June 17, 2025 • 23 mins
She thought she was dating a fellow college student. He was actually a 37-year-old convicted sex offender using a fake name.
In this episode of Murder U, we investigate the heartbreaking case of Lauren McCluskey, a 21-year-old track star at the University of Utah who tried everything she could to stay safe—reporting threats, breaking off the relationship, even calling campus police more than 20 times. But when her cries for help went unanswered, it ended in tragedy.
We walk through Lauren’s final weeks, the system failures that led to her death, and the shocking revelations that surfaced in the aftermath. From the university’s botched response to the civil lawsuits that followed, we explore how a campus tragedy exposed deeper flaws in institutional accountability, victim protection, and law enforcement response.
This is the story of a student who did everything right... and still lost her life to a predator hiding in plain sight.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/murder-u--6152042/support.
In this episode of Murder U, we investigate the heartbreaking case of Lauren McCluskey, a 21-year-old track star at the University of Utah who tried everything she could to stay safe—reporting threats, breaking off the relationship, even calling campus police more than 20 times. But when her cries for help went unanswered, it ended in tragedy.
We walk through Lauren’s final weeks, the system failures that led to her death, and the shocking revelations that surfaced in the aftermath. From the university’s botched response to the civil lawsuits that followed, we explore how a campus tragedy exposed deeper flaws in institutional accountability, victim protection, and law enforcement response.
This is the story of a student who did everything right... and still lost her life to a predator hiding in plain sight.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/murder-u--6152042/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Abnormia. From high school hallways to expansive college campuses and
the sanctity of their homes, These once secure spaces have
transformed into hunting grounds for sinister individuals seeking to inflict
harm on the unsuspecting. Join me, Maddie each week as
we delve into the bone chilling stories of senseless murders
(00:26):
occurring in and around our centers of education. Welcome to
murder you, an abnormia original. Come back to murder you.
(01:01):
I'm your host, Mattie, and today I want to tell
you about the tragic and senseless murder of twenty one
year old University of Utah track star Lauren McCluskey. It's
truly such a heartbreaking case considering how preventable it was,
and it's hard not to feel angry for Lauren's family
as this case was defined by missteps from the powers involved.
(01:21):
It's a case of emotional abuse, manipulation, stocking, and extortion.
So let's begin, because there are a lot of layers
to peel back on this one. Lauren Jennifer McCluskey was
born on February twelfth, nineteen ninety seven, in Berkeley, California,
to her parents Matt and Jill McCluskey. The family then
moved to Pulham, Washington after her parents got jobs at
(01:44):
Washington State University as professors. Lauren was described as a smart, empathetic,
and fearless child. She often climbed trees and walls, already
proving to be extremely athletic at a young age. Her
family must have known they had an athlete on their hands,
but I don't think even they could have predicted that
Lauren would excel just as much as she did. At
(02:06):
the age of eight, Lauren entered her first Junior Olympics
track meet and set records in high jump, long jump,
and the four hundred meter run. She competed nationally every
year after earning USA Track and Field All American Top
eight nineteen times across different events. Some of the youth
records she set in the USA Track and Field Association
(02:27):
still were standing after her death in twenty eighteen, so
clearly Lauren was already planning on leaving her mark on
the world in a big way. After leading the Pullman
High School track team to a third place overall state finish,
Lauren graduated with honors. She went on to receive a
Track and Field scholarship to the University of Utah, thus
(02:48):
beginning the next exciting chapter of working towards a degree
in communications. From the moment Lauren stepped onto the University
of Utah campus, she made an impression. Her professors raved
about her enthusiasm to learn an exceptional work ethic. For
the few years it took her to earn her degree.
Set to graduate the next semester, Lauren was working towards
(03:09):
a career in public relations or academic advising. Let me
tell you, Lauren had an incredible successful life ahead of her.
Like many college students, Lauren wasn't all work and no play.
She enjoyed going out to bars in karaoke with her friends.
One night, Lauren met twenty eight year old Shawn Fields
at a bar in downtown Salt Lake City where he
(03:31):
worked as a bouncer. He told her he was in
the military, trained as a security officer, and was taking
classes at the local community college. They went out a
few times, and soon they were in a relationship, with
Lauren even gashing about Sewn to her parents. Her parents
recalled that Lauren was head over heels for him. She
(03:51):
thought she'd met a great guy, but one day Lauren
saw Sean's driver's license and realized her relationship was built
on a handful of lies. His name wasn't Sean Fields
at all. It was Melvin Sean Roland. And he wasn't
twenty eight, he was thirty seven. Now, to me, nine
years is a pretty major difference between ages. It's hard
(04:14):
to imagine that someone would lie about something so arbitrary
just to get someone's attention or devotion. But as we'll
come to find out, Melvin Roland was a master manipulator.
Before she confronted him about it, Lauren decided to google
her boyfriend's hidden identity and discovered the most disturbing fact
of all. He was a registered sex offender on parole.
(04:38):
I can't imagine finding something like that out about someone
I was dating. I get this ichy feeling just thinking
about it. In twenty twelve, he admitted to sexually assaulting
a teenage girl in two thousand and four. Of course,
when Lauren discovered this, she confronted him, he confessed to
the secret, and she immediately broke up with him. In hindsight,
(05:00):
Roland displayed troubling behavior throughout their relationship. Lauren's friends recall
he was possessive, often calling her while she was out
and questioning who she was with and when she'd be back.
And when the couple went out, he demanded Lauren dress
in a certain way, typically in a T shirt and jeans,
presumably so she wouldn't attract meal attention. This type of
(05:22):
controlling behavior was a major red flag to laurence friends,
but she justified it by saying he'd been hurt by
women in past relationships. However, I wouldn't be surprised if
that was just another lie. Laurence soon became withdrawn from
her peers, spending most of her free time with Roland.
I can imagine she was happy to get her life
(05:42):
back once she discovered the truth and ended things, but Roland,
like many men with control issues, refused to take no
for an answer. He continued texting Lauren after their breakup
with increasingly threatening messages. He faked suicide on multiple attempts
via social media, blaming her for his depression and trying
(06:05):
to get her attention, classic manipulation tactics. He even brought
his friends into the hoax, getting them to post about
his alleged suicide on social media to make it more believable.
And it didn't end there. Roland harassed Lauren, showing up
to her dorm frequently and sometimes making it inside. And
(06:26):
here's the kicker. He even tried to extort her for
one thousand dollars, threatening to share explicit photos he had
of them. What a creep. Lauren confided to her friends
and family about the horror she was facing, but she
initially didn't believe her life was in danger. She might
have assumed Roland was a manipulative sure, creepy, definitely, but
(06:49):
she had no idea how dangerous he truly was. Lauren
didn't allow her friends or family to intervene, preferring to
handle the situation herself. It's clear Lauren was a strong
and independent woman, but no matter how capable Lauren was,
she was also growing fearful of what Roland was capable of.
(07:09):
Okay spoiler, This next part is a textbook case of
police negligence. Had the multiple mistakes made by campus police
not happened, Lauren's life would almost certainly have been saved.
If anyone had investigated Roland, they would have found he
committed sex crimes as far back as two thousand and four,
(07:30):
when he pleaded guilty to enticing a minor over the Internet.
From then, he was in and out of Utah State
Prison for years until he was paroled for the final
time in April of twenty eighteen. Between that time, he
was suspected in multiple burglaries, and in twenty fifteen, a
former girlfriend reported she was afraid of Roland, but that
(07:53):
was quickly ignored by authorities when she was arrested herself
on suspicion of theft. That same year, Roland burgled an
ex girlfriend's apartment, stealing a television and Blu ray player
she recalled after they'd broken up. He was supposed to
come by and leave his key under the doormat. Instead,
he left the key where the TV once sat. What
(08:15):
a jerk. Melvin Roland was a serial manipulator who often
displayed possessive behavior in relationships, but was rarely held accountable,
which allowed him to victimize more women. When Lauren reported
the harassment and extortion to campus police in October of
twenty eighteen, her claims were ignored. Not only did police
(08:37):
not investigate, but get this, officer Miguel Daris downloaded her
private photos the explicit ones Roland was extorting her with
to his personal phone and showed them off to his
friends and colleagues, commenting on her looks surprise. Roland isn't
the only guilty party in this case. Officer Daris wasn't
(09:00):
just awful at his job, he was an awful person
in general. If the campus police had checked Melvin Rowland's
offender status, they could have easily taken him into custody
for violating his parole. If they'd bothered to do a
real investigation, they likely would have learned that Roland even
revealed to coworkers that he planned to extort Lauren. They
(09:23):
were given the necessary information, and for whatever reason, they
didn't follow up on it. Lauren even emailed Melvin's parole
information to the campus police, but the email was tragically
left unopened until after her death, serving as a harrowing
reminder that Lauren might still be alive if her report
(09:44):
had been taken seriously. Instead, her family was left with
a lifetime of heartbreak. Despite both Lauren and her mother
repeatedly contacting campus police about the harassment, no action was
taken against Roland. They even bega to worry that someone
within the department was tipping off her stalker about her whereabouts,
(10:06):
but they were accused of being paranoid. I really hope
that's not true. I mean, as if it weren't unnerving
enough that the campus police were partly to blame for
her death, the idea that they might have been complicit
in her stocking is highly disturbing. I'm not saying there's
any evidence of that, but their failure to protect a
(10:27):
student does raise a lot of questions. Lauren had begun
to lose hope that anyone would take the case seriously
and began to fear for her life. She didn't know
who to turn to. Her dorm security often accidentally allowed
her stalker inside against her wishes. The University of Utah
(10:48):
was notorious for not taking women's issues seriously. Whenever girls
reported serious threats, nowhere was safe, and by fall of
twenty eighteen, it was too late. On that fateful day
of October twenty second, security footage shows Roland arriving on
(11:10):
campus in the morning carrying a bulky black bag, narrowly
missing Lauren as she headed out to meet with a counselor.
He attempted to gain access to her dorm, but was
initially denied entry. Roland then talked up a group of
young men, enticing them with the lies about his time
in the Marines. Get this, He showed the guys the
(11:32):
handgun and ammunition he was carrying in the bag. One
student even handled it before they parted ways, but he
had gotten what he came for access to Lauren's dormitory.
Due to the negligent dorm security, Roland was able to
wait for Lauren for hours inside the residence hall. When
(11:53):
she got to the building parking lot at eight twenty pm,
she was on the phone with her mother. And this
is one of the most hurt breaking things about this case, folks,
Her parents heard her get attacked by Roland. Matt McCluskey,
Lauren's father, said in a televised interview with ABC that
they'd been on the phone talking about her schoolwork. Lauren
(12:15):
was looking forward to things, McCluskey said, adding she was
proud that she was making progress on an assignment that
was not due for a few days. It was a
wonderful conversation, but then the call took a turn for
the worse. Lauren's father went on to explain she was
so happy and then she said no, no, no, and
(12:35):
I knew something was wrong, and as if that wasn't
distressing enough, Jill McCluskey stated in that same interview, I
heard her yell no, no, no, and then I sort
of hear her being dragged away and her phone fell,
and then no one answered the phone. I knew her
life was in danger at that time. Absolutely chilling. I
(12:58):
can't imagine what it must have been like to be
a parent who knew their daughter had a dangerous person
in her life, then be totally helpless as you hear
her being attacked by the person she feared the most,
and knowing about Melvin Roland, I imagine they knew instantly
that Lauren could be in grave danger. Her parents listened
(13:19):
in horror as Roland dragged Lauren into the parking lot,
causing her to drop her phone in the process. Her
father called police at eight twenty three pm, and they
were able to get in touch with the person who
found Lauren's belongings scattered across the parking lot, but no
sign of Lauren or her attacker. The campus police thought,
at the very least they had a kidnapping on their hands,
(13:42):
but before they could investigate much further, the local police
department began receiving an influx of calls from around the
area reporting the sound of gunshots. In just that short
amount of time, Roland shot Lauren seven times. Her body
was found at nine to fifty five PM in the
backseat of a silver Buick. Clearly he planned to commit
(14:04):
this murder, since he borrowed both the gun and the
car from friends, likely so they wouldn't be traced back
to him. After killing Lauren, Roland fled the scene. The
same police who had ignored Lauren's pleas for help were
now engaged in a man hunt to find her killer.
They knew exactly who they were looking for, as they'd
(14:26):
been provided with his name, description and criminal record time
and time again by Lauren. Roland ran to a nearby
train stop and waited for a date to pick him up.
That's right, folks, he'd met a woman on a dating
app earlier that day and planned to meet up that
evening for dinner, a pretty slick way to get an
(14:46):
owl bi for his whereabouts. The fact that he could
and did enjoy a meal after committing such a heinous
crime says so many things about his disregard for Lauren's life.
Roland's attempt Analabi failed him, though. When his date was
over and he was dropped off in a different part
of town, police spotted him, and a foot chase ensued.
(15:09):
Roland led them into a nearby church, where they heard
a single gunshot. Lauren's family did not get to see
their daughter's killer brought to justice or face any consequences,
because hours after killing Lauren, he took his own life
inside of that church. This case is not without justice, though, Thankfully.
(15:32):
Roland's friend, twenty one year old Nathan Daniel Vogel, who
loaned him the gun that he used to kill Lauren,
lead it to making a false statement during the acquisition
of a firearm. When he acquired the firearm, he sent
his friend Sarah Emily Lady into the store to purchase
it for him. He then loaned the gun to his coworker,
Melvin Roland. Something I find interesting is that Vogel actually
(15:56):
had served in the military, like Roland often lied about.
I wonder if he used Vogel's military background to inspire
the lies he told to manipulate people. Speaking of manipulation,
Vogel claimed that Roland manipulated him into giving him the gun.
Vogel had just been fired from his job and was
feeling down about himself. Melvin Roland then offered him two
(16:19):
hundred dollars, and Vogel claimed that this offering guilt tripped
into loaning Roland the gun. You know the classic logic
that if someone gives you two hundred dollars, you should
let them borrow your already illegal firearm. The gun even
went back and forth between Vogel and Roland at least
two times prior to Lauren's murder, with Melvin getting caught
(16:40):
with it by the police, who gave him and Vogel
slaps on the wrist and a warning each time. Maybe
if they had been held accountable, these horrible crimes wouldn't
have happened. Melvin lied to Vogel a few times, claiming
he was taking Lauren to a shooting range with the
gun at least once, but clearly he had more sinister intentions.
(17:03):
There's no way Vogel could have known that Roland would
use the gun to kill an innocent young woman, But
it just goes to show how many acts of carelessness
ultimately led to Lawrence death. The aftermath of Laurence death
shook the University of utaht and all of Salt Lake City.
Her parents sued the campus police for their negligence and
(17:23):
received over ten million dollars in a settlement, which they
used to start the Lauren McCluskey Foundation, an organization with
goals of improving campus safety and eradicating the victim blaming
culture which surrounds students who reach out for help against abuse.
The foundation's logo is a sneaker with wings, representing Lauren's
(17:43):
love for track and field. It's honestly a beautiful tribute
to the positive impact she left on the world. The
Lauren McCluskey's Foundation's mission is stated on their website as follows.
Our mission is to let Laurence Light shine by supporting
her passions, including animal welfare, amateur athletics, and by making
(18:04):
campuses across the country a place where students are safe, supported,
and have the ability to thrive. On the first anniversary
of the murder, the student organization Unsafe You staged a
walkout to protest the campus treatment of Laurence case. One
hundred students walked out of class to raise awareness. The
(18:24):
same organization also used Lauren's story against the university president,
Ruth Watkins, calling for her to resign for withholding evidence
in this case and others unsafe. You also attempted to
get the UUPD the campus police department, abolished for their
mistreatment of this case, though the University of Utah hasn't
(18:46):
been very vocal on these criticisms. They are building an
indoor track in honor of Lauren for their athletes to
train on, naming it after her. They also announced plans
in twenty twenty three to innovate their campus safety plans
by appointing a Campus Safety Officer whose duty will be
to oversee all public safety responsibilities on campus, and possibly
(19:08):
the biggest edition is that of the new public safety
building on campus, called the McCluskey Center for Violence Prevention,
Research and Education. While it's great that Lauren's death hasn't
been in vain, it's still so sad that it has
to be at the expense of her promising young life.
In November of twenty twenty three, Jill McCluskey went on
(19:29):
a panel at Washington State University Pullman to continue telling
Lauren's story. The panel was titled Evoking Change the Lauren
McCluskey Story and featured a viewing and discussion of the
ESPN documentary about the murder titled Listen. On the panel
was former Utah State Senator and Representative for Campus Safety
(19:50):
and Accountability for the Lauren McCluskey Foundation, Yani Iwamoto, who
had this to say about Lauren's death and how it
affected the way she approaches these issues in her position,
Lauren's life and what she went through has been a
part of everything I did going forward. Her life mattered,
It shouldn't have happened, but from her life, a lot
(20:12):
of good has happened. In addition to raising awareness about
domestic violence and stalking through the Evoking Change panel, Jill
McCluskey encouraged anyone present to pledge Laurence Promise, a vow
to make college campuses as safe a haven as possible
for anyone falling victim to domestic abuse. The Laurence Promise
(20:33):
page on the Lauren McCluskey Foundation website puts it this way,
anyone who makes Laurence Promise will listen to and believe
those individuals who are being threatened or experiencing sexual assault,
dating violence, or stocking, and will help connect victims to
support resources. Over two hundred and seventy five college campuses
(20:53):
across the world have taken Laurence Promise, and I can
only imagine this number will only grow with time based
on how dedicated Lawrence's team is to spreading awareness and
broadening the scope of her legacy as a woman. This
case is so infuriating. It really is the worst case
scenario for not being believed while also being harassed and
(21:15):
fearing for your life. To think a young woman could
have done everything right, spoken up, presented the cops with
all of the evidence at her disposal, at a strong
support system, and still wound up losing her life just
proves this system is so broken. If they'd simply bothered
to pick up the phone and contact this guy's parole officer,
(21:38):
he would have been taken back to jail after the extortion.
His parole officer even said it herself in an ABC interview.
She stated, that's just another thing that could have been
brought to my attention that could have changed everything. Right
then and there. I would have gone to pick him up.
I would have put him in handcuffs. I think it
(22:00):
becomes glaringly clear that while Roland may have wielded the weapon,
the bystanders in this case aren't at all innocent. It's
a scary world out there, especially when the people whose
job it is to protect you seem to want to
do everything. But Officer Miguel Daris, you know, the police
officer that shared Lauren's intimate photos with his friends instead
(22:22):
of taking her extortion claim. Seriously, Yeah, that one. He
of course went to Laurence's parents with his tail between
his legs after her death, apologizing for contributing to her
distress and not taking more comprehensive action. This is shown
in the ESPN documentary on the case. Yeah, it's a
little late for that, officer Daris. If only he'd had
(22:46):
this kind of attitude before the victim was murdered and
taken from the lives of her loved ones forever, maybe
things would have turned out differently. This entire case is
incredibly frustrating. Thankfully, Laurence Fan has been able to create
such positive change from this tragedy with the foundation they've
built in her name, Laurence Promise and students across the
(23:09):
world who were affected by the case. The community became
loudly critical of this kind of negligence to ensure no
student will ever be filled the way Lauren was. That's
it for this episode of Murder You, and please remember
advocates of the National Domestic Violence Hotline are available to
talk confidentially with anyone in the United States who is
(23:31):
experiencing domestic violence, seeking resources or information, or questioning unhealthy
aspects of their relationship. Call one eight hundred seven ninety
nine Safe one eight hundred seven ninety nine seven two
three three. Be sure to like and subscribe to Murder
You on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, or wherever you
(23:52):
get your podcasts.
Abnormia. From high school hallways to expansive college campuses and
the sanctity of their homes, These once secure spaces have
transformed into hunting grounds for sinister individuals seeking to inflict
harm on the unsuspecting. Join me, Maddie each week as
we delve into the bone chilling stories of senseless murders
(00:26):
occurring in and around our centers of education. Welcome to
murder you, an abnormia original. Come back to murder you.
(01:01):
I'm your host, Mattie, and today I want to tell
you about the tragic and senseless murder of twenty one
year old University of Utah track star Lauren McCluskey. It's
truly such a heartbreaking case considering how preventable it was,
and it's hard not to feel angry for Lauren's family
as this case was defined by missteps from the powers involved.
(01:21):
It's a case of emotional abuse, manipulation, stocking, and extortion.
So let's begin, because there are a lot of layers
to peel back on this one. Lauren Jennifer McCluskey was
born on February twelfth, nineteen ninety seven, in Berkeley, California,
to her parents Matt and Jill McCluskey. The family then
moved to Pulham, Washington after her parents got jobs at
(01:44):
Washington State University as professors. Lauren was described as a smart, empathetic,
and fearless child. She often climbed trees and walls, already
proving to be extremely athletic at a young age. Her
family must have known they had an athlete on their hands,
but I don't think even they could have predicted that
Lauren would excel just as much as she did. At
(02:06):
the age of eight, Lauren entered her first Junior Olympics
track meet and set records in high jump, long jump,
and the four hundred meter run. She competed nationally every
year after earning USA Track and Field All American Top
eight nineteen times across different events. Some of the youth
records she set in the USA Track and Field Association
(02:27):
still were standing after her death in twenty eighteen, so
clearly Lauren was already planning on leaving her mark on
the world in a big way. After leading the Pullman
High School track team to a third place overall state finish,
Lauren graduated with honors. She went on to receive a
Track and Field scholarship to the University of Utah, thus
(02:48):
beginning the next exciting chapter of working towards a degree
in communications. From the moment Lauren stepped onto the University
of Utah campus, she made an impression. Her professors raved
about her enthusiasm to learn an exceptional work ethic. For
the few years it took her to earn her degree.
Set to graduate the next semester, Lauren was working towards
(03:09):
a career in public relations or academic advising. Let me
tell you, Lauren had an incredible successful life ahead of her.
Like many college students, Lauren wasn't all work and no play.
She enjoyed going out to bars in karaoke with her friends.
One night, Lauren met twenty eight year old Shawn Fields
at a bar in downtown Salt Lake City where he
(03:31):
worked as a bouncer. He told her he was in
the military, trained as a security officer, and was taking
classes at the local community college. They went out a
few times, and soon they were in a relationship, with
Lauren even gashing about Sewn to her parents. Her parents
recalled that Lauren was head over heels for him. She
(03:51):
thought she'd met a great guy, but one day Lauren
saw Sean's driver's license and realized her relationship was built
on a handful of lies. His name wasn't Sean Fields
at all. It was Melvin Sean Roland. And he wasn't
twenty eight, he was thirty seven. Now, to me, nine
years is a pretty major difference between ages. It's hard
(04:14):
to imagine that someone would lie about something so arbitrary
just to get someone's attention or devotion. But as we'll
come to find out, Melvin Roland was a master manipulator.
Before she confronted him about it, Lauren decided to google
her boyfriend's hidden identity and discovered the most disturbing fact
of all. He was a registered sex offender on parole.
(04:38):
I can't imagine finding something like that out about someone
I was dating. I get this ichy feeling just thinking
about it. In twenty twelve, he admitted to sexually assaulting
a teenage girl in two thousand and four. Of course,
when Lauren discovered this, she confronted him, he confessed to
the secret, and she immediately broke up with him. In hindsight,
(05:00):
Roland displayed troubling behavior throughout their relationship. Lauren's friends recall
he was possessive, often calling her while she was out
and questioning who she was with and when she'd be back.
And when the couple went out, he demanded Lauren dress
in a certain way, typically in a T shirt and jeans,
presumably so she wouldn't attract meal attention. This type of
(05:22):
controlling behavior was a major red flag to laurence friends,
but she justified it by saying he'd been hurt by
women in past relationships. However, I wouldn't be surprised if
that was just another lie. Laurence soon became withdrawn from
her peers, spending most of her free time with Roland.
I can imagine she was happy to get her life
(05:42):
back once she discovered the truth and ended things, but Roland,
like many men with control issues, refused to take no
for an answer. He continued texting Lauren after their breakup
with increasingly threatening messages. He faked suicide on multiple attempts
via social media, blaming her for his depression and trying
(06:05):
to get her attention, classic manipulation tactics. He even brought
his friends into the hoax, getting them to post about
his alleged suicide on social media to make it more believable.
And it didn't end there. Roland harassed Lauren, showing up
to her dorm frequently and sometimes making it inside. And
(06:26):
here's the kicker. He even tried to extort her for
one thousand dollars, threatening to share explicit photos he had
of them. What a creep. Lauren confided to her friends
and family about the horror she was facing, but she
initially didn't believe her life was in danger. She might
have assumed Roland was a manipulative sure, creepy, definitely, but
(06:49):
she had no idea how dangerous he truly was. Lauren
didn't allow her friends or family to intervene, preferring to
handle the situation herself. It's clear Lauren was a strong
and independent woman, but no matter how capable Lauren was,
she was also growing fearful of what Roland was capable of.
(07:09):
Okay spoiler, This next part is a textbook case of
police negligence. Had the multiple mistakes made by campus police
not happened, Lauren's life would almost certainly have been saved.
If anyone had investigated Roland, they would have found he
committed sex crimes as far back as two thousand and four,
(07:30):
when he pleaded guilty to enticing a minor over the Internet.
From then, he was in and out of Utah State
Prison for years until he was paroled for the final
time in April of twenty eighteen. Between that time, he
was suspected in multiple burglaries, and in twenty fifteen, a
former girlfriend reported she was afraid of Roland, but that
(07:53):
was quickly ignored by authorities when she was arrested herself
on suspicion of theft. That same year, Roland burgled an
ex girlfriend's apartment, stealing a television and Blu ray player
she recalled after they'd broken up. He was supposed to
come by and leave his key under the doormat. Instead,
he left the key where the TV once sat. What
(08:15):
a jerk. Melvin Roland was a serial manipulator who often
displayed possessive behavior in relationships, but was rarely held accountable,
which allowed him to victimize more women. When Lauren reported
the harassment and extortion to campus police in October of
twenty eighteen, her claims were ignored. Not only did police
(08:37):
not investigate, but get this, officer Miguel Daris downloaded her
private photos the explicit ones Roland was extorting her with
to his personal phone and showed them off to his
friends and colleagues, commenting on her looks surprise. Roland isn't
the only guilty party in this case. Officer Daris wasn't
(09:00):
just awful at his job, he was an awful person
in general. If the campus police had checked Melvin Rowland's
offender status, they could have easily taken him into custody
for violating his parole. If they'd bothered to do a
real investigation, they likely would have learned that Roland even
revealed to coworkers that he planned to extort Lauren. They
(09:23):
were given the necessary information, and for whatever reason, they
didn't follow up on it. Lauren even emailed Melvin's parole
information to the campus police, but the email was tragically
left unopened until after her death, serving as a harrowing
reminder that Lauren might still be alive if her report
(09:44):
had been taken seriously. Instead, her family was left with
a lifetime of heartbreak. Despite both Lauren and her mother
repeatedly contacting campus police about the harassment, no action was
taken against Roland. They even bega to worry that someone
within the department was tipping off her stalker about her whereabouts,
(10:06):
but they were accused of being paranoid. I really hope
that's not true. I mean, as if it weren't unnerving
enough that the campus police were partly to blame for
her death, the idea that they might have been complicit
in her stocking is highly disturbing. I'm not saying there's
any evidence of that, but their failure to protect a
(10:27):
student does raise a lot of questions. Lauren had begun
to lose hope that anyone would take the case seriously
and began to fear for her life. She didn't know
who to turn to. Her dorm security often accidentally allowed
her stalker inside against her wishes. The University of Utah
(10:48):
was notorious for not taking women's issues seriously. Whenever girls
reported serious threats, nowhere was safe, and by fall of
twenty eighteen, it was too late. On that fateful day
of October twenty second, security footage shows Roland arriving on
(11:10):
campus in the morning carrying a bulky black bag, narrowly
missing Lauren as she headed out to meet with a counselor.
He attempted to gain access to her dorm, but was
initially denied entry. Roland then talked up a group of
young men, enticing them with the lies about his time
in the Marines. Get this, He showed the guys the
(11:32):
handgun and ammunition he was carrying in the bag. One
student even handled it before they parted ways, but he
had gotten what he came for access to Lauren's dormitory.
Due to the negligent dorm security, Roland was able to
wait for Lauren for hours inside the residence hall. When
(11:53):
she got to the building parking lot at eight twenty pm,
she was on the phone with her mother. And this
is one of the most hurt breaking things about this case, folks,
Her parents heard her get attacked by Roland. Matt McCluskey,
Lauren's father, said in a televised interview with ABC that
they'd been on the phone talking about her schoolwork. Lauren
(12:15):
was looking forward to things, McCluskey said, adding she was
proud that she was making progress on an assignment that
was not due for a few days. It was a
wonderful conversation, but then the call took a turn for
the worse. Lauren's father went on to explain she was
so happy and then she said no, no, no, and
(12:35):
I knew something was wrong, and as if that wasn't
distressing enough, Jill McCluskey stated in that same interview, I
heard her yell no, no, no, and then I sort
of hear her being dragged away and her phone fell,
and then no one answered the phone. I knew her
life was in danger at that time. Absolutely chilling. I
(12:58):
can't imagine what it must have been like to be
a parent who knew their daughter had a dangerous person
in her life, then be totally helpless as you hear
her being attacked by the person she feared the most,
and knowing about Melvin Roland, I imagine they knew instantly
that Lauren could be in grave danger. Her parents listened
(13:19):
in horror as Roland dragged Lauren into the parking lot,
causing her to drop her phone in the process. Her
father called police at eight twenty three pm, and they
were able to get in touch with the person who
found Lauren's belongings scattered across the parking lot, but no
sign of Lauren or her attacker. The campus police thought,
at the very least they had a kidnapping on their hands,
(13:42):
but before they could investigate much further, the local police
department began receiving an influx of calls from around the
area reporting the sound of gunshots. In just that short
amount of time, Roland shot Lauren seven times. Her body
was found at nine to fifty five PM in the
backseat of a silver Buick. Clearly he planned to commit
(14:04):
this murder, since he borrowed both the gun and the
car from friends, likely so they wouldn't be traced back
to him. After killing Lauren, Roland fled the scene. The
same police who had ignored Lauren's pleas for help were
now engaged in a man hunt to find her killer.
They knew exactly who they were looking for, as they'd
(14:26):
been provided with his name, description and criminal record time
and time again by Lauren. Roland ran to a nearby
train stop and waited for a date to pick him up.
That's right, folks, he'd met a woman on a dating
app earlier that day and planned to meet up that
evening for dinner, a pretty slick way to get an
(14:46):
owl bi for his whereabouts. The fact that he could
and did enjoy a meal after committing such a heinous
crime says so many things about his disregard for Lauren's life.
Roland's attempt Analabi failed him, though. When his date was
over and he was dropped off in a different part
of town, police spotted him, and a foot chase ensued.
(15:09):
Roland led them into a nearby church, where they heard
a single gunshot. Lauren's family did not get to see
their daughter's killer brought to justice or face any consequences,
because hours after killing Lauren, he took his own life
inside of that church. This case is not without justice, though, Thankfully.
(15:32):
Roland's friend, twenty one year old Nathan Daniel Vogel, who
loaned him the gun that he used to kill Lauren,
lead it to making a false statement during the acquisition
of a firearm. When he acquired the firearm, he sent
his friend Sarah Emily Lady into the store to purchase
it for him. He then loaned the gun to his coworker,
Melvin Roland. Something I find interesting is that Vogel actually
(15:56):
had served in the military, like Roland often lied about.
I wonder if he used Vogel's military background to inspire
the lies he told to manipulate people. Speaking of manipulation,
Vogel claimed that Roland manipulated him into giving him the gun.
Vogel had just been fired from his job and was
feeling down about himself. Melvin Roland then offered him two
(16:19):
hundred dollars, and Vogel claimed that this offering guilt tripped
into loaning Roland the gun. You know the classic logic
that if someone gives you two hundred dollars, you should
let them borrow your already illegal firearm. The gun even
went back and forth between Vogel and Roland at least
two times prior to Lauren's murder, with Melvin getting caught
(16:40):
with it by the police, who gave him and Vogel
slaps on the wrist and a warning each time. Maybe
if they had been held accountable, these horrible crimes wouldn't
have happened. Melvin lied to Vogel a few times, claiming
he was taking Lauren to a shooting range with the
gun at least once, but clearly he had more sinister intentions.
(17:03):
There's no way Vogel could have known that Roland would
use the gun to kill an innocent young woman, But
it just goes to show how many acts of carelessness
ultimately led to Lawrence death. The aftermath of Laurence death
shook the University of utaht and all of Salt Lake City.
Her parents sued the campus police for their negligence and
(17:23):
received over ten million dollars in a settlement, which they
used to start the Lauren McCluskey Foundation, an organization with
goals of improving campus safety and eradicating the victim blaming
culture which surrounds students who reach out for help against abuse.
The foundation's logo is a sneaker with wings, representing Lauren's
(17:43):
love for track and field. It's honestly a beautiful tribute
to the positive impact she left on the world. The
Lauren McCluskey's Foundation's mission is stated on their website as follows.
Our mission is to let Laurence Light shine by supporting
her passions, including animal welfare, amateur athletics, and by making
(18:04):
campuses across the country a place where students are safe, supported,
and have the ability to thrive. On the first anniversary
of the murder, the student organization Unsafe You staged a
walkout to protest the campus treatment of Laurence case. One
hundred students walked out of class to raise awareness. The
(18:24):
same organization also used Lauren's story against the university president,
Ruth Watkins, calling for her to resign for withholding evidence
in this case and others unsafe. You also attempted to
get the UUPD the campus police department, abolished for their
mistreatment of this case, though the University of Utah hasn't
(18:46):
been very vocal on these criticisms. They are building an
indoor track in honor of Lauren for their athletes to
train on, naming it after her. They also announced plans
in twenty twenty three to innovate their campus safety plans
by appointing a Campus Safety Officer whose duty will be
to oversee all public safety responsibilities on campus, and possibly
(19:08):
the biggest edition is that of the new public safety
building on campus, called the McCluskey Center for Violence Prevention,
Research and Education. While it's great that Lauren's death hasn't
been in vain, it's still so sad that it has
to be at the expense of her promising young life.
In November of twenty twenty three, Jill McCluskey went on
(19:29):
a panel at Washington State University Pullman to continue telling
Lauren's story. The panel was titled Evoking Change the Lauren
McCluskey Story and featured a viewing and discussion of the
ESPN documentary about the murder titled Listen. On the panel
was former Utah State Senator and Representative for Campus Safety
(19:50):
and Accountability for the Lauren McCluskey Foundation, Yani Iwamoto, who
had this to say about Lauren's death and how it
affected the way she approaches these issues in her position,
Lauren's life and what she went through has been a
part of everything I did going forward. Her life mattered,
It shouldn't have happened, but from her life, a lot
(20:12):
of good has happened. In addition to raising awareness about
domestic violence and stalking through the Evoking Change panel, Jill
McCluskey encouraged anyone present to pledge Laurence Promise, a vow
to make college campuses as safe a haven as possible
for anyone falling victim to domestic abuse. The Laurence Promise
(20:33):
page on the Lauren McCluskey Foundation website puts it this way,
anyone who makes Laurence Promise will listen to and believe
those individuals who are being threatened or experiencing sexual assault,
dating violence, or stocking, and will help connect victims to
support resources. Over two hundred and seventy five college campuses
(20:53):
across the world have taken Laurence Promise, and I can
only imagine this number will only grow with time based
on how dedicated Lawrence's team is to spreading awareness and
broadening the scope of her legacy as a woman. This
case is so infuriating. It really is the worst case
scenario for not being believed while also being harassed and
(21:15):
fearing for your life. To think a young woman could
have done everything right, spoken up, presented the cops with
all of the evidence at her disposal, at a strong
support system, and still wound up losing her life just
proves this system is so broken. If they'd simply bothered
to pick up the phone and contact this guy's parole officer,
(21:38):
he would have been taken back to jail after the extortion.
His parole officer even said it herself in an ABC interview.
She stated, that's just another thing that could have been
brought to my attention that could have changed everything. Right
then and there. I would have gone to pick him up.
I would have put him in handcuffs. I think it
(22:00):
becomes glaringly clear that while Roland may have wielded the weapon,
the bystanders in this case aren't at all innocent. It's
a scary world out there, especially when the people whose
job it is to protect you seem to want to
do everything. But Officer Miguel Daris, you know, the police
officer that shared Lauren's intimate photos with his friends instead
(22:22):
of taking her extortion claim. Seriously, Yeah, that one. He
of course went to Laurence's parents with his tail between
his legs after her death, apologizing for contributing to her
distress and not taking more comprehensive action. This is shown
in the ESPN documentary on the case. Yeah, it's a
little late for that, officer Daris. If only he'd had
(22:46):
this kind of attitude before the victim was murdered and
taken from the lives of her loved ones forever, maybe
things would have turned out differently. This entire case is
incredibly frustrating. Thankfully, Laurence Fan has been able to create
such positive change from this tragedy with the foundation they've
built in her name, Laurence Promise and students across the
(23:09):
world who were affected by the case. The community became
loudly critical of this kind of negligence to ensure no
student will ever be filled the way Lauren was. That's
it for this episode of Murder You, and please remember
advocates of the National Domestic Violence Hotline are available to
talk confidentially with anyone in the United States who is
(23:31):
experiencing domestic violence, seeking resources or information, or questioning unhealthy
aspects of their relationship. Call one eight hundred seven ninety
nine Safe one eight hundred seven ninety nine seven two
three three. Be sure to like and subscribe to Murder
You on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, or wherever you
(23:52):
get your podcasts.
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