Utah Reaches Settlement, Admits Fault in Death of Heptathlete Lauren McCluskey

The University of Utah announced Thursday has reached a settlement agreement with the family of Lauren McCluskey, a track and field athlete who was killed two years ago. 

Per ESPN's T.J. Quinn, the school announced a $13.5 million settlement and admitted university employees did not take the necessary steps to help protect McCluskey before she was shot and killed by Melvin Shawn Rowland in Oct. 2018. 

"The university acknowledges and deeply regrets that it did not handle Lauren's case as it should have and that, at the time, its employees failed to fully understand and respond appropriately to Lauren's situation, Utah president Ruth Watkins said in a written statement. "As a result, we failed Lauren and her family."

Courtney Tanner and Sean P. Means of the Salt Lake Tribune provided a timeline of events in which Rowland gave McCluskey a "false name and age, and didn't disclose that he was a convicted sex offender on parole" when the two started dating in September 2018. 

According to the timeline, "two of McCluskey's friends told staff at University of Utah dorms that they were scared about Rowland's control over her, about how he talked about guns and stayed often in her room."

McCluskey ended her relationship with Rowland when she discovered his real identity on Oct. 9. 

In leaked audio obtained by Tanner, Jill McCluskey, Lauren's mother, called University of Utah dispatchers to request campus security accompany her daughter to Rowland's residence to pick up her vehicle. 

"I'm worried that he's dangerous," Jill McCluskey said in the audio. "I don't want her to go there by herself and have something bad happen to her."

Per Tanner and Means, Lauren informed school police on Oct. 12 and 13 of messages she was receiving—that she believed were from Rowland's friends—stating he "was dead and that it was her fault." However, social media posts from Rowland, which were a violation of his parole conditions, proved he was still alive. McCluskey thought the texts were an attempt to get her to leave the safety of her dorm.

She also told police Rowland and his friends had extorted $1,000 from her in order to keep them from posting compromising photos of her online. Police reviewed Rowland's record but did not check his parole status, according to an independent review of the case.

Rowland met with a parole agent on Oct. 16, but McCluskey's allegations against him weren't brought up because "university police had not alerted Adult Probation and Parole that Rowland was allegedly harassing McCluskey."

McCluskey again contacted police about her case on Oct. 19 and was told the detective assigned to the case would not be returning to work until Oct. 23 and if she received further messages to contact campus police.

On Oct. 22, 2018, Rowland shot McCluskey multiple times after confronting her in a parking lot where she was walking to her car. Rowland later killed himself that same night after police tracked him to a church. 

Quinn noted that McCluskey's parents filed a Title IX lawsuit against the University of Utah in January 2019. 

Jill and Matt McCluskey created the Lauren McCluskey Foundation in January 2019 with a mission to provide charitable support for additional safety on college campuses, as well as financial assistance for students and youth track and field athletes and animal welfare. 

The settlement agreement also includes "a pledge by the U to seek funds for an indoor track facility to be named in honor of Lauren; and an agreement to rename the newly launched Center for Violence Prevention as the McCluskey Center for Violence Prevention."