring.
She spent her junior yeartraining at Spire, attending
Andrews Osborne Academy in Ohioand returning to Pullman for her
senior year of high school.
At the 2015 Washington StateHigh School Meet, she qualified
in four events, scoring in three, helping her team place third
(04:32):
overall in the state.
Lauren set the Pullman Highrecord for the 100 meter hurdles
.
That year she placed ninth atthe US Junior Under 20
Championships in the Hepathalon.
Lauren graduated from PullmanHigh in 2016 with honors and
accepted a track and fieldscholarship at the University of
(04:55):
Utah U of U, as it's oftenreferred to to compete in the
PAC-12 conference At Utah.
She competed in multi-eventsand high jump.
She was a loyal youth androoted for them with such spirit
.
She earned PAC-12 HonorableMention and MPSF All Academic
(05:17):
Awards and is tenth on the AllTime Performance List for the
youths in the Patathlon.
Life in Salt Lake was anadjustment for Lauren.
Salt Lake City was a muchlarger city than when she grew
up in Pullman's quiet small town.
As time went on, laurenblossomed.
She had busy and fun academic,athletic and social routines.
(05:41):
By the fall of her senior year,she was a model student athlete
.
Lauren had a 3.77 GPA andapplied to graduate in the
spring of 2019 with a Bachelor'sof Science degree in
communications.
On September 2, 2018, laurenMcCluskey and her friend Alex,
(06:02):
her freshman roommate, went tothe London Bell, a Salt Lake
City bar.
Lauren met 28-year-old SeanFields, who worked there as a
bouncer.
He was described as a huge,muscular but like a football
player type guy.
The place was filling up, butthe girls found a table in the
back.
Sean stopped by several timesto talk.
(06:24):
According to Alex, somethingwas up with Lauren that night
she didn't seem like herself.
Her shy intensity wasn't there.
Alex found Sean abrasive, butshe could understand why other
people found him charming andwhy Lauren was attracted to him.
Around midnight, when Alex andLauren were ready to leave,
(06:46):
lauren wrote her phone number ona napkin to give to Sean.
If they ran into each other,the place was so packed that
they were sure they wouldn't seehim.
They pushed through the crowdtoward the door, lauren leading
the way, and there he was.
Lauren gave him the napkin andran ahead of Alex.
As if half-panicked at her ownboldness, sean began texting
(07:08):
Lauren later that night Atchurch.
The next morning Lauren toldAlex that she and Sean were
going on a date.
Later that day, shortly afterLauren and Sean began dating, he
often visited Lauren at herresidence hall and quickly built
friendships with the otherstudents.
A few weeks after they starteddating, sean took Lauren pistol
(07:30):
shooting with him and hisfriends.
Unfortunately, sean becamecontrolling of Lauren, wanting
to know where she was and whoshe was with.
He would get angry if shedidn't answer his phone calls or
respond to his text messagesright away.
Lauren told her friends it wasbecause his ex-girlfriend had
cheated on him and she needed toearn his trust.
(07:52):
On September 26, lauren calledtwo of her friends.
She said Sean wouldn't let herhang out with friends.
They felt that she didn't soundright and noticed that her
physical appearance had began tochange that week.
They believed that she wasbeing taken advantage of by Sean
.
Four days later, on September30, two of Lauren's friends told
(08:16):
staff at the U of U dorms thatthey were scared about Sean's
control over her, about how hetalked about guns and often
stayed in her room.
This was a great move by herfriends for recognizing the red
flags in the relationship andhow they attempted to get help
for their friend the best waythat they knew how and reported
(08:36):
him to the university staff.
That report and others tohousing officials in the days
that followed were not passed tocampus police or the campus
behavioral team, who may havebeen able to intervene.
Housing officials were awarethat people who knew Lauren were
especially concerned that shecould be hurt, yet their focus
(08:58):
remained on whether a housingpolicy violation had occurred.
When friend and head RA DiamondJackson was informed by
Lauren's friends of theirconcerns, including Sean wanting
Lauren to get a gun and hisdemanding controlling behavior,
diamond informed her supervisorto figure out what next steps
should be taken.
(09:19):
Diamond emailed the supervisoron October 2, 2018 with the
following concerns Lauren may bein a harmful relationship, a
non-resident boyfriend has beenstaying with Lauren and the
roommate, the boyfriend may begetting a gun to keep with her
and that the boyfriend may betracking Lauren.
(09:40):
Lauren is not taking care ofherself, and two of Lauren's
friends came forward with theinformation and are concerned
for Lauren's safety.
A few days later, lauren learnedSean's real identity.
She had seen her boyfriend's IDcard, whose real name was
Melvin Sean Rowlands.
His name wasn't the only thingthat he lied about.
(10:03):
He had also lied about his agehe was 37.
Lauren briefly went home toPullman Washington for a few
days over fall break.
At home during the break,lauren met up with her best
friend from high school, reginaSnyder.
They went to a favoritegastropub, birch and Barley.
Lauren had been doing someresearch and told Regina there
(10:26):
was something strange about herboyfriend.
They sat in a corner booth foran hour in the nearly empty
restaurant and scrolled throughLauren's phone searching for
answers.
The results showed a photoresembling Sean and confirmed
his real name was Melvin.
Not only had Melvin been lyingabout his name and age, but it
(10:46):
turned out he had another bigsecret, one for the other lies.
Melvin was registered as a sexoffender, convicted of sex
crimes in 2004.
The offenses were enticing aminor a second degree felony and
forcible sexual abuse attempteda third degree felony.
(11:08):
Lauren returned to Salt LakeCity the next day and was
planning on confronting Melvinand break up with him.
Melvin had her car while shewas back home and she needed to
get it back.
She told her friend Alex abouteverything and Alex didn't want
her to break up with him whileon campus, since it was still
fall break and no one was around.
She wanted her to do itsomewhere public where she'd be
(11:29):
safe.
On October 9th, lauren invitedRoland to her dorm room.
Once inside she confronted himwith the information that she
had found out about him andbroke off their relationship.
He admitted to his sex offenderstatus and real name, but
continued to deny the agedifference.
Lauren told Alex that Melvinforced himself on her several
(11:52):
times that night.
She allowed Melvin to borrowher car the next day to run
errands and to try and calm himdown and defuse the situation.
Earlier the next day, laurenbegan receiving text messages,
supposedly from Melvin's friends.
Some text urged Lauren to killherself.
Lauren's mom, jill, contactedcampus dispatch, upset and
(12:16):
worried and wanted to requestcampus security to help Lauren
retrieve her vehicle from Melvin.
Jill informed them of Melvinbeing a sex offender, lauren
breaking up with him, him stillhaving her car, and her concern
for her daughter's safety.
I'm going to play the recordingat the call that Jill McCluskey
made on behalf of her daughter.
(12:37):
It's just over three minuteslong so I'm going to play it in
its entirety.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
The university.
Please pass security open.
I would like to request somehelp from my daughter.
Is there a student atUniversity of Utah?
Okay, what is the situationexactly?
Speaker 4 (12:59):
What does your daughter?
Speaker 2 (12:59):
do to you.
Okay, she was dating someonewho was not a student and he has
her car.
He has her car.
Okay, she broke up with him andhe's supposed to return it to
(13:29):
the parking lot at the stadium.
Uh-huh, and I'm worried thathe's dangerous.
Okay, we can definitely havesomeone help her out.
Can you have your daughter giveus a call?
Can you guys call her?
Yeah, what's her phone number?
Okay, it's Okay, okay, okay,okay, okay, okay, okay, okay,
(13:50):
okay, okay, okay.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Okay, okay, okay Okay .
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Okay, so let me tell you just a little bit more.
So he was blind to her and he'sactually a sexual offender,
okay, and and and lied about hisage and things like that.
Okay, and then he has her, hehas her car and he wants her to
(14:19):
return.
He, one of his friends, wantsher to return the car to the
stadium parking lot at fiveo'clock and since it's, since
it's fall break, a bunch of herfriends aren't there.
So I'm worried she's going togo there alone and someone's
going to hurt her.
Definitely, okay, yeah, and yousaid the area code is and, well,
(14:46):
she, she's, she's about tostate her name is Lauren
McCluskey, she's on the trackteam, she's a not a state
student and she, she starteddating this guy there who's like
a bad person, okay, and hefound out he's a bad person and
she broke up with them and hehas her car.
Definitely, let me give her acall real quick and we will
figure something out.
(15:06):
Okay, so I just like someone toto to accompany her, because a
bunch of her friends are on town.
She, I don't want her to gothere by herself and have like
something bad happen to her.
Definitely, I will give her acall.
Did you want me to give you acall back, or?
Or?
Yeah, call back, that'd be good.
Okay, what was your name?
Speaker 5 (15:27):
Jill.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Jill, I'm on the.
K-32.
Okay, perfect.
That's gonna be okay, jill, letme.
Let me get Lauren a call realquick and figure something out
with her, cause that's thatwould be totally easy for us to
send someone with her.
I would want her to go in andgo in into a bad situation by
herself, so let me give her acall real quick.
Yeah, no problem, jill, I willgive you a call back in a little
(15:49):
bit, okay, okay, thanks, jill.
Bye-bye.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
You can just hear the desperation in Jill's voice,
pleading for someone to help herdaughter, just so she could be
safe.
And the dispatcher did a greatjob with you know, listening to
Jill with everything that shehad to say and assuring her and
then saying, would you like usto call you back after we talked
(16:18):
to Lauren, like that was goodto like, help ease Jill's nerves
I mean, they still were shotand she could tell she was a
nervous wreck but something shewas trying to, you know, help
her cope, especially given thefact that she's hundreds of
miles away from her daughter.
She's states away.
(16:38):
21 minutes later, thedispatcher contacted Lauren
saying that Melvin would dropthe car at her apartment.
I'm going to play the callbetween Lauren and the
dispatcher because I feel it'svery important for you guys to
hear how this dispatcherinteracted with Lauren and how
confused and scared of sayingthe wrong thing that Lauren was
(17:04):
Almost six minutes long, butit's so important for you guys
to hear it in its entirety.
Hi, this is.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Lauren.
Hey, this is the UniversityPolice.
I got a call from your momabout, I guess, a car drop off
that you're going to be doing orsomeone dropping up your car,
(17:39):
and she was a little bit worriedabout it.
I was wondering if I could askyou a few questions and then
maybe send someone with you orhave someone meet you there when
you're going to drop off thecar.
Okay.
Well, so I think the car willbe dropped off, okay, so she
(18:02):
said, it might be yourex-boyfriend's dropping off your
car.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Go on to the front.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Yeah, okay, sorry, he's dropping off where.
Well, for sure, I'm going tosay it's going to be at the same
time.
I'm going to say it was going tobe at the stadium, but he was
asking to drop it off at myplace.
(18:30):
Okay, I might just have itdropped off at one of the
buildings in my mind.
Do you live on campus?
Yes, okay, where do you live oncampus?
Are you assuming you set thedoors Okay?
Do you feel comfortable withhim doing that?
(18:51):
I know your mom was reallyconcerned about it.
I think it's okay.
Okay, because if it's all rightwith you, I mean, we're here
24-7.
I'm super cool.
You could come hang out hereand have him drop it off here.
We have a parking lot on theeast side of our building.
It's the police department oncampus.
(19:12):
It's right by the self-trailstadium tracks.
We could even have a securityofficer pick you up at your dorm
and drop you off here, so youcan wait here for him to leave
your vehicle, especially.
I mean it sounds like.
I mean I don't know how youfeel about the situation.
I don't want to misinterpret,just based off of what your mom
was saying, but she definitelyseemed worried about it.
(19:34):
So if you wanted to and youfelt comfortable, you could come
hang out here with us.
I mean, it's just a bunch ofcollege kids here.
I mean there's some adults.
Obviously we were federal police, but you know, you could come
hang out with us when you dropit off, or I know she wanted
someone to be there with youwhen the car gets dropped off,
which would definitely make mefeel more comfortable about that
(19:55):
situation.
But I don't want to put you outof your comfort zone.
I know that's kind of weird,especially if you haven't dealt
with the police before.
Just having an officer hang outwith you while some drop-off
car can be weird.
I think I just want to have itdropped off here.
But, okay, I'll call if I needto.
(20:17):
Well, okay, is it all right ifI have a security officer at
least in the area when it'sgetting dropped off, in case you
need anything?
Yeah, that sounds good.
Okay, and what time is itgetting dropped off?
At five, okay, and this is whatbuilding did you say it was?
(20:39):
Again, okay, I'm looking at mymap.
It looks like the closestparking lot is the parking lot
kind of in front of A25.
It's like Kitty Cornered.
Yeah, Okay.
Is that going to be the closestparking lot?
Do you think?
Yeah, I think so.
(21:02):
And what type of car is it?
It's a Jeep Liberty.
It's green.
Okay, and the guy who'sdropping off, what's his name
and his last name?
(21:22):
I'm not sure what's his lastname, so you cut out a little
bit, let's see.
I'm not sure what his last nameis Okay, is he a student on
campus?
(21:44):
I don't believe so.
Okay, all right.
So I will give my securityofficers just a little bit of a
heads up in case you needanything, and we'll go from
there If you change your mindlast minute or anything like
that.
We have some really coolsecurity officers.
We have some new.
We have a couple of new cops oncampus that are always looking
(22:08):
for like extra stuff to do whilethey're finishing up their
training, anything like that.
You just let me know, lauren.
My name is Lauren and I'll behere until 6 pm.
So if you need anything, justlet us know.
하라imaty Arabic.
It's only a person working withme.
So if you give us the call backat just the 585 cops or 5252677
number and let us know, we cansend someone out to help you or
(22:33):
you know anything you need,especially if the situation gets
uncomfortable, please, please,don't hesitate to give us a call
.
Okay, sounds good, sounds good.
Thanks.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Mark.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Bye-bye.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
So the reason I wanted you guys to hear that in
its entirety is because you canhear how sincere the dispatcher
is and trying to really reassureLauren and make sure that she
is okay.
She recognizes that her mom isreally worried, but she also
wants to hear from Lauren andnot make assumptions just based
(23:05):
off of one person's statement toher.
She's really trying to convinceLauren to come to the police
station and let the car bedropped off there for safety
reasons.
This was so great on thedispatcher to take the extra
steps to offer Lauren a sense ofsafety and security but
unfortunately, as so many otherthings with this case, this is
(23:28):
the only time that I will besaying that throughout the rest
of this case, and it is a shamethat this dispatcher was not
part of this situation more,because there are nearly 20
phone calls between the campuspolice and Salt Lake City police
with Lauren and her parents.
(23:51):
Melvin is seen on securitycameras dropping off the car and
then leaving.
On October 12th, laurenMcCluskey contacted the
University Police for the firsttime, reporting that she had
received suspicious messagesthat she believed were from
Melvin's friends.
The text said that he got intoan accident and was dead and
(24:11):
that it was all her fault, butshe found he had recently posted
on social media disproving thisclaim.
Such post also violatedMelvin's parole terms
prohibiting him from usingsocial media.
She also received a textmessage from Melvin saying that
he's alive.
She received texts later askingif she wanted to go to a
(24:32):
funeral his funeral.
Melvin told the officer thatshe did not feel in danger or
threatened by the text, but felthis friends were trying to lure
her somewhere.
The dispatcher asked if sheasked the numbers to stop
texting her.
She said she had alreadyblocked several of the numbers.
The dispatcher then informedLauren that they'd be sending
(24:54):
the information to an officer togive her a call, but no call
ever came.
The very next day, on October13th, at 9.22 am, lauren
contacted University Policeagain, this time reporting that
she had received more textmessages that she believed were
from Melvin or his friends.
Lauren said she was beingblackmailed and the text
(25:17):
demanded money in exchange fornot posting compromising photos
of her and her with Melvinonline.
She informed the dispatcherthat she talked with Melvin,
suspecting that he was involved,but he lied and said that he
was being blackmailed too.
Lauren said she sent $1000 toan account, as demanded, in
(25:39):
hopes of keeping the photosprivate.
The dispatcher took theinformation and passed it over
to Officer Miguel Daraas.
Lauren told Alex about theblackmail and how she contacted
the campus police.
Alex told her she needed to goin person.
So on Saturday, october 13th,at 11.16 am, lauren and Alex
(26:02):
went to the campus police.
Officer Daraas and anotherofficer came out to speak with
the girls.
The entire thing was conductedright there in the lobby of the
campus police station.
Neither Daraas nor the otherofficer ever once, when the
girls were there, took them intoa room to talk privately about
(26:22):
what was happening.
Lauren and Alex addressedconcerns that Lauren lived on
the first floor and suggestedthat Lauren be moved to a
different housing.
They told the officers howMelvin was a sex offender and
Alex had to actually Google itand show it to the officers
herself instead of them runninghis name through the database.
Officer Daraas wrote the reportand kept telling the girls this
(26:47):
was all just a scam.
Lauren filled out the report.
The officer gave her a casenumber and said the detective
currently wasn't in the officeand that Lauren would hear back
by Tuesday.
Over the next few days Laurenspoke to Officer Miguel Daraas
by phone, in person, by textmessages and eventually called
(27:07):
the Salt Lake City PoliceDepartment, which referred her
back to campus police.
The case was assigned to anon-call detective, kayla Dalloff
.
Our commanding officer,sergeant Corey Neuvel, told
Dalloff not to come in.
No one in the campus policedepartment checked Melvin's
parole status.
Later that evening at 5.45 pm,lauren called the Salt Lake City
(27:33):
Police Department.
She tells them how she's beenblackmailed for money.
The Salt Lake City dispatchertells Lauren she's going to turn
her over to the campus policeto handle it.
Lauren tells her she's alreadyspoken with them but also wanted
to call Salt Lake City Policeand inform them as well.
Lauren gets transferred to thecampus police.
(27:54):
She asks when an arrest wouldbe made given the information
that she provided.
The campus dispatcher tellsLauren she can talk to an
officer if she wants and thatthe dispatcher can arrange that.
Lauren said quote yeah, thatsounds good.
End quote.
Lauren was still continuouslybeing harassed and receiving
(28:15):
messages.
Lauren messaged Officer Dara'sscreenshots of the blackmail
threats that had the photos.
She was frequently in contactwith Officer Dara's by phone,
text and email.
In an article from the SaltLake Tribune, officer Dara's
displayed at least one of theintimate images that Lauren had
(28:36):
shared with him for theinvestigation while showing
another campus officer his phone.
The?
U has said it was unaware ofthe display until the Tribune
inquired about it in 2019.
Another officer told theTribune that Dara's bragged
about being able to look at theimage whenever he wanted.
A state investigation into theincident was launched after the
(28:59):
Tribune's report and itconfirmed that the display
occurred On October 16th.
A parole agent spoke withMelvin but did not know about
Lauren's allegations because theUniversity Police had not
communicated with the adultprobation and parole.
Melvin's use of social mediaviolated his probation and
(29:22):
involvement in a new crime alsowould have been a violation and
could have sent him back to jail.
On October 16th through the 19th, kayla Dahliff, the campus
detective assigned to Lauren'scase, worked on other
investigations.
On October 19th at 4.48pm,lauren called the Salt Lake City
(29:44):
Police Department to ask formore help.
Salt Lake City's dispatchertells her to call campus police,
which she does.
Detective Dahliff returnedLauren's call and said she would
not return to work untilOctober 23rd.
The detective tells Lauren tocall campus dispatch if she gets
another message.
That appears to be an attemptto lure her somewhere.
(30:06):
From October 19th through the22nd, security videos shows
Melvin at various campuslocations, apparently looking
for Lauren.
Over the weekend, lauren sentthree screenshots to campus
police showing Melvin's criminalhistory and his offender
details.
On October 22nd at 10.39am,lauren talked to Officer Darius
(30:33):
after she had received anothertext message from a spoof number
, with the message claiming tobe from Deputy Chief Rick
MacLennan, asking her to go tothe police station.
The only logical conclusion wasthat Melvin had sent it to get
Lauren to leave her dorm, butDarius never reported Lauren's
concerns to any of his superiorsat the department.
(30:54):
No-transcript.
From 3 to 6 pm, melvin waitedfor Lauren with some of her
friends at the dorms.
By 8 20 pm Melvin confrontedLauren in the parking lot
outside of her residence hall.
She was returning from a nightclass and on the phone with her
mom.
When she screamed no, no, no,melvin grabbed her and she
(31:17):
dropped her phone in belongings.
He then dragged her to adifferent spot in the lot,
forcing her into the backseat ofa car that he had driven to
campus.
At 8 23 pm, matt McCluskey,lauren's father, called the
campus police dispatch.
He relayed what Jill McCluskeyhad heard on the phone and asked
(31:38):
officers to respond.
We're gonna take a listen toMatt's call with campus police
dispatch.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
In security.
How can I help you?
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Hi, is this the University of Utah?
Speaker 4 (31:50):
This is how can I help you?
Speaker 2 (31:51):
Okay, this is a dispatch center in the South
State of Washington.
I have a 911 call to transferyou.
Hold on one moment please.
Speaker 5 (31:58):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Sir, are you still there?
Hi Okay, you're on the phonewith the dispatch for the
University of Utah.
Hi this is Chris with theFNVisa.
Speaker 5 (32:07):
Police.
Hi, my daughter, laurenMcCluskey, was talking to her
mom and then she just startedsaying no, no, no, no, no, and
it sounded like someone mighthave been grabbing her or
something.
Speaker 4 (32:24):
Okay, how long ago was this?
Speaker 5 (32:28):
This was just two minutes ago.
Okay, okay, coming out here.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
Does she live on campus?
Yeah, okay, okay, what's hername?
Speaker 5 (32:50):
Lauren McCluskey.
Okay, will you spell that last?
Speaker 4 (32:52):
name for me.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Will you spell the last namefor me?
Speaker 5 (33:03):
Yes, M-C-C-L-U-S-A-E -Y.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
Okay, Okay and what's her date of birth?
Okay, and you said the phoneline went dead.
Speaker 5 (33:31):
Yeah, the phone line went dead.
Okay, have you tried callingher back?
No, I'm sorry, the phone is notdead, but we can't.
She must have dropped it andthe phone connection is still
here.
Do you want the number?
Speaker 4 (33:46):
Yes, please open Okay .
And do you?
Happen to know what building orroom number she lives in.
I'm sorry.
Do you know what room numbershe lives in and what building?
Speaker 5 (34:13):
Yes, well, what building Her house?
What building is she living in?
Okay, she lives on the it's notstage point, but it's one of
the other ones, building 830something, okay.
(34:35):
Okay, just concentrate.
So it's building 263-92-111.
She was walking from GC-1570.
(34:56):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (34:58):
She had a car.
Speaker 4 (34:59):
She had a car, alright, and what was your name?
Speaker 5 (35:11):
My name is Matt McCluskey.
Speaker 4 (35:15):
Okay.
Okay let's get the phone numberfor you.
Speaker 5 (35:23):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (35:35):
Alright.
Speaker 5 (35:42):
She had broken up with a boy or a man recently,
and he's a pretty tall black guy.
Sean Fields is his name.
Speaker 4 (35:58):
Okay.
Has he made any threats oranything like that?
Speaker 5 (36:04):
His friends were kind of harassing her a little bit
while they were.
I can't believe we're involvedwith that.
Speaker 4 (36:13):
Yes, okay, I actually .
I have an officer right herethat dealt with that.
Let me talk to him for onesecond.
I'll be right back on with you.
Okay, I'll still be able tohear you, but you won't be able
to hear me, okay.
Speaker 5 (36:27):
I know we have to concentrate on helping.
Okay, so the officer thereknows about her situation.
He's telling us this too.
Yeah, he's been on.
Could you go up and bring mycell phone, because I gave him
(36:50):
my phone number.
Okay, it's upstairs in mycloset or on my nightstand, in
case they call that number.
Okay, let's focus.
Hello, hello, hello.
Speaker 4 (37:41):
All right, matt, are you still there?
Yes, okay, perfect, All right,and you said she was walking to
her car from one building.
Speaker 5 (37:55):
From the DC, which is what is that?
Something common GardenerCommons?
Someone's been talking on herphone.
Hello, hi, I have a back passand I need a phone.
Okay, could you just stay there.
I think she was mugged.
The care, care, is about tocall the cops.
(38:17):
I'm talking to the cops.
Okay, someone picked up herphone and backpack.
Speaker 4 (38:26):
I'm trying to get a good location.
All right, where is thebackpack out?
Can you get a location for me?
Speaker 5 (38:34):
Yeah, Okay, I'll call the agency and have her spy
someone.
Hi, matt, are you there?
Yeah, I think they're pretty.
Speaker 4 (38:48):
It's right by her apartment.
It's right by her apartment.
Speaker 5 (38:56):
I'm sorry, can we do that again?
Speaker 4 (38:59):
I'm showing her apartment as yeah, and you said
it's right by that building.
Speaker 5 (39:07):
Well, I think so.
Maybe the scouts would call thecops.
Tell her to just call the copsdirectly, would that be better?
Speaker 4 (39:15):
Yeah, yeah, if she could call us directly, that
would be awesome.
I'm going to let you go and ifyou hear anything, if you hear
anything else, give us a callback, please, okay.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
Police were dispatched to the parking lot
and found Lauren's belongings.
More police officers werecalled in.
A search began of her dorm room, the parking lot and the
surrounding area.
At 8.38pm, melvin had called awoman that he met on a dating
site and asked her to pick himup.
They went to dinner at arestaurant, drove by the state
(39:49):
capitol and went to her homedowntown where he took a shower.
She then dropped him off at acoffee shop.
At 9.55pm, while searching theparking lot, police found
Lauren's body in the back seatof a car.
She had been shot at leastseven times.
At 9.56pm, a secure in-placealert was sent campus-wide
(40:15):
telling the university communitythat there had been a shooting.
At 10.09pm, an alert was sentwith a suspect.
Information Updates were sentabout every 30 minutes.
At 11.46pm, an alert liftingthe secure in-place order was
sent after the university policedetermined that Melvin had left
(40:37):
the campus On October 23rd.
At 12.01am, an alert was sentidentifying the suspect as
Melvin Rowland.
The woman who had picked up andwent to dinner with Melvin
called the police after seeinghis mugshot on the TV.
She told them that they had meton a dating app and that he
said his name was Apollo Santos.
(40:59):
At 12.46am, salt Lake Citypolice found Melvin and followed
him on foot.
He entered Trinity AME Churchat 239 East Martin Luther King
Boulevard, 600 South.
As police entered the church,melvin fatally shot himself.
At 1.47am an alert was sentsaying that Melvin had been
(41:24):
located and was no longer athreat.
Later on, on October 23rd,university Police Chief Dale
Brophy told reporters that hisofficers could not find Melvin
in the days before the shooting,although no one had been
looking for him.
He incorrectly said Melvin hadwalked away from a halfway house
(41:45):
, a statement the universitylater corrected.
The next day, on October 24th,the Department of Corrections
revealed that a parole agent hadspoken to Melvin on October
16th, unaware that four daysearlier Lauren had begun calling
University Police to accuse himof harassing her.
The campus community cametogether for a vigil to honor
(42:08):
Lauren McCluskey On October 25th.
In an emotional pressconference, brophy revealed for
the first time that Melvin hadextorted Lauren on October 13th,
threatening to releasecompromising photos if she
didn't pay $1,000.
Brophy also revealed thatMelvin stalked Lauren on campus
(42:30):
for at least three days beforekilling her and spent three
hours before the shootinghanging out with her friends in
her residence hall.
Brophy also said that the manwho had loaned Roland the gun,
contacted police after seeingmedia reports about the slaying.
The University of UtahPresident Ruth Watkins said she
(42:53):
would ask an outsideinvestigator to review
University Police protocols, butsaid the review would not
examine the decisions ofindividual officers.
In his monthly news conference,governor Gary Herbert announced
that he had also ordered aninvestigation of the Utah
Department of Corrections andthe Board of Partents and Parole
(43:15):
to look into possible mistakesthere that may have contributed
to Lauren's death.
The State's Division ofOccupational and Professional
Licensing announced that it wasinvestigating unlicensed
activity by Diamond SecurityGroup, the company that hired
Melvin under the alias SeanFields as a bouncer at Salt Lake
(43:37):
City restaurants.
It had a security contract withthe London Bell, where Melvin
had met Lauren.
Black Diamond Security Groupsaid that it had ended its
relationship with Melvin about amonth earlier.
Within a few hours, the DOPLissued a citation and a ceased
and desist order against BlackDiamond, saying that the company
(44:00):
was not licensed to providesecurity in the state.
The state said that the companynever did a background check on
Melvin before hiring him.
More of Melvin's violent pastwas also uncovered.
That included an attemptedsexual assault of a teenage girl
in 2004, a 2012 parole hearingin which he admitted to raping
(44:22):
the teen and two other women,and a 2016 admission that he had
threatened that quote if anagent were to come conduct a
field visit, he might becomeviolent.
End quote.
On October 26th, university ofUtah trustees talked in a
hastily arranged closed-doormeeting about the competence of
(44:45):
the University police andadministrators in the wake of
Lauren's death.
The next day, two women who hadbriefly dated Melvin earlier
that year described his patternof lies and manipulation to the
Salt Lake Tribune, includingfalsehoods about his age and not
disclosing his criminal record.
On October 29th, releasedpolice records revealed that
(45:09):
Melvin was suspected, but nevercharged, with burglarizing two
women he dated in 2015.
On November 2nd, watkins changedcourse, announcing that the
independent review she describedin an October 25th news
conference would look at actionstaken by individual officers in
the week before Lauren waskilled.
(45:30):
The team included two formercommissioners of the Utah
Department of Public Safety JohnT Nielsen, who served in that
post from 1985 through 1988, andis also an attorney, and Keith
Squires, who retired ascommissioner in August.
Former University ofWisconsin-Madison police chief
(45:53):
Sue Riesling was selected as thethird team member.
She has since become theexecutive director of the
International Association ofCampus Law Enforcement
Administrators.
On November 13th, jillMcCluskey tweeted that quote the
person who let Lauren's killerthe gun needs to be prosecuted.
(46:15):
End quote.
On December 19th, theIndependent Review Team released
its report.
The review of the UtahDepartment of Corrections and
Board of Pardons and Peril wasalso released.
Watkins said the report aboutthe University Police quote does
not offer any reason to believethat Lawrence Slaying could
(46:37):
have been prevented.
Instead, the report offersweaknesses, identifies issues
and provides us with a roadmapfor strengthening security on
our campus.
End quote.
But Bill Nielsen listedmultiple significant missed
opportunities, including thereports to housing officials by
(46:57):
Lawrence's friends and the dayswhen the detective assigned to
her concerns was off and thecase was not assigned to another
officer during that time.
Among its recommendations, thereview said the campus
Department of Public Safety isunderstaffed, that it needs to
hire a victim advocate, that itneeds to develop a coordinated
(47:20):
working relationship withexisting victim advocates
elsewhere on campus, that itneeds to train all of its
officers about interpersonalviolence issues and it needs to
adopt a lethality assessmentalready used by many other Utah
Police departments ininterpersonal violence cases.
Lawrence's parents spoke outthe next day questioning
(47:43):
Watkins' assertion that theirdaughter's death could not have
been prevented.
They also called for policeofficers involved in her case to
be disciplined.
On January 25, 2019, lawrence'sparents, frustrated by the lack
of action, went on ABC's GoodMorning America to talk about
(48:04):
their daughter.
They again called fordiscipline and for the first
time, they said they wereconsidering a lawsuit.
A few weeks later, on February7, a Utah lawmaker drafted a
bill prompted by Lawrence'smurder.
She called for Utah's publiccolleges to develop detailed
response plans for cases ofsexual assault, stalking and
(48:27):
dating and domestic violence,with an emphasis on training
officers how to recognizewarning signs.
Matt McCluskey later testifiedon behalf of the bill, and it
was signed into law by UtahGovernor Gary Herbert on March
29.
On what would have beenLawrence's 22nd birthday,
(48:49):
watkins announced that theschool had made significant
changes to ensure student safety.
The?
U increased training forofficers to recognize warning
signs of domestic and datingviolence.
The updated policies creatednew task force and shared
information across campus,including sending safety reports
from housing staff to thepolice.
(49:10):
She repeated that no campusofficers would be disciplined in
this case.
Watkins said quote I do notbelieve it serves the ultimate
mission of improving campussafety to fire anyone who acted
in good faith end quote.
On February 20, a second billto come in response to
(49:32):
Lawrence's death stalled incommittee.
The legislation would open theway for lawsuits against
individuals whose borrowedfirearms are used in a felony.
It didn't pass in 2019legislative session or when it
was brought up again in 2020.
But the sponsor Representative,andrew Stoddard, has pledged to
(49:54):
continue working on it.
On February 25, the UtahDepartment of Corrections
released the parole log forMelvin.
It showed that he had a fewviolations using a dating app,
testing positive for marijuanaand missing some counseling
appointments but he mostly gothigh remarks.
(50:16):
On March 7, Detective Dahliff,who was assigned to the
investigation of Lawrence'sconcerns, left the university's
police department.
It was later learned that shewas fired after making similar
mistakes.
On another female student'scase, a 17-year-old girl had
reported being threatened by amale student at the?
(50:37):
U.
He had trapped her in his room,she said, and then he left her
a voicemail saying that he wasgoing to kill her.
After she was able to get out,dahliff left work for the
weekend without taking anyaction.
She now works for the WeberCounty Sheriff's Office.
(50:58):
On March 13, federal chargeswere filed against Nathan Daniel
Vogel.
The man who loaned his gun toMelvin Vogel had a friend buy
the gun for him in September of2018 because he didn't think he
could get one.
After being generallydischarged from the Army a step
below an honorable discharge, hewas charged with unlawfully
(51:21):
purchasing the weapon.
To charge Vogel under state lawin connection with the loan,
prosecutors would have to showhe knowingly gave the gun to aid
in the crime or knew Melvincouldn't own a gun because of
his criminal background.
Vogel later pled guilty and hewas sentenced to three years of
supervised release.
(51:44):
On June 5, the University ofUtah's Police Department held an
award ceremony honoringemployees for how they responded
to Lauren's concerns before herslaying and media questions
after her death.
They celebrated a dispatcherand two administrators, despite
the independent review thatfound several staffers
mishandled her case.
(52:05):
Lauren's parents said thehonors seemed disrespectful and
out of touch.
Matt McCluskey suggested theceremony borders on obscene.
The?
U later apologized forincluding Lauren's name in the
program.
On June 27, lauren's parentsfiled a $56 million lawsuit
against the?
(52:25):
U.
They alleged that the campuspolice could have prevented
their daughter's killing andthat the school's president was
irresponsible and insistingotherwise.
Jill and Matt McCluskey said itwas a last resort.
They wanted an apology, butsaid that they never got one.
They asked the school to firethe officers involved, but that
(52:46):
didn't happen.
They tried working withPresident Watkins to remedy the
situation but said she would notrespond to their emails.
The lawsuit was filed againstOfficer Dara's, detective
Dahliff, the University and theState which funds the public
school.
It also named then campuspolice chief Dahl-Broffy and
(53:08):
officials in the housingdepartment.
It called Lauren's death tragic, avoidable and untimely and
accused the university ofrefusing to respond, making it
liable.
It said that the student, herfamily and friends all reached
out more than 20 times to reportconcerns.
(53:28):
The biggest jab of thecomplaint is that the?
U failed in its obligation tofollow Title 9.
This federal law requiresschools to swiftly investigate
reports of sexual violence andprovide services to individuals
who report discrimination orviolence.
That same day, the?
(53:50):
U released reports showing ithad spent nearly $60,000 for
public relations advice afterLauren was killed.
On July 1, officer Dara's, whowas also supposed to handle
Lauren's case, was disciplinedfor making the same mistakes
again on another woman's case.
He was assigned to respond to acall reporting a domestic
(54:13):
violence incident in marriedhousing on campus.
In February.
Dara's went to talk to thewoman and provide her with
information about how to reportassault by a partner.
When he arrived, the suspectwas there too.
Dara's let the man stay as heinterviewed the concerned woman.
According to his disciplineletter, he did not call for
(54:37):
backup, which the policedepartment requires for cases
involving fights or abusebetween partners when both
parties are present.
He also did not check if theman was on parole, even after
the man attempted to call hisparole agent in his presence.
Dara's accepted the warningwithout appeal and it was placed
(54:57):
in his file.
The?
U began requiring professors toinclude a statement in their
course syllabus that lists thephone number for the campus
police and directs students tocall there with concerns.
On August 15, the?
U announced more changes inresponse to Lauren's death.
A $1 million investment went toimproving building alarms,
(55:22):
having police patrol outside ofnight classes and creating a new
transportation system.
On August 26, president RuthWatkins publicly took questions
from faculty and students forthe first time since Lauren was
killed.
It had been nearly a year sinceher death.
At this point she facedpushback, though, for declining
(55:43):
to speak about officers'discipline in the case.
She said quote Of course thisis not at all an appropriate
forum for me to talk aboutindividual personnel cases and
some of the nuances of what wasdifferent between case A and
case B.
End quote.
On September 17, officer Dara'sresigned from the University
(56:07):
Police Department.
He transferred to work as anofficer at the Logan Police
Department in northern Utah.
On September 21, the?
U filed its first response tothe lawsuit filed by the?
Mccluskies.
In it the school suggested thatquote no matter how
heartbreaking, its officers hadno obligation to protect Lauren
(56:29):
from her attacker.
End quote.
The school's attorneys arguedthat her killer wasn't a?
U employee or student and hadno connection to the university.
So it was not responsible forhis actions and had no way to
control him.
And they added he was often oncampus only because Lauren had
(56:50):
at times willingly invited himto her dorm room.
The university's filingconcluded quote.
Liability for this wouldrequire that schools be
guardians of every student'ssafety from any act of
relationship violence, no matterwhere the act arises or who
perpetrates it.
End quote.
(57:12):
The filing immediately touchedoff circumstances of the?
U, with some accusing theschool of victim blaming.
The Utah Attorney General'sOffice, representing the?
U in the ongoing case, releaseda response defending its
arguments In a surprising publicstatement on September 26,.
Student leaders at theuniversity condemned the
(57:35):
administration, criticizing howit handled fears reported by
Lauren, denied responsibilityafter her murder and created an
atmosphere in which studentsworry campus police won't
protect them.
It's the first time the?
U's student government haspublished such a formal critique
.
A university administratorresponded shortly after saying
(57:57):
it would take time to rebuildtrust.
Tensions continued to rise.
Nearly 100 students, mainlywomen, walked out of class and
staged a protest on October 21stto discuss their concerns with
the used police department.
It came one day before thefirst anniversary of student
(58:17):
athlete Lauren McCluskey'smurder.
The group somberly stoodoutside the school's
administration building andcarried posters that asked where
were you when Lauren needed you?
President Watkins responded bysaying that Lauren's murder
revealed problems on campus.
It was one of her strongeststatements on the case to date.
(58:40):
On November 23rd, the?
U received a $300,000 federalgrant to improve how it responds
to cases of stalking and datingand domestic violence on campus
.
Two days later, powerhouseattorney Christine Durham, a
former Utah Supreme Court ChiefJustice, joined the legal team
(59:00):
representing the McCluskeys.
On February 4th 2020, anotherbill prompted by Lauren's case
was drafted by the Utah Senate.
It aimed to improve how Utahuniversities responded to sexual
assault and strengthencoordination between on campus
and off campus law enforcement.
It was also signed into lawThanks to the Tribune reporting
(59:26):
on May 17th that officer Darashowed off explicit photos of
Lauren McCluskey to hiscoworkers before she was killed.
The university confirmed thatdisplay occurred, making that
statement in response to acontinued push by the Tribune to
obtain public records about howthe case was handled.
Still, the?
(59:47):
U said it didn't know about theinappropriate behavior and
abuse of evidence until afterDara's left the department in
September of 2019.
According to two fellowofficers, dara showed off at
least one of the images to amale co-worker.
One officer said Dara braggedabout getting to look at them
(01:00:07):
whenever he wanted.
That report kicked off a waveof responses.
The Logan Police Department,where Dara's work, pledged to do
an investigation.
The?
U has also asked the UtahDepartment of Public Safety to
thoroughly review the situation,after saying its internal
process was insufficient.
(01:00:27):
Dara's hired attorneys whodenied the display occurred.
Meanwhile, several lawmakersalso proposed bills to address
officers handling sensitiveinformation and setting up rules
to punish those who abuse it.
The school's chief safetyofficer later responded that
he's restructured how policeofficers on campus deal with
(01:00:49):
evidence.
Any pictures that an officerreceives on a cell phone as
evidence must be enteredunaltered into the department's
evidence database by the end ofthe individual's shift, and then
they need to be deleted fromtheir personal devices.
On June 8th, jill and MatthewMcCluskey filed a second lawsuit
(01:01:12):
against the?
U, this time in state court.
It alleged that the schooldenied their daughter equal
protection under Utah'sConstitution.
On June 29th, the University ofU announced that it would
overhaul its troubled policedepartment, requiring more
public reporting of misconduct,hiring new command staff to
(01:01:33):
oversee officers and devoting adivision to victim services,
with a special focus on sexualviolence.
The move has been the mostfar-reaching of the University's
response to Lauren's death.
There would be five maindivisions police, community
services focused on victims,emergency management, security
(01:01:57):
for the main campus and securityfor the University's hospital.
The change also came after the?
U released a campus climatesurvey.
It showed that students' trustin officers was down
significantly.
When the survey was previouslyconducted in the spring of 2018,
before Lauren's murder, amajority of the students said
(01:02:19):
that they felt that theUniversity did enough to protect
students.
With the same question asked in2020, less than half did.
On July 21st, the University ofUtah filed its own lawsuit
saying it shouldn't have torelease counseling records about
Lauren, who spoke to a schoolpsychologist in the days and
(01:02:41):
hours before she was killed.
Her parents had asked for thedocuments.
However, the?
U argued that those should beconsidered confidential even
after death.
On August 5th, the UtahDepartment of Public Safety
released its report confirmingthat Daris showed off the
intimate photos of Lauren in thedays before her death.
(01:03:02):
Investigators found the imageswere displayed to at least three
of Daris' male co-workerswithout a work-related reason.
One employee recounted thatOfficer Miguel Daris commented
specifically about getting toquote look at them whenever he
wants.
End quote.
And that employee admitted thathe too made crude remarks when
(01:03:25):
seeing the images which Laurenhad given to Daris as evidence
in her extortion case.
Another said that the otherofficers chimed in, saying Daris
was lucky to get to work on thecase and that Lauren was a cute
girl.
On another occasion Darisshowed a sergeant one of the
nude photos of Lauren while theywere at the crime scene.
(01:03:48):
On the night she was fatallyshot on campus after his
superior said quote I wonderwhat she looked like.
End quote.
The investigators couldn'tdetermine whether Daris had
saved or downloaded the intimatephotos to his personal phone,
but the report notes Darisswitched phones after Lauren was
killed.
So much of the data laterrecovered on his device was
(01:04:11):
encrypted or corrupted.
Three officers at the?
U were fired for not speakingup about the display.
Sooner, on August 7th, theLogan Police Department fired
Miguel Daris for showing off thephotos while he was previously
working at the?
U.
Logan Police Chief Gary Jensensaid that the abuse of evidence
(01:04:34):
is?
Quote inconsistent with thehigh expectations and standards
placed upon our officers by thecommunity.
End quote.
On September 22nd, a month shyof the second year anniversary
of Lauren's murder, the?
U opened a new center forviolence prevention founded in
(01:04:54):
part to research intimatepartner violence after Lauren's
death.
On October 15th, salt LakeCounty District Attorney Sim
Gill announced that his officedeclined to prosecute Miguel
Daris over showing off thephotos, while he believes the
officers actions were quotedefinitely reckless.
End quote.
Gill said there is no Utah lawfor addressing this type of
(01:05:18):
police misconduct.
Gill said, quote.
We realized there was no realstatute that we could use for
this case.
We're incensed, like everyoneelse, by this behavior.
It was inappropriate, but ifthere's not a statute, there's
nothing we can do.
End quote.
Gill's office examined whetherit could charge Daris under the
(01:05:42):
revenge porn law in Utah Withthat sharing or displaying a
compromising photo of someonewithout the person's consent can
be prosecuted.
The statute, though, requiresproof that the person in the
images was harmed.
Lauren's death made thatimpossible.
Members of the person's familybeing hurt, such as Lauren's
(01:06:04):
parents, don't count.
Gill and Matt McCluskey saidthat they were disappointed in
Gill for not pursuing justice inthe US and Gill for not
pursuing justice in theirdaughter's case.
Six days later, on October 21st, about 40 protesters marched
around Gill's office, rallyingagainst the district attorney
for not filing charges againstDaris.
(01:06:27):
The next day, acknowledging forthe first time that the
on-campus murder of track starLauren McCluskey was preventable
, the University of Utah agreedthat it could have better
protected her and failed, and itwould pay out $13.5 million to
her parents as part of a legalsettlement.
The settlement announcementcame a day later, on the
(01:06:50):
two-year anniversary of Lauren'sdeath.
At a news conference, the?
U President, ruth Watkins, saidshe was sincerely sorry for the
loss of Lauren.
She read from a statementsaying, quote the University
acknowledges and deeply regretsthat it did not handle Lauren's
case as it should have and that,at the time, its employees
(01:07:13):
failed to fully understand andrespond appropriately to
Lauren's situation.
The school built an indoortrack to be named for Lauren and
used by the track and fieldteam on which she competed at
the?
U With the new facility.
Gill McCluskey said herdaughter, quote, will always
have a presence on the campusand quote the family walked
(01:07:37):
around the current outdoor trackto honor their daughter on the
anniversary.
Additionally, the new Centerfor Violence Prevention at the?
U, created partly in responseto Lauren's death, would now
bear her name.
On January 12, 2021, ruthWatkins announced that she would
be stepping down in April totake a new job with Strata
(01:08:00):
Impact, a national educationnonprofit.
In an interview with theTribune, she acknowledged that
Lauren's case was part of thereason for her departure.
She had led the university inthe top post for three years and
was the institution's firstfemale president.
(01:08:20):
On February 3, state lawmakerspublicly released several bills
for the general sessions,spurred by Lauren's case and the
concerns over Daris is showingoff of her photos.
One from Representative CraigHall passed and now strengthens
the existing law around revengeporn, adding that officers can
(01:08:41):
be charged with sharingsensitive photos of the victims.
Representative Andrew Stoddardalso got through a few pieces
updating language in the statecode on investigating officers
for misconduct.
Another that passed was fromSenator Yanni Iwamoto, which
aims to prevent problematicofficers from easily jumping
(01:09:03):
departments in Utah, but herproposal to create a student
commission to look at safetyissues was gutted and stripped
of that provision.
Instead, it only requirescampus police agencies to
collect more data on crimes.
On March 3, legislators gavefinal approval to the settlement
(01:09:23):
agreement between Lauren'sparents and the university.
On April 6, wacken served herlast day as the university
president, and on April 13,braffi, the former police chief,
and Daris, the officer whoshowed explicit photos of Lauren
, took the first step towardfiling a lawsuit against a
(01:09:44):
government agency.
Braffi, who received a fullyear's salary and a $6,000 party
when he retired amid criticismof his department's mishandling
of Lauren's case, says he wasn'ttreated fairly and wants the
school to pay him millions.
Daris, who quit his job at the?
U before his misconduct wasinvestigated, claims he deserves
(01:10:07):
millions too.
Also joining their lawsuit wasthe former deputy police chief,
who stepped down and declined toparticipate in that
investigation, and two otherformer officers arguing they
were all mistreated.
In the fallout from thehigh-profile case, they are
seeking $10 million from theUniversity of Utah In 2022,.
(01:10:32):
As the fourth anniversary ofLauren's death approached, matt
and Jill met two reporters at ahotel in Moscow, idaho, a short
drive from Poland.
They learned some details ofESPN's investigation for the
first time.
They said they'd be comfortablewatching videos from some of
the people involved, includingMiguel Daris, to offer their
(01:10:54):
reactions.
On March 28, 2023, espnreleased Listen on ESPN Plus
about Lauren's case.
Espn and 2020 partnered inmaking a four-year investigative
story about Lauren's case.
The 2020 episode is titledRunning Out of Time.
(01:11:15):
I will have links to bothprograms in the source material
listed in the show notes I'mgoing to read from Lauren's
obituary.
Her work ethic in the classroom,weight room and on the track
was exceptional.
Her teammates and coaches wereinspired and amazed at how she
never complained even when theweather was foul or practice was
(01:11:37):
especially tough.
Lauren has been described asquiet, but more accurately, she
chose her words carefully.
Her professors were delightedby how she was engaged and made
incisive, on-point comments.
In college she truly blossomed.
Lauren never had an unkind wordto say about anyone.
(01:11:59):
She loved being with friendsand was a great dancer.
She had a strong singing voice,loved karaoke and even did
stand-up comedy.
Lauren was a Christian.
She grew up attending CommunityCongressional United Church of
Christ and in college attendedCapitol Church in Salt Lake City
.
She was a member of theFellowship of Christian Athletes
(01:12:22):
at the University of Utah.
She was a deep, independentthinker with an interest in
philosophy and a strong sense ofright and wrong.
She was a gifted writer,winning a high school award in
her junior year of high schoolas the top writer at her prep
school and excelling in college.
(01:12:43):
Even her texts and emails werebeautifully composed.
Lauren enrolled in electives ongrammar and logic for pure
intellectual enjoyment.
She was looking forward tograduating and finding a job in
public relations or academicadvising, preferably someplace
warm.
Lauren served as acommunications intern at
(01:13:07):
Cortland Place RetirementCommunity where her grandparents
lived.
In this internship, shedesigned and completed a picture
dictionary with stories thatshe wrote about the residence.
She enjoyed interviewing themand taking their pictures for
the project.
Her grandparents receivedwonderful feedback from their
neighbors that they loved thebook and interacting with Lauren
(01:13:27):
.
A model student athlete, Laurenhad a 3.77 GPA and applied to
graduate in Spring of 2019.
Recognizing her academicaccomplishments, the University
of Utah conferred a posthumousBachelor's of Science degree in
communications, and that's thecase of Lauren McCluskey.
(01:13:49):
If you or someone you know needshelp because of domestic
violence or abuse, call theNational Domestic Violence
Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
That's 1-800-799-7233.
That's 1-800-799-safe.
(01:14:13):
You can also text START to887-888 or visit
wwwthehotlineorg.
Be sure to follow on Instagramat Crime Connoisseurs.
You can find Crime Connoisseurswherever you listen to your
podcasts.
In the meantime, keep it classyConnoisseurs, and I'll catch
(01:14:37):
you on the next case.
Hey all my fellow crime connoisseurs, I'm your
host, grace D, and before we getstarted with today's episode, I
just want to apologize for thedelay that it's been in getting
this out to you.
There are some things going onin my personal life right now
that I've really had to justtake a step back and do what is
necessary for myself, and Ithink that's very important for
(00:21):
everyone to do.
So I do apologize and I dopromise to make a much better
attempt in the future to nothave it be the period in time
that it was, and that I'll bemore forward with you guys.
So when I say like, hey, I needa break, we're going to take a
little hiatus, you know we'llhave new episodes coming back
(00:43):
this week.
I'm going to be more diligentwith that.
So, with that being said, Istarted doing this episode, and
it was back in October.
Now, most people know thatOctober is breast cancer
awareness month, but did youknow that it's also domestic
violence awareness month?
So in this week's case, we'regoing to be covering one.
(01:04):
One in four women and one innine men are victims of domestic
violence, and between the agesof 16 to 24 are the highest
rates of intimate partnerviolence.
Now that's not to say that itcan't happen at any age.
Today's case is a long one, butI didn't want to make you guys
wait on a part two by breakingit up.
But before we begin I want togive everyone a massive trigger
(01:29):
warning.
Topics that will be covered inthis case include domestic
violence, sexual abuse andsuicide.
Listener, discretion is advised.
A young woman who's a starathlete goes away to college at
a university that prides itselfon saying they are the safest
school around.
Unfortunately, that seemed tobe all smoke and mirrors for
(01:52):
this young woman.
This is quickly spiraled out ofcontrol from top athlete and
student to noticeable changes inappearance and behavior.
This is the case of LaurenMcCluskey.
Lauren McCluskey was born inBerkeley, california, on
(02:41):
February 12, 1997.
Her parents, jill and MatthewMcCluskey, both joined
Washington State University asprofessors in 1998 and the
family moved to PullmanWashington.
She was bright, sensitive andvery active from an early age.
She fearlessly climbed treesand climbing walls.
Lauren entered her first JuniorOlympic Association track meet
(03:05):
at eight years old and set theJunior Olympic records in the
high jump, long jump and 400meter run.
At age nine she was told thatif she qualified for Nationals
she could go and, to no surpriseto those who knew her, she
qualified for Nationals in thenine to ten year old age group.
She continued to competenationally in the high jump,
(03:27):
hurdles and multi-events,earning USA Track and Field
All-American Top 8 19 times andsetting many USA Track and Field
Association youth records, 12of which still stand, and the
Junior Under 20 Associationrecord for the Hepathalon.
Being a HEPTA athlete meantthat Lauren competed in seven
(03:50):
events.
As she competed nationally, shemade friends with athletes,
their families and coachesacross the United States.
As a high school freshman, shewas Washington State High School
Champion in high jump andsecond in the 100 meter hurdles.
In her sophomore year she highjumped five foot six inches
(04:10):
before pulling her hamstring.
She spent her junior yeartraining at Spire, attending
Andrews Osborne Academy in Ohioand returning to Pullman for her
senior year of high school.
At the 2015 Washington StateHigh School Meet, she qualified
in four events, scoring in three, helping her team place third
(04:32):
overall in the state.
Lauren set the Pullman Highrecord for the 100 meter hurdles
.
That year she placed ninth atthe US Junior Under 20
Championships in the Hepathalon.
Lauren graduated from PullmanHigh in 2016 with honors and
accepted a track and fieldscholarship at the University of
(04:55):
Utah U of U, as it's oftenreferred to to compete in the
PAC-12 conference At Utah.
She competed in multi-eventsand high jump.
She was a loyal youth androoted for them with such spirit
.
She earned PAC-12 HonorableMention and MPSF All Academic
(05:17):
Awards and is tenth on the AllTime Performance List for the
youths in the Patathlon.
Life in Salt Lake was anadjustment for Lauren.
Salt Lake City was a muchlarger city than when she grew
up in Pullman's quiet small town.
As time went on, laurenblossomed.
She had busy and fun academic,athletic and social routines.
(05:41):
By the fall of her senior year,she was a model student athlete
.
Lauren had a 3.77 GPA andapplied to graduate in the
spring of 2019 with a Bachelor'sof Science degree in
communications.
On September 2, 2018, laurenMcCluskey and her friend Alex,
(06:02):
her freshman roommate, went tothe London Bell, a Salt Lake
City bar.
Lauren met 28-year-old SeanFields, who worked there as a
bouncer.
He was described as a huge,muscular but like a football
player type guy.
The place was filling up, butthe girls found a table in the
back.
Sean stopped by several timesto talk.
(06:24):
According to Alex, somethingwas up with Lauren that night
she didn't seem like herself.
Her shy intensity wasn't there.
Alex found Sean abrasive, butshe could understand why other
people found him charming andwhy Lauren was attracted to him.
Around midnight, when Alex andLauren were ready to leave,
(06:46):
lauren wrote her phone number ona napkin to give to Sean.
If they ran into each other,the place was so packed that
they were sure they wouldn't seehim.
They pushed through the crowdtoward the door, lauren leading
the way, and there he was.
Lauren gave him the napkin andran ahead of Alex.
As if half-panicked at her ownboldness, sean began texting
(07:08):
Lauren later that night Atchurch.
The next morning Lauren toldAlex that she and Sean were
going on a date.
Later that day, shortly afterLauren and Sean began dating, he
often visited Lauren at herresidence hall and quickly built
friendships with the otherstudents.
A few weeks after they starteddating, sean took Lauren pistol
(07:30):
shooting with him and hisfriends.
Unfortunately, sean becamecontrolling of Lauren, wanting
to know where she was and whoshe was with.
He would get angry if shedidn't answer his phone calls or
respond to his text messagesright away.
Lauren told her friends it wasbecause his ex-girlfriend had
cheated on him and she needed toearn his trust.
(07:52):
On September 26, lauren calledtwo of her friends.
She said Sean wouldn't let herhang out with friends.
They felt that she didn't soundright and noticed that her
physical appearance had began tochange that week.
They believed that she wasbeing taken advantage of by Sean
.
Four days later, on September30, two of Lauren's friends told
(08:16):
staff at the U of U dorms thatthey were scared about Sean's
control over her, about how hetalked about guns and often
stayed in her room.
This was a great move by herfriends for recognizing the red
flags in the relationship andhow they attempted to get help
for their friend the best waythat they knew how and reported
(08:36):
him to the university staff.
That report and others tohousing officials in the days
that followed were not passed tocampus police or the campus
behavioral team, who may havebeen able to intervene.
Housing officials were awarethat people who knew Lauren were
especially concerned that shecould be hurt, yet their focus
(08:58):
remained on whether a housingpolicy violation had occurred.
When friend and head RA DiamondJackson was informed by
Lauren's friends of theirconcerns, including Sean wanting
Lauren to get a gun and hisdemanding controlling behavior,
diamond informed her supervisorto figure out what next steps
should be taken.
(09:19):
Diamond emailed the supervisoron October 2, 2018 with the
following concerns Lauren may bein a harmful relationship, a
non-resident boyfriend has beenstaying with Lauren and the
roommate, the boyfriend may begetting a gun to keep with her
and that the boyfriend may betracking Lauren.
(09:40):
Lauren is not taking care ofherself, and two of Lauren's
friends came forward with theinformation and are concerned
for Lauren's safety.
A few days later, lauren learnedSean's real identity.
She had seen her boyfriend's IDcard, whose real name was
Melvin Sean Rowlands.
His name wasn't the only thingthat he lied about.
(10:03):
He had also lied about his agehe was 37.
Lauren briefly went home toPullman Washington for a few
days over fall break.
At home during the break,lauren met up with her best
friend from high school, reginaSnyder.
They went to a favoritegastropub, birch and Barley.
Lauren had been doing someresearch and told Regina there
(10:26):
was something strange about herboyfriend.
They sat in a corner booth foran hour in the nearly empty
restaurant and scrolled throughLauren's phone searching for
answers.
The results showed a photoresembling Sean and confirmed
his real name was Melvin.
Not only had Melvin been lyingabout his name and age, but it
(10:46):
turned out he had another bigsecret, one for the other lies.
Melvin was registered as a sexoffender, convicted of sex
crimes in 2004.
The offenses were enticing aminor a second degree felony and
forcible sexual abuse attempteda third degree felony.
(11:08):
Lauren returned to Salt LakeCity the next day and was
planning on confronting Melvinand break up with him.
Melvin had her car while shewas back home and she needed to
get it back.
She told her friend Alex abouteverything and Alex didn't want
her to break up with him whileon campus, since it was still
fall break and no one was around.
She wanted her to do itsomewhere public where she'd be
(11:29):
safe.
On October 9th, lauren invitedRoland to her dorm room.
Once inside she confronted himwith the information that she
had found out about him andbroke off their relationship.
He admitted to his sex offenderstatus and real name, but
continued to deny the agedifference.
Lauren told Alex that Melvinforced himself on her several
(11:52):
times that night.
She allowed Melvin to borrowher car the next day to run
errands and to try and calm himdown and defuse the situation.
Earlier the next day, laurenbegan receiving text messages,
supposedly from Melvin's friends.
Some text urged Lauren to killherself.
Lauren's mom, jill, contactedcampus dispatch, upset and
(12:16):
worried and wanted to requestcampus security to help Lauren
retrieve her vehicle from Melvin.
Jill informed them of Melvinbeing a sex offender, lauren
breaking up with him, him stillhaving her car, and her concern
for her daughter's safety.
I'm going to play the recordingat the call that Jill McCluskey
made on behalf of her daughter.
(12:37):
It's just over three minuteslong so I'm going to play it in
its entirety.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
The university.
Please pass security open.
I would like to request somehelp from my daughter.
Is there a student atUniversity of Utah?
Okay, what is the situationexactly?
Speaker 4 (12:59):
What does your daughter?
Speaker 2 (12:59):
do to you.
Okay, she was dating someonewho was not a student and he has
her car.
He has her car.
Okay, she broke up with him andhe's supposed to return it to
(13:29):
the parking lot at the stadium.
Uh-huh, and I'm worried thathe's dangerous.
Okay, we can definitely havesomeone help her out.
Can you have your daughter giveus a call?
Can you guys call her?
Yeah, what's her phone number?
Okay, it's Okay, okay, okay,okay, okay, okay, okay, okay,
(13:50):
okay, okay, okay.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Okay, okay, okay Okay .
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Okay, so let me tell you just a little bit more.
So he was blind to her and he'sactually a sexual offender,
okay, and and and lied about hisage and things like that.
Okay, and then he has her, hehas her car and he wants her to
(14:19):
return.
He, one of his friends, wantsher to return the car to the
stadium parking lot at fiveo'clock and since it's, since
it's fall break, a bunch of herfriends aren't there.
So I'm worried she's going togo there alone and someone's
going to hurt her.
Definitely, okay, yeah, and yousaid the area code is and, well,
(14:46):
she, she's, she's about tostate her name is Lauren
McCluskey, she's on the trackteam, she's a not a state
student and she, she starteddating this guy there who's like
a bad person, okay, and hefound out he's a bad person and
she broke up with them and hehas her car.
Definitely, let me give her acall real quick and we will
figure something out.
(15:06):
Okay, so I just like someone toto to accompany her, because a
bunch of her friends are on town.
She, I don't want her to gothere by herself and have like
something bad happen to her.
Definitely, I will give her acall.
Did you want me to give you acall back, or?
Or?
Yeah, call back, that'd be good.
Okay, what was your name?
Speaker 5 (15:27):
Jill.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Jill, I'm on the.
K-32.
Okay, perfect.
That's gonna be okay, jill, letme.
Let me get Lauren a call realquick and figure something out
with her, cause that's thatwould be totally easy for us to
send someone with her.
I would want her to go in andgo in into a bad situation by
herself, so let me give her acall real quick.
Yeah, no problem, jill, I willgive you a call back in a little
(15:49):
bit, okay, okay, thanks, jill.
Bye-bye.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
You can just hear the desperation in Jill's voice,
pleading for someone to help herdaughter, just so she could be
safe.
And the dispatcher did a greatjob with you know, listening to
Jill with everything that shehad to say and assuring her and
then saying, would you like usto call you back after we talked
(16:18):
to Lauren, like that was goodto like, help ease Jill's nerves
I mean, they still were shotand she could tell she was a
nervous wreck but something shewas trying to, you know, help
her cope, especially given thefact that she's hundreds of
miles away from her daughter.
She's states away.
(16:38):
21 minutes later, thedispatcher contacted Lauren
saying that Melvin would dropthe car at her apartment.
I'm going to play the callbetween Lauren and the
dispatcher because I feel it'svery important for you guys to
hear how this dispatcherinteracted with Lauren and how
confused and scared of sayingthe wrong thing that Lauren was
(17:04):
Almost six minutes long, butit's so important for you guys
to hear it in its entirety.
Hi, this is.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Lauren.
Hey, this is the UniversityPolice.
I got a call from your momabout, I guess, a car drop off
that you're going to be doing orsomeone dropping up your car,
(17:39):
and she was a little bit worriedabout it.
I was wondering if I could askyou a few questions and then
maybe send someone with you orhave someone meet you there when
you're going to drop off thecar.
Okay.
Well, so I think the car willbe dropped off, okay, so she
(18:02):
said, it might be yourex-boyfriend's dropping off your
car.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Go on to the front.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Yeah, okay, sorry, he's dropping off where.
Well, for sure, I'm going tosay it's going to be at the same
time.
I'm going to say it was going tobe at the stadium, but he was
asking to drop it off at myplace.
(18:30):
Okay, I might just have itdropped off at one of the
buildings in my mind.
Do you live on campus?
Yes, okay, where do you live oncampus?
Are you assuming you set thedoors Okay?
Do you feel comfortable withhim doing that?
(18:51):
I know your mom was reallyconcerned about it.
I think it's okay.
Okay, because if it's all rightwith you, I mean, we're here
24-7.
I'm super cool.
You could come hang out hereand have him drop it off here.
We have a parking lot on theeast side of our building.
It's the police department oncampus.
(19:12):
It's right by the self-trailstadium tracks.
We could even have a securityofficer pick you up at your dorm
and drop you off here, so youcan wait here for him to leave
your vehicle, especially.
I mean it sounds like.
I mean I don't know how youfeel about the situation.
I don't want to misinterpret,just based off of what your mom
was saying, but she definitelyseemed worried about it.
(19:34):
So if you wanted to and youfelt comfortable, you could come
hang out here with us.
I mean, it's just a bunch ofcollege kids here.
I mean there's some adults.
Obviously we were federal police, but you know, you could come
hang out with us when you dropit off, or I know she wanted
someone to be there with youwhen the car gets dropped off,
which would definitely make mefeel more comfortable about that
(19:55):
situation.
But I don't want to put you outof your comfort zone.
I know that's kind of weird,especially if you haven't dealt
with the police before.
Just having an officer hang outwith you while some drop-off
car can be weird.
I think I just want to have itdropped off here.
But, okay, I'll call if I needto.
(20:17):
Well, okay, is it all right ifI have a security officer at
least in the area when it'sgetting dropped off, in case you
need anything?
Yeah, that sounds good.
Okay, and what time is itgetting dropped off?
At five, okay, and this is whatbuilding did you say it was?
(20:39):
Again, okay, I'm looking at mymap.
It looks like the closestparking lot is the parking lot
kind of in front of A25.
It's like Kitty Cornered.
Yeah, Okay.
Is that going to be the closestparking lot?
Do you think?
Yeah, I think so.
(21:02):
And what type of car is it?
It's a Jeep Liberty.
It's green.
Okay, and the guy who'sdropping off, what's his name
and his last name?
(21:22):
I'm not sure what's his lastname, so you cut out a little
bit, let's see.
I'm not sure what his last nameis Okay, is he a student on
campus?
(21:44):
I don't believe so.
Okay, all right.
So I will give my securityofficers just a little bit of a
heads up in case you needanything, and we'll go from
there If you change your mindlast minute or anything like
that.
We have some really coolsecurity officers.
We have some new.
We have a couple of new cops oncampus that are always looking
(22:08):
for like extra stuff to do whilethey're finishing up their
training, anything like that.
You just let me know, lauren.
My name is Lauren and I'll behere until 6 pm.
So if you need anything, justlet us know.
하라imaty Arabic.
It's only a person working withme.
So if you give us the call backat just the 585 cops or 5252677
number and let us know, we cansend someone out to help you or
(22:33):
you know anything you need,especially if the situation gets
uncomfortable, please, please,don't hesitate to give us a call
.
Okay, sounds good, sounds good.
Thanks.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Mark.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Bye-bye.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
So the reason I wanted you guys to hear that in
its entirety is because you canhear how sincere the dispatcher
is and trying to really reassureLauren and make sure that she
is okay.
She recognizes that her mom isreally worried, but she also
wants to hear from Lauren andnot make assumptions just based
(23:05):
off of one person's statement toher.
She's really trying to convinceLauren to come to the police
station and let the car bedropped off there for safety
reasons.
This was so great on thedispatcher to take the extra
steps to offer Lauren a sense ofsafety and security but
unfortunately, as so many otherthings with this case, this is
(23:28):
the only time that I will besaying that throughout the rest
of this case, and it is a shamethat this dispatcher was not
part of this situation more,because there are nearly 20
phone calls between the campuspolice and Salt Lake City police
with Lauren and her parents.
(23:51):
Melvin is seen on securitycameras dropping off the car and
then leaving.
On October 12th, laurenMcCluskey contacted the
University Police for the firsttime, reporting that she had
received suspicious messagesthat she believed were from
Melvin's friends.
The text said that he got intoan accident and was dead and
(24:11):
that it was all her fault, butshe found he had recently posted
on social media disproving thisclaim.
Such post also violatedMelvin's parole terms
prohibiting him from usingsocial media.
She also received a textmessage from Melvin saying that
he's alive.
She received texts later askingif she wanted to go to a
(24:32):
funeral his funeral.
Melvin told the officer thatshe did not feel in danger or
threatened by the text, but felthis friends were trying to lure
her somewhere.
The dispatcher asked if sheasked the numbers to stop
texting her.
She said she had alreadyblocked several of the numbers.
The dispatcher then informedLauren that they'd be sending
(24:54):
the information to an officer togive her a call, but no call
ever came.
The very next day, on October13th, at 9.22 am, lauren
contacted University Policeagain, this time reporting that
she had received more textmessages that she believed were
from Melvin or his friends.
Lauren said she was beingblackmailed and the text
(25:17):
demanded money in exchange fornot posting compromising photos
of her and her with Melvinonline.
She informed the dispatcherthat she talked with Melvin,
suspecting that he was involved,but he lied and said that he
was being blackmailed too.
Lauren said she sent $1000 toan account, as demanded, in
(25:39):
hopes of keeping the photosprivate.
The dispatcher took theinformation and passed it over
to Officer Miguel Daraas.
Lauren told Alex about theblackmail and how she contacted
the campus police.
Alex told her she needed to goin person.
So on Saturday, october 13th,at 11.16 am, lauren and Alex
(26:02):
went to the campus police.
Officer Daraas and anotherofficer came out to speak with
the girls.
The entire thing was conductedright there in the lobby of the
campus police station.
Neither Daraas nor the otherofficer ever once, when the
girls were there, took them intoa room to talk privately about
(26:22):
what was happening.
Lauren and Alex addressedconcerns that Lauren lived on
the first floor and suggestedthat Lauren be moved to a
different housing.
They told the officers howMelvin was a sex offender and
Alex had to actually Google itand show it to the officers
herself instead of them runninghis name through the database.
Officer Daraas wrote the reportand kept telling the girls this
(26:47):
was all just a scam.
Lauren filled out the report.
The officer gave her a casenumber and said the detective
currently wasn't in the officeand that Lauren would hear back
by Tuesday.
Over the next few days Laurenspoke to Officer Miguel Daraas
by phone, in person, by textmessages and eventually called
(27:07):
the Salt Lake City PoliceDepartment, which referred her
back to campus police.
The case was assigned to anon-call detective, kayla Dalloff
.
Our commanding officer,sergeant Corey Neuvel, told
Dalloff not to come in.
No one in the campus policedepartment checked Melvin's
parole status.
Later that evening at 5.45 pm,lauren called the Salt Lake City
(27:33):
Police Department.
She tells them how she's beenblackmailed for money.
The Salt Lake City dispatchertells Lauren she's going to turn
her over to the campus policeto handle it.
Lauren tells her she's alreadyspoken with them but also wanted
to call Salt Lake City Policeand inform them as well.
Lauren gets transferred to thecampus police.
(27:54):
She asks when an arrest wouldbe made given the information
that she provided.
The campus dispatcher tellsLauren she can talk to an
officer if she wants and thatthe dispatcher can arrange that.
Lauren said quote yeah, thatsounds good.
End quote.
Lauren was still continuouslybeing harassed and receiving
(28:15):
messages.
Lauren messaged Officer Dara'sscreenshots of the blackmail
threats that had the photos.
She was frequently in contactwith Officer Dara's by phone,
text and email.
In an article from the SaltLake Tribune, officer Dara's
displayed at least one of theintimate images that Lauren had
(28:36):
shared with him for theinvestigation while showing
another campus officer his phone.
The?
U has said it was unaware ofthe display until the Tribune
inquired about it in 2019.
Another officer told theTribune that Dara's bragged
about being able to look at theimage whenever he wanted.
A state investigation into theincident was launched after the
(28:59):
Tribune's report and itconfirmed that the display
occurred On October 16th.
A parole agent spoke withMelvin but did not know about
Lauren's allegations because theUniversity Police had not
communicated with the adultprobation and parole.
Melvin's use of social mediaviolated his probation and
(29:22):
involvement in a new crime alsowould have been a violation and
could have sent him back to jail.
On October 16th through the 19th, kayla Dahliff, the campus
detective assigned to Lauren'scase, worked on other
investigations.
On October 19th at 4.48pm,lauren called the Salt Lake City
(29:44):
Police Department to ask formore help.
Salt Lake City's dispatchertells her to call campus police,
which she does.
Detective Dahliff returnedLauren's call and said she would
not return to work untilOctober 23rd.
The detective tells Lauren tocall campus dispatch if she gets
another message.
That appears to be an attemptto lure her somewhere.
(30:06):
From October 19th through the22nd, security videos shows
Melvin at various campuslocations, apparently looking
for Lauren.
Over the weekend, lauren sentthree screenshots to campus
police showing Melvin's criminalhistory and his offender
details.
On October 22nd at 10.39am,lauren talked to Officer Darius
(30:33):
after she had received anothertext message from a spoof number
, with the message claiming tobe from Deputy Chief Rick
MacLennan, asking her to go tothe police station.
The only logical conclusion wasthat Melvin had sent it to get
Lauren to leave her dorm, butDarius never reported Lauren's
concerns to any of his superiorsat the department.
(30:54):
No-transcript.
From 3 to 6 pm, melvin waitedfor Lauren with some of her
friends at the dorms.
By 8 20 pm Melvin confrontedLauren in the parking lot
outside of her residence hall.
She was returning from a nightclass and on the phone with her
mom.
When she screamed no, no, no,melvin grabbed her and she
(31:17):
dropped her phone in belongings.
He then dragged her to adifferent spot in the lot,
forcing her into the backseat ofa car that he had driven to
campus.
At 8 23 pm, matt McCluskey,lauren's father, called the
campus police dispatch.
He relayed what Jill McCluskeyhad heard on the phone and asked
(31:38):
officers to respond.
We're gonna take a listen toMatt's call with campus police
dispatch.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
In security.
How can I help you?
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Hi, is this the University of Utah?
Speaker 4 (31:50):
This is how can I help you?
Speaker 2 (31:51):
Okay, this is a dispatch center in the South
State of Washington.
I have a 911 call to transferyou.
Hold on one moment please.
Speaker 5 (31:58):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Sir, are you still there?
Hi Okay, you're on the phonewith the dispatch for the
University of Utah.
Hi this is Chris with theFNVisa.
Speaker 5 (32:07):
Police.
Hi, my daughter, laurenMcCluskey, was talking to her
mom and then she just startedsaying no, no, no, no, no, and
it sounded like someone mighthave been grabbing her or
something.
Speaker 4 (32:24):
Okay, how long ago was this?
Speaker 5 (32:28):
This was just two minutes ago.
Okay, okay, coming out here.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
Does she live on campus?
Yeah, okay, okay, what's hername?
Speaker 5 (32:50):
Lauren McCluskey.
Okay, will you spell that last?
Speaker 4 (32:52):
name for me.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Will you spell the last namefor me?
Speaker 5 (33:03):
Yes, M-C-C-L-U-S-A-E -Y.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
Okay, Okay and what's her date of birth?
Okay, and you said the phoneline went dead.
Speaker 5 (33:31):
Yeah, the phone line went dead.
Okay, have you tried callingher back?
No, I'm sorry, the phone is notdead, but we can't.
She must have dropped it andthe phone connection is still
here.
Do you want the number?
Speaker 4 (33:46):
Yes, please open Okay .
And do you?
Happen to know what building orroom number she lives in.
I'm sorry.
Do you know what room numbershe lives in and what building?
Speaker 5 (34:13):
Yes, well, what building Her house?
What building is she living in?
Okay, she lives on the it's notstage point, but it's one of
the other ones, building 830something, okay.
(34:35):
Okay, just concentrate.
So it's building 263-92-111.
She was walking from GC-1570.
(34:56):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (34:58):
She had a car.
Speaker 4 (34:59):
She had a car, alright, and what was your name?
Speaker 5 (35:11):
My name is Matt McCluskey.
Speaker 4 (35:15):
Okay.
Okay let's get the phone numberfor you.
Speaker 5 (35:23):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (35:35):
Alright.
Speaker 5 (35:42):
She had broken up with a boy or a man recently,
and he's a pretty tall black guy.
Sean Fields is his name.
Speaker 4 (35:58):
Okay.
Has he made any threats oranything like that?
Speaker 5 (36:04):
His friends were kind of harassing her a little bit
while they were.
I can't believe we're involvedwith that.
Speaker 4 (36:13):
Yes, okay, I actually .
I have an officer right herethat dealt with that.
Let me talk to him for onesecond.
I'll be right back on with you.
Okay, I'll still be able tohear you, but you won't be able
to hear me, okay.
Speaker 5 (36:27):
I know we have to concentrate on helping.
Okay, so the officer thereknows about her situation.
He's telling us this too.
Yeah, he's been on.
Could you go up and bring mycell phone, because I gave him
(36:50):
my phone number.
Okay, it's upstairs in mycloset or on my nightstand, in
case they call that number.
Okay, let's focus.
Hello, hello, hello.
Speaker 4 (37:41):
All right, matt, are you still there?
Yes, okay, perfect, All right,and you said she was walking to
her car from one building.
Speaker 5 (37:55):
From the DC, which is what is that?
Something common GardenerCommons?
Someone's been talking on herphone.
Hello, hi, I have a back passand I need a phone.
Okay, could you just stay there.
I think she was mugged.
The care, care, is about tocall the cops.
(38:17):
I'm talking to the cops.
Okay, someone picked up herphone and backpack.
Speaker 4 (38:26):
I'm trying to get a good location.
All right, where is thebackpack out?
Can you get a location for me?
Speaker 5 (38:34):
Yeah, Okay, I'll call the agency and have her spy
someone.
Hi, matt, are you there?
Yeah, I think they're pretty.
Speaker 4 (38:48):
It's right by her apartment.
It's right by her apartment.
Speaker 5 (38:56):
I'm sorry, can we do that again?
Speaker 4 (38:59):
I'm showing her apartment as yeah, and you said
it's right by that building.
Speaker 5 (39:07):
Well, I think so.
Maybe the scouts would call thecops.
Tell her to just call the copsdirectly, would that be better?
Speaker 4 (39:15):
Yeah, yeah, if she could call us directly, that
would be awesome.
I'm going to let you go and ifyou hear anything, if you hear
anything else, give us a callback, please, okay.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
Police were dispatched to the parking lot
and found Lauren's belongings.
More police officers werecalled in.
A search began of her dorm room, the parking lot and the
surrounding area.
At 8.38pm, melvin had called awoman that he met on a dating
site and asked her to pick himup.
They went to dinner at arestaurant, drove by the state
(39:49):
capitol and went to her homedowntown where he took a shower.
She then dropped him off at acoffee shop.
At 9.55pm, while searching theparking lot, police found
Lauren's body in the back seatof a car.
She had been shot at leastseven times.
At 9.56pm, a secure in-placealert was sent campus-wide
(40:15):
telling the university communitythat there had been a shooting.
At 10.09pm, an alert was sentwith a suspect.
Information Updates were sentabout every 30 minutes.
At 11.46pm, an alert liftingthe secure in-place order was
sent after the university policedetermined that Melvin had left
(40:37):
the campus On October 23rd.
At 12.01am, an alert was sentidentifying the suspect as
Melvin Rowland.
The woman who had picked up andwent to dinner with Melvin
called the police after seeinghis mugshot on the TV.
She told them that they had meton a dating app and that he
said his name was Apollo Santos.
(40:59):
At 12.46am, salt Lake Citypolice found Melvin and followed
him on foot.
He entered Trinity AME Churchat 239 East Martin Luther King
Boulevard, 600 South.
As police entered the church,melvin fatally shot himself.
At 1.47am an alert was sentsaying that Melvin had been
(41:24):
located and was no longer athreat.
Later on, on October 23rd,university Police Chief Dale
Brophy told reporters that hisofficers could not find Melvin
in the days before the shooting,although no one had been
looking for him.
He incorrectly said Melvin hadwalked away from a halfway house
(41:45):
, a statement the universitylater corrected.
The next day, on October 24th,the Department of Corrections
revealed that a parole agent hadspoken to Melvin on October
16th, unaware that four daysearlier Lauren had begun calling
University Police to accuse himof harassing her.
The campus community cametogether for a vigil to honor
(42:08):
Lauren McCluskey On October 25th.
In an emotional pressconference, brophy revealed for
the first time that Melvin hadextorted Lauren on October 13th,
threatening to releasecompromising photos if she
didn't pay $1,000.
Brophy also revealed thatMelvin stalked Lauren on campus
(42:30):
for at least three days beforekilling her and spent three
hours before the shootinghanging out with her friends in
her residence hall.
Brophy also said that the manwho had loaned Roland the gun,
contacted police after seeingmedia reports about the slaying.
The University of UtahPresident Ruth Watkins said she
(42:53):
would ask an outsideinvestigator to review
University Police protocols, butsaid the review would not
examine the decisions ofindividual officers.
In his monthly news conference,governor Gary Herbert announced
that he had also ordered aninvestigation of the Utah
Department of Corrections andthe Board of Partents and Parole
(43:15):
to look into possible mistakesthere that may have contributed
to Lauren's death.
The State's Division ofOccupational and Professional
Licensing announced that it wasinvestigating unlicensed
activity by Diamond SecurityGroup, the company that hired
Melvin under the alias SeanFields as a bouncer at Salt Lake
(43:37):
City restaurants.
It had a security contract withthe London Bell, where Melvin
had met Lauren.
Black Diamond Security Groupsaid that it had ended its
relationship with Melvin about amonth earlier.
Within a few hours, the DOPLissued a citation and a ceased
and desist order against BlackDiamond, saying that the company
(44:00):
was not licensed to providesecurity in the state.
The state said that the companynever did a background check on
Melvin before hiring him.
More of Melvin's violent pastwas also uncovered.
That included an attemptedsexual assault of a teenage girl
in 2004, a 2012 parole hearingin which he admitted to raping
(44:22):
the teen and two other women,and a 2016 admission that he had
threatened that quote if anagent were to come conduct a
field visit, he might becomeviolent.
End quote.
On October 26th, university ofUtah trustees talked in a
hastily arranged closed-doormeeting about the competence of
(44:45):
the University police andadministrators in the wake of
Lauren's death.
The next day, two women who hadbriefly dated Melvin earlier
that year described his patternof lies and manipulation to the
Salt Lake Tribune, includingfalsehoods about his age and not
disclosing his criminal record.
On October 29th, releasedpolice records revealed that
(45:09):
Melvin was suspected, but nevercharged, with burglarizing two
women he dated in 2015.
On November 2nd, watkins changedcourse, announcing that the
independent review she describedin an October 25th news
conference would look at actionstaken by individual officers in
the week before Lauren waskilled.
(45:30):
The team included two formercommissioners of the Utah
Department of Public Safety JohnT Nielsen, who served in that
post from 1985 through 1988, andis also an attorney, and Keith
Squires, who retired ascommissioner in August.
Former University ofWisconsin-Madison police chief
(45:53):
Sue Riesling was selected as thethird team member.
She has since become theexecutive director of the
International Association ofCampus Law Enforcement
Administrators.
On November 13th, jillMcCluskey tweeted that quote the
person who let Lauren's killerthe gun needs to be prosecuted.
(46:15):
End quote.
On December 19th, theIndependent Review Team released
its report.
The review of the UtahDepartment of Corrections and
Board of Pardons and Peril wasalso released.
Watkins said the report aboutthe University Police quote does
not offer any reason to believethat Lawrence Slaying could
(46:37):
have been prevented.
Instead, the report offersweaknesses, identifies issues
and provides us with a roadmapfor strengthening security on
our campus.
End quote.
But Bill Nielsen listedmultiple significant missed
opportunities, including thereports to housing officials by
(46:57):
Lawrence's friends and the dayswhen the detective assigned to
her concerns was off and thecase was not assigned to another
officer during that time.
Among its recommendations, thereview said the campus
Department of Public Safety isunderstaffed, that it needs to
hire a victim advocate, that itneeds to develop a coordinated
(47:20):
working relationship withexisting victim advocates
elsewhere on campus, that itneeds to train all of its
officers about interpersonalviolence issues and it needs to
adopt a lethality assessmentalready used by many other Utah
Police departments ininterpersonal violence cases.
Lawrence's parents spoke outthe next day questioning
(47:43):
Watkins' assertion that theirdaughter's death could not have
been prevented.
They also called for policeofficers involved in her case to
be disciplined.
On January 25, 2019, lawrence'sparents, frustrated by the lack
of action, went on ABC's GoodMorning America to talk about
(48:04):
their daughter.
They again called fordiscipline and for the first
time, they said they wereconsidering a lawsuit.
A few weeks later, on February7, a Utah lawmaker drafted a
bill prompted by Lawrence'smurder.
She called for Utah's publiccolleges to develop detailed
response plans for cases ofsexual assault, stalking and
(48:27):
dating and domestic violence,with an emphasis on training
officers how to recognizewarning signs.
Matt McCluskey later testifiedon behalf of the bill, and it
was signed into law by UtahGovernor Gary Herbert on March
29.
On what would have beenLawrence's 22nd birthday,
(48:49):
watkins announced that theschool had made significant
changes to ensure student safety.
The?
U increased training forofficers to recognize warning
signs of domestic and datingviolence.
The updated policies creatednew task force and shared
information across campus,including sending safety reports
from housing staff to thepolice.
(49:10):
She repeated that no campusofficers would be disciplined in
this case.
Watkins said quote I do notbelieve it serves the ultimate
mission of improving campussafety to fire anyone who acted
in good faith end quote.
On February 20, a second billto come in response to
(49:32):
Lawrence's death stalled incommittee.
The legislation would open theway for lawsuits against
individuals whose borrowedfirearms are used in a felony.
It didn't pass in 2019legislative session or when it
was brought up again in 2020.
But the sponsor Representative,andrew Stoddard, has pledged to
(49:54):
continue working on it.
On February 25, the UtahDepartment of Corrections
released the parole log forMelvin.
It showed that he had a fewviolations using a dating app,
testing positive for marijuanaand missing some counseling
appointments but he mostly gothigh remarks.
(50:16):
On March 7, Detective Dahliff,who was assigned to the
investigation of Lawrence'sconcerns, left the university's
police department.
It was later learned that shewas fired after making similar
mistakes.
On another female student'scase, a 17-year-old girl had
reported being threatened by amale student at the?
(50:37):
U.
He had trapped her in his room,she said, and then he left her
a voicemail saying that he wasgoing to kill her.
After she was able to get out,dahliff left work for the
weekend without taking anyaction.
She now works for the WeberCounty Sheriff's Office.
(50:58):
On March 13, federal chargeswere filed against Nathan Daniel
Vogel.
The man who loaned his gun toMelvin Vogel had a friend buy
the gun for him in September of2018 because he didn't think he
could get one.
After being generallydischarged from the Army a step
below an honorable discharge, hewas charged with unlawfully
(51:21):
purchasing the weapon.
To charge Vogel under state lawin connection with the loan,
prosecutors would have to showhe knowingly gave the gun to aid
in the crime or knew Melvincouldn't own a gun because of
his criminal background.
Vogel later pled guilty and hewas sentenced to three years of
supervised release.
(51:44):
On June 5, the University ofUtah's Police Department held an
award ceremony honoringemployees for how they responded
to Lauren's concerns before herslaying and media questions
after her death.
They celebrated a dispatcherand two administrators, despite
the independent review thatfound several staffers
mishandled her case.
(52:05):
Lauren's parents said thehonors seemed disrespectful and
out of touch.
Matt McCluskey suggested theceremony borders on obscene.
The?
U later apologized forincluding Lauren's name in the
program.
On June 27, lauren's parentsfiled a $56 million lawsuit
against the?
(52:25):
U.
They alleged that the campuspolice could have prevented
their daughter's killing andthat the school's president was
irresponsible and insistingotherwise.
Jill and Matt McCluskey said itwas a last resort.
They wanted an apology, butsaid that they never got one.
They asked the school to firethe officers involved, but that
(52:46):
didn't happen.
They tried working withPresident Watkins to remedy the
situation but said she would notrespond to their emails.
The lawsuit was filed againstOfficer Dara's, detective
Dahliff, the University and theState which funds the public
school.
It also named then campuspolice chief Dahl-Broffy and
(53:08):
officials in the housingdepartment.
It called Lauren's death tragic, avoidable and untimely and
accused the university ofrefusing to respond, making it
liable.
It said that the student, herfamily and friends all reached
out more than 20 times to reportconcerns.
(53:28):
The biggest jab of thecomplaint is that the?
U failed in its obligation tofollow Title 9.
This federal law requiresschools to swiftly investigate
reports of sexual violence andprovide services to individuals
who report discrimination orviolence.
That same day, the?
(53:50):
U released reports showing ithad spent nearly $60,000 for
public relations advice afterLauren was killed.
On July 1, officer Dara's, whowas also supposed to handle
Lauren's case, was disciplinedfor making the same mistakes
again on another woman's case.
He was assigned to respond to acall reporting a domestic
(54:13):
violence incident in marriedhousing on campus.
In February.
Dara's went to talk to thewoman and provide her with
information about how to reportassault by a partner.
When he arrived, the suspectwas there too.
Dara's let the man stay as heinterviewed the concerned woman.
According to his disciplineletter, he did not call for
(54:37):
backup, which the policedepartment requires for cases
involving fights or abusebetween partners when both
parties are present.
He also did not check if theman was on parole, even after
the man attempted to call hisparole agent in his presence.
Dara's accepted the warningwithout appeal and it was placed
(54:57):
in his file.
The?
U began requiring professors toinclude a statement in their
course syllabus that lists thephone number for the campus
police and directs students tocall there with concerns.
On August 15, the?
U announced more changes inresponse to Lauren's death.
A $1 million investment went toimproving building alarms,
(55:22):
having police patrol outside ofnight classes and creating a new
transportation system.
On August 26, president RuthWatkins publicly took questions
from faculty and students forthe first time since Lauren was
killed.
It had been nearly a year sinceher death.
At this point she facedpushback, though, for declining
(55:43):
to speak about officers'discipline in the case.
She said quote Of course thisis not at all an appropriate
forum for me to talk aboutindividual personnel cases and
some of the nuances of what wasdifferent between case A and
case B.
End quote.
On September 17, officer Dara'sresigned from the University
(56:07):
Police Department.
He transferred to work as anofficer at the Logan Police
Department in northern Utah.
On September 21, the?
U filed its first response tothe lawsuit filed by the?
Mccluskies.
In it the school suggested thatquote no matter how
heartbreaking, its officers hadno obligation to protect Lauren
(56:29):
from her attacker.
End quote.
The school's attorneys arguedthat her killer wasn't a?
U employee or student and hadno connection to the university.
So it was not responsible forhis actions and had no way to
control him.
And they added he was often oncampus only because Lauren had
(56:50):
at times willingly invited himto her dorm room.
The university's filingconcluded quote.
Liability for this wouldrequire that schools be
guardians of every student'ssafety from any act of
relationship violence, no matterwhere the act arises or who
perpetrates it.
End quote.
(57:12):
The filing immediately touchedoff circumstances of the?
U, with some accusing theschool of victim blaming.
The Utah Attorney General'sOffice, representing the?
U in the ongoing case, releaseda response defending its
arguments In a surprising publicstatement on September 26,.
Student leaders at theuniversity condemned the
(57:35):
administration, criticizing howit handled fears reported by
Lauren, denied responsibilityafter her murder and created an
atmosphere in which studentsworry campus police won't
protect them.
It's the first time the?
U's student government haspublished such a formal critique
.
A university administratorresponded shortly after saying
(57:57):
it would take time to rebuildtrust.
Tensions continued to rise.
Nearly 100 students, mainlywomen, walked out of class and
staged a protest on October 21stto discuss their concerns with
the used police department.
It came one day before thefirst anniversary of student
(58:17):
athlete Lauren McCluskey'smurder.
The group somberly stoodoutside the school's
administration building andcarried posters that asked where
were you when Lauren needed you?
President Watkins responded bysaying that Lauren's murder
revealed problems on campus.
It was one of her strongeststatements on the case to date.
(58:40):
On November 23rd, the?
U received a $300,000 federalgrant to improve how it responds
to cases of stalking and datingand domestic violence on campus
.
Two days later, powerhouseattorney Christine Durham, a
former Utah Supreme Court ChiefJustice, joined the legal team
(59:00):
representing the McCluskeys.
On February 4th 2020, anotherbill prompted by Lauren's case
was drafted by the Utah Senate.
It aimed to improve how Utahuniversities responded to sexual
assault and strengthencoordination between on campus
and off campus law enforcement.
It was also signed into lawThanks to the Tribune reporting
(59:26):
on May 17th that officer Darashowed off explicit photos of
Lauren McCluskey to hiscoworkers before she was killed.
The university confirmed thatdisplay occurred, making that
statement in response to acontinued push by the Tribune to
obtain public records about howthe case was handled.
Still, the?
(59:47):
U said it didn't know about theinappropriate behavior and
abuse of evidence until afterDara's left the department in
September of 2019.
According to two fellowofficers, dara showed off at
least one of the images to amale co-worker.
One officer said Dara braggedabout getting to look at them
(01:00:07):
whenever he wanted.
That report kicked off a waveof responses.
The Logan Police Department,where Dara's work, pledged to do
an investigation.
The?
U has also asked the UtahDepartment of Public Safety to
thoroughly review the situation,after saying its internal
process was insufficient.
(01:00:27):
Dara's hired attorneys whodenied the display occurred.
Meanwhile, several lawmakersalso proposed bills to address
officers handling sensitiveinformation and setting up rules
to punish those who abuse it.
The school's chief safetyofficer later responded that
he's restructured how policeofficers on campus deal with
(01:00:49):
evidence.
Any pictures that an officerreceives on a cell phone as
evidence must be enteredunaltered into the department's
evidence database by the end ofthe individual's shift, and then
they need to be deleted fromtheir personal devices.
On June 8th, jill and MatthewMcCluskey filed a second lawsuit
(01:01:12):
against the?
U, this time in state court.
It alleged that the schooldenied their daughter equal
protection under Utah'sConstitution.
On June 29th, the University ofU announced that it would
overhaul its troubled policedepartment, requiring more
public reporting of misconduct,hiring new command staff to
(01:01:33):
oversee officers and devoting adivision to victim services,
with a special focus on sexualviolence.
The move has been the mostfar-reaching of the University's
response to Lauren's death.
There would be five maindivisions police, community
services focused on victims,emergency management, security
(01:01:57):
for the main campus and securityfor the University's hospital.
The change also came after the?
U released a campus climatesurvey.
It showed that students' trustin officers was down
significantly.
When the survey was previouslyconducted in the spring of 2018,
before Lauren's murder, amajority of the students said
(01:02:19):
that they felt that theUniversity did enough to protect
students.
With the same question asked in2020, less than half did.
On July 21st, the University ofUtah filed its own lawsuit
saying it shouldn't have torelease counseling records about
Lauren, who spoke to a schoolpsychologist in the days and
(01:02:41):
hours before she was killed.
Her parents had asked for thedocuments.
However, the?
U argued that those should beconsidered confidential even
after death.
On August 5th, the UtahDepartment of Public Safety
released its report confirmingthat Daris showed off the
intimate photos of Lauren in thedays before her death.
(01:03:02):
Investigators found the imageswere displayed to at least three
of Daris' male co-workerswithout a work-related reason.
One employee recounted thatOfficer Miguel Daris commented
specifically about getting toquote look at them whenever he
wants.
End quote.
And that employee admitted thathe too made crude remarks when
(01:03:25):
seeing the images which Laurenhad given to Daris as evidence
in her extortion case.
Another said that the otherofficers chimed in, saying Daris
was lucky to get to work on thecase and that Lauren was a cute
girl.
On another occasion Darisshowed a sergeant one of the
nude photos of Lauren while theywere at the crime scene.
(01:03:48):
On the night she was fatallyshot on campus after his
superior said quote I wonderwhat she looked like.
End quote.
The investigators couldn'tdetermine whether Daris had
saved or downloaded the intimatephotos to his personal phone,
but the report notes Darisswitched phones after Lauren was
killed.
So much of the data laterrecovered on his device was
(01:04:11):
encrypted or corrupted.
Three officers at the?
U were fired for not speakingup about the display.
Sooner, on August 7th, theLogan Police Department fired
Miguel Daris for showing off thephotos while he was previously
working at the?
U.
Logan Police Chief Gary Jensensaid that the abuse of evidence
(01:04:34):
is?
Quote inconsistent with thehigh expectations and standards
placed upon our officers by thecommunity.
End quote.
On September 22nd, a month shyof the second year anniversary
of Lauren's murder, the?
U opened a new center forviolence prevention founded in
(01:04:54):
part to research intimatepartner violence after Lauren's
death.
On October 15th, salt LakeCounty District Attorney Sim
Gill announced that his officedeclined to prosecute Miguel
Daris over showing off thephotos, while he believes the
officers actions were quotedefinitely reckless.
End quote.
Gill said there is no Utah lawfor addressing this type of
(01:05:18):
police misconduct.
Gill said, quote.
We realized there was no realstatute that we could use for
this case.
We're incensed, like everyoneelse, by this behavior.
It was inappropriate, but ifthere's not a statute, there's
nothing we can do.
End quote.
Gill's office examined whetherit could charge Daris under the
(01:05:42):
revenge porn law in Utah Withthat sharing or displaying a
compromising photo of someonewithout the person's consent can
be prosecuted.
The statute, though, requiresproof that the person in the
images was harmed.
Lauren's death made thatimpossible.
Members of the person's familybeing hurt, such as Lauren's
(01:06:04):
parents, don't count.
Gill and Matt McCluskey saidthat they were disappointed in
Gill for not pursuing justice inthe US and Gill for not
pursuing justice in theirdaughter's case.
Six days later, on October 21st, about 40 protesters marched
around Gill's office, rallyingagainst the district attorney
for not filing charges againstDaris.
(01:06:27):
The next day, acknowledging forthe first time that the
on-campus murder of track starLauren McCluskey was preventable
, the University of Utah agreedthat it could have better
protected her and failed, and itwould pay out $13.5 million to
her parents as part of a legalsettlement.
The settlement announcementcame a day later, on the
(01:06:50):
two-year anniversary of Lauren'sdeath.
At a news conference, the?
U President, ruth Watkins, saidshe was sincerely sorry for the
loss of Lauren.
She read from a statementsaying, quote the University
acknowledges and deeply regretsthat it did not handle Lauren's
case as it should have and that,at the time, its employees
(01:07:13):
failed to fully understand andrespond appropriately to
Lauren's situation.
The school built an indoortrack to be named for Lauren and
used by the track and fieldteam on which she competed at
the?
U With the new facility.
Gill McCluskey said herdaughter, quote, will always
have a presence on the campusand quote the family walked
(01:07:37):
around the current outdoor trackto honor their daughter on the
anniversary.
Additionally, the new Centerfor Violence Prevention at the?
U, created partly in responseto Lauren's death, would now
bear her name.
On January 12, 2021, ruthWatkins announced that she would
be stepping down in April totake a new job with Strata
(01:08:00):
Impact, a national educationnonprofit.
In an interview with theTribune, she acknowledged that
Lauren's case was part of thereason for her departure.
She had led the university inthe top post for three years and
was the institution's firstfemale president.
(01:08:20):
On February 3, state lawmakerspublicly released several bills
for the general sessions,spurred by Lauren's case and the
concerns over Daris is showingoff of her photos.
One from Representative CraigHall passed and now strengthens
the existing law around revengeporn, adding that officers can
(01:08:41):
be charged with sharingsensitive photos of the victims.
Representative Andrew Stoddardalso got through a few pieces
updating language in the statecode on investigating officers
for misconduct.
Another that passed was fromSenator Yanni Iwamoto, which
aims to prevent problematicofficers from easily jumping
(01:09:03):
departments in Utah, but herproposal to create a student
commission to look at safetyissues was gutted and stripped
of that provision.
Instead, it only requirescampus police agencies to
collect more data on crimes.
On March 3, legislators gavefinal approval to the settlement
(01:09:23):
agreement between Lauren'sparents and the university.
On April 6, wacken served herlast day as the university
president, and on April 13,braffi, the former police chief,
and Daris, the officer whoshowed explicit photos of Lauren
, took the first step towardfiling a lawsuit against a
(01:09:44):
government agency.
Braffi, who received a fullyear's salary and a $6,000 party
when he retired amid criticismof his department's mishandling
of Lauren's case, says he wasn'ttreated fairly and wants the
school to pay him millions.
Daris, who quit his job at the?
U before his misconduct wasinvestigated, claims he deserves
(01:10:07):
millions too.
Also joining their lawsuit wasthe former deputy police chief,
who stepped down and declined toparticipate in that
investigation, and two otherformer officers arguing they
were all mistreated.
In the fallout from thehigh-profile case, they are
seeking $10 million from theUniversity of Utah In 2022,.
(01:10:32):
As the fourth anniversary ofLauren's death approached, matt
and Jill met two reporters at ahotel in Moscow, idaho, a short
drive from Poland.
They learned some details ofESPN's investigation for the
first time.
They said they'd be comfortablewatching videos from some of
the people involved, includingMiguel Daris, to offer their
(01:10:54):
reactions.
On March 28, 2023, espnreleased Listen on ESPN Plus
about Lauren's case.
Espn and 2020 partnered inmaking a four-year investigative
story about Lauren's case.
The 2020 episode is titledRunning Out of Time.
(01:11:15):
I will have links to bothprograms in the source material
listed in the show notes I'mgoing to read from Lauren's
obituary.
Her work ethic in the classroom,weight room and on the track
was exceptional.
Her teammates and coaches wereinspired and amazed at how she
never complained even when theweather was foul or practice was
(01:11:37):
especially tough.
Lauren has been described asquiet, but more accurately, she
chose her words carefully.
Her professors were delightedby how she was engaged and made
incisive, on-point comments.
In college she truly blossomed.
Lauren never had an unkind wordto say about anyone.
(01:11:59):
She loved being with friendsand was a great dancer.
She had a strong singing voice,loved karaoke and even did
stand-up comedy.
Lauren was a Christian.
She grew up attending CommunityCongressional United Church of
Christ and in college attendedCapitol Church in Salt Lake City
.
She was a member of theFellowship of Christian Athletes
(01:12:22):
at the University of Utah.
She was a deep, independentthinker with an interest in
philosophy and a strong sense ofright and wrong.
She was a gifted writer,winning a high school award in
her junior year of high schoolas the top writer at her prep
school and excelling in college.
(01:12:43):
Even her texts and emails werebeautifully composed.
Lauren enrolled in electives ongrammar and logic for pure
intellectual enjoyment.
She was looking forward tograduating and finding a job in
public relations or academicadvising, preferably someplace
warm.
Lauren served as acommunications intern at
(01:13:07):
Cortland Place RetirementCommunity where her grandparents
lived.
In this internship, shedesigned and completed a picture
dictionary with stories thatshe wrote about the residence.
She enjoyed interviewing themand taking their pictures for
the project.
Her grandparents receivedwonderful feedback from their
neighbors that they loved thebook and interacting with Lauren
(01:13:27):
.
A model student athlete, Laurenhad a 3.77 GPA and applied to
graduate in Spring of 2019.
Recognizing her academicaccomplishments, the University
of Utah conferred a posthumousBachelor's of Science degree in
communications, and that's thecase of Lauren McCluskey.
(01:13:49):
If you or someone you know needshelp because of domestic
violence or abuse, call theNational Domestic Violence
Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
That's 1-800-799-7233.
That's 1-800-799-safe.
(01:14:13):
You can also text START to887-888 or visit
wwwthehotlineorg.
Be sure to follow on Instagramat Crime Connoisseurs.
You can find Crime Connoisseurswherever you listen to your
podcasts.
In the meantime, keep it classyConnoisseurs, and I'll catch
(01:14:37):
you on the next case.
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com