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A $56 million lawsuit filed Thursday alleges that the University of Utah failed to protect a student who was killed by an ex-boyfriend she had complained about to police more than 20 times.
Lauren McCluskey's death on October 22 on the Salt Lake City campus occurred because the university refused to respond to numerous reports of stalking, abuse, intimidation and dating violence and other behaviors prohibited under the federal Title IX law, according to the wrongful death suit filed in US District Court.
Jill McCluskey said she and her husband repeatedly asked University President Ruth V. Watkins "to take responsibility and to hold individuals accountable" for their daugther's death, and emailed Watkins in December 2018 offering to form a partnership to address what they saw were safety deficiencies.
"The university has taken no responsibility for Lauren's preventable death," Jill McCluskey told reporters. "No one has been disciplined or held accountable in the campus police or housing."
"The university must pay a large amount so that they realize it is in their interest to believe women and act with urgency when their female students ask for help," she said, describing the lawsuit as a "last resort."
In a statement, Watkins said the school again expresses "deep sorrow for the loss of Lauren McCluskey."
"While there are differences in how we would characterize some of the events leading to Lauren's tragic murder, let me say again that we share the McCluskey family's commitment to improving campus safety," she said in the statement. "We continue to address the recommendations identified by the independent review of the university's safety policies, procedures and resources, and we are making ongoing improvements designed to protect our students and our entire campus community."
Lauren McCluskey was a 21-year-old track athlete from Pullman, Washington. Her mother said any money from the lawsuit would go to the Lauren McCluskey Foundation, which honors her daughter's legacy through charity, and student athletes.
The lawsuit names several defendants, including the university's department of housing and residential education and department of public safety.
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HOW SHE DIED: Killed while on the phone with her mother
Several weeks before McCluskey's death, her friends reported to housing officials that Rowland (HER-EX BF- BLACK MAN, SEX OFFENDER BUT HE'S 6'3" and 250 lbs so..) had talked about bringing a gun to campus, Jill MCcluskey said.
"They did nothing with that information," she said. "On October 22, 2018, he brought that gun to campus and killed her with it."
Rowland had confronted McCluskey outside of her residence call while she was on the phone with her mother. He forced her into the back seat of a car and shot her multiple times, according to the university timeline.
Lauren's father, Matt McCluskey, called the police, who found her body.
Rowland called a woman from a dating site to come pick him up. They went to a restaurant, drove by the capitol, went to her apartment so he could shower and then she dropped him off at a coffee shop, according to the timeline.
After she did, she recognized photos of Rowland in news reports and called the police.
Police then spotted Rowland and chased him on foot to a church, where he shot and killed himself, the timeline said.
Lauren McCluskey's death on October 22 on the Salt Lake City campus occurred because the university refused to respond to numerous reports of stalking, abuse, intimidation and dating violence and other behaviors prohibited under the federal Title IX law, according to the wrongful death suit filed in US District Court.
Jill McCluskey said she and her husband repeatedly asked University President Ruth V. Watkins "to take responsibility and to hold individuals accountable" for their daugther's death, and emailed Watkins in December 2018 offering to form a partnership to address what they saw were safety deficiencies.
"The university has taken no responsibility for Lauren's preventable death," Jill McCluskey told reporters. "No one has been disciplined or held accountable in the campus police or housing."
"The university must pay a large amount so that they realize it is in their interest to believe women and act with urgency when their female students ask for help," she said, describing the lawsuit as a "last resort."
In a statement, Watkins said the school again expresses "deep sorrow for the loss of Lauren McCluskey."
"While there are differences in how we would characterize some of the events leading to Lauren's tragic murder, let me say again that we share the McCluskey family's commitment to improving campus safety," she said in the statement. "We continue to address the recommendations identified by the independent review of the university's safety policies, procedures and resources, and we are making ongoing improvements designed to protect our students and our entire campus community."
Lauren McCluskey was a 21-year-old track athlete from Pullman, Washington. Her mother said any money from the lawsuit would go to the Lauren McCluskey Foundation, which honors her daughter's legacy through charity, and student athletes.
The lawsuit names several defendants, including the university's department of housing and residential education and department of public safety.
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HOW SHE DIED: Killed while on the phone with her mother
Several weeks before McCluskey's death, her friends reported to housing officials that Rowland (HER-EX BF- BLACK MAN, SEX OFFENDER BUT HE'S 6'3" and 250 lbs so..) had talked about bringing a gun to campus, Jill MCcluskey said.
"They did nothing with that information," she said. "On October 22, 2018, he brought that gun to campus and killed her with it."
Rowland had confronted McCluskey outside of her residence call while she was on the phone with her mother. He forced her into the back seat of a car and shot her multiple times, according to the university timeline.
Lauren's father, Matt McCluskey, called the police, who found her body.
Rowland called a woman from a dating site to come pick him up. They went to a restaurant, drove by the capitol, went to her apartment so he could shower and then she dropped him off at a coffee shop, according to the timeline.
After she did, she recognized photos of Rowland in news reports and called the police.
Police then spotted Rowland and chased him on foot to a church, where he shot and killed himself, the timeline said.
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