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NBC Dateline episode titled 'Lauren’s Promise' revisits the shocking murder case of Lauren McCluskey. Lauren was a talented athlete and student at the University of Utah. On October 22, 2018, she was found murdered in the back of a car in a parking lot next to the campus. Her ex-boyfriend, Melvin Rowland, who murdered her by shooting her seven times, killed himself after a few hours.
The murder case generated public outcry about safety measures on the campus. The Dateline episode takes a closer look at what transpired on the day with interviews from Lauren’s closest acquaintances and the investigators on the case.
NBC correspondent Josh Mankiewicz shared,
“There’s no mystery about who committed murder. The story is what happened before the murder and whether it could have been prevented. And whether the University of Utah met its responsibilities.”
Who was Lauren McCluskey?
21-year-old Lauren McCluskey was a student at University of Utah. She was a member of the Women’s Track and Field Team. A Washington State Champion, Lauren was a star athlete and a top student at college with big ambitions.
As per Salt Lake Magazine, Lauren’s mother, Jill McCluskey, shared,
“She was someone who really cared about other people and her friendships. Somewhat an introvert, if you got to know her you quickly found out that she was full of things to say, and genuinely cared about other people.”
Lauren met Melvin Rowland when she lived in Salt Lake City. He was a bouncer at a well-known bar. He lied to her about his name and age. He even told her that he was in the military. But Lauren later learnt the truth that Rowland was in fact a sexual offender who was on parole. She ended her relationship with him.
Lauren is threatened by Rowland
Rowland did not stop trying to reach out to her. He would send her threatening texts and make attempts to meet her at her university. Lauren constantly avoided any kind of interaction with him.
Things started to spiral out of control when Rowland blackmailed her with their explicit photos and demanded she give him $1,000 to keep quiet. Lauren tried to handle the situation by herself as much as she could, as she did not believe that things would get worse. Lauren sought out help from her family and friends.
On October 12, 2018, Lauren’s case of harassment was presented to the campus police. But the claims were never investigated. The officer on the case asked Lauren to hand over the photos to him, which he would later allegedly download to his personal phone. On October 19, 2018, Lauren emailed Detective Kayla Dallof with Rowland’s offender information, but got no response.
Lauren’s father, Matt McCluskey, told ABC News,
"They seemed to show no curiosity about this person who had lied about his age, his name... he was a sex offender. And then they found out that he's also a felon. They should've investigated. They would've very quickly found his parole status in one call and it would ... we wouldn't be sitting here today."
As per Oxygen, Lauren had contacted the University security police more than 20 times. University of Utah President Ruth Watkins said,
“We failed Lauren and her family. If these employees had more complete training and protocols to guide their responses, the university believes they would have been better equipped to protect Lauren."
Lauren is found murdered
On October 22, 2018, Lauren was on a phone call with her mother at 8:20 pm. Suddenly, Rowland, who was waiting for her in her resident hall, confronts her. He drags her to the parking lot, which is in front of her dorm. Since her phone call ended abruptly, Lauren’s father, Matt, immediately notified the campus. But by the time the security reached the location, Lauren was found dead. At 9.55 pm, Lauren was found dead in the back of a car. She was shot seven times.
A few hours later, 37-year-old Melvin Shawn Rowland killed himself after the police tracked him down. The man, who had given the gun to Rowland, was sentenced to three years in prison.
Aftermath of Lauren’s death
The many investigations after the murder brought to light Lauren’s struggle to get protection from the University. The McCluskey family sued the university for their incompetence. The University acknowledged that it did not handle the case properly. The settlement amount from the case went to the Lauren McCluskey Foundation.
A student group called ‘UnmsafeU’ was formed to address campus safety issues. As per Salt Lake Magazine, Lauren’s friend and teammate, Brooke Martin, shared,
“Justice needs to be served and our demands need to be met—no student should ever be worried about being killed on campus.”
Lauren’s case has become a focus point for conversations around campus safety in universities across America.
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