Revealing Injustice: The Tragic Case of Lauren McCluskey

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 Membership
Thanks 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.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:03

Hey all my fellow crime connoisseurs, I'm your host, grace D, and before we get started with today's episode, I just want to apologize for the delay that it's been in getting this out to you. There are some things going on in my personal life right now that I've really had to just take a step back and do what is necessary for myself, and I think that's very important for everyone to do. So I do apologize and I do promise to make a much better attempt in the future to not have it be the period in time that it was, and that I'll be more forward with you guys. So when I say like, hey, I need a break, we're going to take a little hiatus, you know we'll have new episodes coming back this week. I'm going to be more diligent with that. So, with that being said, I started doing this episode, and it was back in October.

Speaker 1: 1:57

Now, most people know that October is breast cancer awareness month, but did you know that it's also domestic violence awareness month? So in this week's case, we're going to be covering one. One in four women and one in nine men are victims of domestic violence, and between the ages of 16 to 24 are the highest rates of intimate partner violence. Now that's not to say that it can't happen at any age. Today's case is a long one, but I didn't want to make you guys wait on a part two by breaking it up. But before we begin I want to give everyone a massive trigger warning. Topics that will be covered in this case include domestic violence, sexual abuse and suicide. Listener, discretion is advised.

Speaker 1: 2:44

A young woman who's a star athlete goes away to college at a university that prides itself on saying they are the safest school around. Unfortunately, that seemed to be all smoke and mirrors for this young woman. This is quickly spiraled out of control from top athlete and student to noticeable changes in appearance and behavior. This is the case of Lauren McCluskey. Lauren McCluskey was born in Berkeley, california, on February 12, 1997. Her parents, jill and Matthew McCluskey, both joined Washington State University as professors in 1998 and the family moved to Pullman Washington. She was bright, sensitive and very active from an early age. She fearlessly climbed trees and climbing walls.

Speaker 1: 4:04

Lauren entered her first Junior Olympic Association track meet at eight years old and set the Junior Olympic records in the high jump, long jump and 400 meter run. At age nine she was told that if she qualified for Nationals she could go and, to no surprise to those who knew her, she qualified for Nationals in the nine to ten year old age group. She continued to compete nationally in the high jump, hurdles and multi-events, earning USA Track and Field All-American Top 8 19 times and setting many USA Track and Field Association youth records, 12 of which still stand, and the Junior Under 20 Association record for the Hepathalon. Being a HEPTA athlete meant that Lauren competed in seven events. As she competed nationally, she made friends with athletes, their families and coaches across the United States. As a high school freshman, she was Washington State High School Champion in high jump and second in the 100 meter hurdles. In her sophomore year she high jumped five foot six inches before pulling her hamstring. She spent her junior year training at Spire, attending Andrews Osborne Academy in Ohio and returning to Pullman for her senior year of high school. At the 2015 Washington State High School Meet, she qualified in four events, scoring in three, helping her team place third overall in the state. Lauren set the Pullman High record for the 100 meter hurdles. That year she placed ninth at the US Junior Under 20 Championships in the Hepathalon.

Speaker 1: 5:50

Lauren graduated from Pullman High in 2016 with honors and accepted a track and field scholarship at the University of Utah U of U, as it's often referred to to compete in the PAC-12 conference At Utah. She competed in multi-events and high jump. She was a loyal youth and rooted for them with such spirit. She earned PAC-12 Honorable Mention and MPSF All Academic Awards and is tenth on the All Time Performance List for the youths in the Patathlon. Life in Salt Lake was an adjustment for Lauren. Salt Lake City was a much larger city than when she grew up in Pullman's quiet small town. As time went on, lauren blossomed. She had busy and fun academic, athletic and social routines. By the fall of her senior year, she was a model student athlete. Lauren had a 3.77 GPA and applied to graduate in the spring of 2019 with a Bachelor's of Science degree in communications.

Speaker 1: 7:00

On September 2, 2018, lauren McCluskey and her friend Alex, her freshman roommate, went to the London Bell, a Salt Lake City bar. Lauren met 28-year-old Sean Fields, 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, but the girls found a table in the back. Sean stopped by several times to talk. According to Alex, something was up with Lauren that night she didn't seem like herself. Her shy intensity wasn't there. Alex found Sean abrasive, but she could understand why other people found him charming and why Lauren was attracted to him. Around midnight, when Alex and Lauren were ready to leave, lauren wrote her phone number on a napkin to give to Sean. If they ran into each other, the place was so packed that they were sure they wouldn't see him. They pushed through the crowd toward the door, lauren leading the way, and there he was. Lauren gave him the napkin and ran ahead of Alex.

Speaker 1: 8:06

As if half-panicked at her own boldness, sean began texting Lauren later that night At church. The next morning Lauren told Alex that she and Sean were going on a date. Later that day, shortly after Lauren and Sean began dating, he often visited Lauren at her residence hall and quickly built friendships with the other students. A few weeks after they started dating, sean took Lauren pistol shooting with him and his friends. Unfortunately, sean became controlling of Lauren, wanting to know where she was and who she was with. He would get angry if she didn't answer his phone calls or respond to his text messages right away. Lauren told her friends it was because his ex-girlfriend had cheated on him and she needed to earn his trust.

Speaker 1: 8:55

On September 26, lauren called two of her friends. She said Sean wouldn't let her hang out with friends. They felt that she didn't sound right and noticed that her physical appearance had began to change that week. They believed that she was being taken advantage of by Sean. Four days later, on September 30, two of Lauren's friends told staff at the U of U dorms that they were scared about Sean's control over her, about how he talked about guns and often stayed in her room. This was a great move by her friends for recognizing the red flags in the relationship and how they attempted to get help for their friend the best way that they knew how and reported him to the university staff. That report and others to housing officials in the days that followed were not passed to campus police or the campus behavioral team, who may have been able to intervene. Housing officials were aware that people who knew Lauren were especially concerned that she could be hurt, yet their focus remained on whether a housing policy violation had occurred. When friend and head RA Diamond Jackson was informed by Lauren's friends of their concerns, including Sean wanting Lauren to get a gun and his demanding controlling behavior, diamond informed her supervisor to figure out what next steps should be taken. Diamond emailed the supervisor on October 2, 2018 with the following concerns Lauren may be in a harmful relationship, a non-resident boyfriend has been staying with Lauren and the roommate, the boyfriend may be getting a gun to keep with her and that the boyfriend may be tracking Lauren. Lauren is not taking care of herself, and two of Lauren's friends came forward with the information and are concerned for Lauren's safety.

Speaker 1: 10:53

A few days later, lauren learned Sean's real identity. She had seen her boyfriend's ID card, whose real name was Melvin Sean Rowlands. His name wasn't the only thing that he lied about. He had also lied about his age he was 37. Lauren briefly went home to Pullman Washington for a few days over fall break. At home during the break, lauren met up with her best friend from high school, regina Snyder. They went to a favorite gastropub, birch and Barley. Lauren had been doing some research and told Regina there was something strange about her boyfriend. They sat in a corner booth for an hour in the nearly empty restaurant and scrolled through Lauren's phone searching for answers. The results showed a photo resembling Sean and confirmed his real name was Melvin. Not only had Melvin been lying about his name and age, but it turned out he had another big secret, one for the other lies. Melvin was registered as a sex offender, convicted of sex crimes in 2004. The offenses were enticing a minor a second degree felony and forcible sexual abuse attempted a third degree felony.

Speaker 1: 12:11

Lauren returned to Salt Lake City the next day and was planning on confronting Melvin and break up with him. Melvin had her car while she was back home and she needed to get it back. She told her friend Alex about everything and Alex didn't want her to break up with him while on campus, since it was still fall break and no one was around. She wanted her to do it somewhere public where she'd be safe.

Speaker 1: 12:34

On October 9th, lauren invited Roland to her dorm room. Once inside she confronted him with the information that she had found out about him and broke off their relationship. He admitted to his sex offender status and real name, but continued to deny the age difference. Lauren told Alex that Melvin forced himself on her several times that night. She allowed Melvin to borrow her car the next day to run errands and to try and calm him down and defuse the situation. Earlier the next day, lauren began receiving text messages, supposedly from Melvin's friends. Some text urged Lauren to kill herself. Lauren's mom, jill, contacted campus dispatch, upset and worried and wanted to request campus security to help Lauren retrieve her vehicle from Melvin. Jill informed them of Melvin being a sex offender, lauren breaking up with him, him still having her car, and her concern for her daughter's safety. I'm going to play the recording at the call that Jill McCluskey made on behalf of her daughter. It's just over three minutes long so I'm going to play it in its entirety.

Speaker 2: 13:45

The university. Please pass security open. I would like to request some help from my daughter. Is there a student at University of Utah? Okay, what is the situation exactly?

Speaker 4: 14:01

What does your daughter?

Speaker 2: 14:02

do to you. Okay, she was dating someone who was not a student and he has her car. He has her car. Okay, she broke up with him and he's supposed to return it to the parking lot at the stadium. Uh-huh, and I'm worried that he's dangerous. Okay, we can definitely have someone help her out. Can you have your daughter give us a call? Can you guys call her? Yeah, what's her phone number? Okay, it's Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.

Speaker 4: 14:53

Okay, okay, okay Okay.

Speaker 2: 15:00

Okay, so let me tell you just a little bit more. So he was blind to her and he's actually a sexual offender, okay, and and and lied about his age and things like that. Okay, and then he has her, he has her car and he wants her to return. He, one of his friends, wants her to return the car to the stadium parking lot at five o'clock and since it's, since it's fall break, a bunch of her friends aren't there. So I'm worried she's going to go there alone and someone's going to hurt her.

Speaker 2: 15:38

Definitely, okay, yeah, and you said the area code is and, well, she, she's, she's about to state her name is Lauren McCluskey, she's on the track team, she's a not a state student and she, she started dating this guy there who's like a bad person, okay, and he found out he's a bad person and she broke up with them and he has her car. Definitely, let me give her a call real quick and we will figure something out. Okay, so I just like someone to to to accompany her, because a bunch of her friends are on town. She, I don't want her to go there by herself and have like something bad happen to her. Definitely, I will give her a call. Did you want me to give you a call back, or? Or? Yeah, call back, that'd be good. Okay, what was your name?

Speaker 5: 16:29

Jill.

Speaker 2: 16:30

Jill, I'm on the. K-32. Okay, perfect. That's gonna be okay, jill, let me. Let me get Lauren a call real quick and figure something out with her, cause that's that would be totally easy for us to send someone with her. I would want her to go in and go in into a bad situation by herself, so let me give her a call real quick. Yeah, no problem, jill, I will give you a call back in a little bit, okay, okay, thanks, jill. Bye-bye.

Speaker 1: 16:57

You can just hear the desperation in Jill's voice, pleading for someone to help her daughter, just so she could be safe. And the dispatcher did a great job with you know, listening to Jill with everything that she had to say and assuring her and then saying, would you like us to call you back after we talked to Lauren, like that was good to like, help ease Jill's nerves I mean, they still were shot and she could tell she was a nervous wreck but something she was trying to, you know, help her cope, especially given the fact that she's hundreds of miles away from her daughter. She's states away. 21 minutes later, the dispatcher contacted Lauren saying that Melvin would drop the car at her apartment. I'm going to play the call between Lauren and the dispatcher because I feel it's very important for you guys to hear how this dispatcher interacted with Lauren and how confused and scared of saying the wrong thing that Lauren was Almost six minutes long, but it's so important for you guys to hear it in its entirety. Hi, this is.

Speaker 2: 19:45

Lauren. Hey, this is the University Police. I got a call from your mom about, I guess, a car drop off that you're going to be doing or someone dropping up your car, and she was a little bit worried about it. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions and then maybe send someone with you or have someone meet you there when you're going to drop off the car. Okay. Well, so I think the car will be dropped off, okay, so she said, it might be your ex-boyfriend's dropping off your car.

Speaker 1: 20:36

Go on to the front.

Speaker 2: 20:36

Yeah, okay, sorry, he's dropping off where. Well, for sure, I'm going to say it's going to be at the same time.

Speaker 2: 20:50

I'm going to say it was going to be at the stadium, but he was asking to drop it off at my place. Okay, I might just have it dropped off at one of the buildings in my mind. Do you live on campus? Yes, okay, where do you live on campus? Are you assuming you set the doors Okay? Do you feel comfortable with him doing that? I know your mom was really concerned about it. I think it's okay. Okay, because if it's all right with you, I mean, we're here 24-7. I'm super cool. You could come hang out here and have him drop it off here.

Speaker 2: 21:37

We have a parking lot on the east side of our building. It's the police department on campus. It's right by the self-trail stadium tracks. We could even have a security officer pick you up at your dorm and drop you off here, so you can wait here for him to leave your vehicle, especially. I mean it sounds like. I mean I don't know how you feel about the situation. I don't want to misinterpret, just based off of what your mom was saying, but she definitely seemed worried about it. So if you wanted to and you felt comfortable, you could come hang out here with us. I mean, it's just a bunch of college kids here. I mean there's some adults.

Speaker 2: 22:12

Obviously we were federal police, but you know, you could come hang out with us when you drop it off, or I know she wanted someone to be there with you when the car gets dropped off, which would definitely make me feel more comfortable about that situation. But I don't want to put you out of 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 out with you while some drop-off car can be weird. I think I just want to have it dropped off here. But, okay, I'll call if I need to. Well, okay, is it all right if I have a security officer at least in the area when it's getting dropped off, in case you need anything? Yeah, that sounds good. Okay, and what time is it getting dropped off? At five, okay, and this is what building did you say it was? Again, okay, I'm looking at my map. It looks like the closest parking lot is the parking lot kind of in front of A25. It's like Kitty Cornered. Yeah, Okay.

Speaker 2: 23:26

Is that going to be the closest parking lot? Do you think? Yeah, I think so. And what type of car is it? It's a Jeep Liberty. It's green. Okay, and the guy who's dropping off, what's his name and his last name? I'm not sure what's his last name, so you cut out a little bit, let's see. I'm not sure what his last name is Okay, is he a student on campus?

Speaker 2: 24:12

I don't believe so. Okay, all right. So I will give my security officers just a little bit of a heads up in case you need anything, and we'll go from there If you change your mind last minute or anything like that. We have some really cool security officers. We have some new. We have a couple of new cops on campus that are always looking for like extra stuff to do while they're finishing up their training, anything like that. You just let me know, lauren. My name is Lauren and I'll be here until 6 pm. So if you need anything, just let us know. 하라imaty Arabic. It's only a person working with me. So if you give us the call back at just the 585 cops or 5252677 number and let us know, we can send someone out to help you or 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: 25:10

Mark.

Speaker 2: 25:10

Bye-bye.

Speaker 1: 25:13

So the reason I wanted you guys to hear that in its entirety is because you can hear how sincere the dispatcher is and trying to really reassure Lauren and make sure that she is okay. She recognizes that her mom is really worried, but she also wants to hear from Lauren and not make assumptions just based off of one person's statement to her. She's really trying to convince Lauren to come to the police station and let the car be dropped off there for safety reasons. This was so great on the dispatcher to take the extra steps to offer Lauren a sense of safety and security but unfortunately, as so many other things with this case, this is the only time that I will be saying that throughout the rest of this case, and it is a shame that this dispatcher was not part of this situation more, because there are nearly 20 phone calls between the campus police and Salt Lake City police with Lauren and her parents. Melvin is seen on security cameras dropping off the car and then leaving.

Speaker 1: 26:26

On October 12th, lauren McCluskey contacted the University Police for the first time, reporting that she had received suspicious messages that she believed were from Melvin's friends. The text said that he got into an accident and was dead and that it was all her fault, but she found he had recently posted on social media disproving this claim. Such post also violated Melvin's parole terms prohibiting him from using social media. She also received a text message from Melvin saying that he's alive. She received texts later asking if she wanted to go to a funeral his funeral. Melvin told the officer that she did not feel in danger or threatened by the text, but felt his friends were trying to lure her somewhere. The dispatcher asked if she asked the numbers to stop texting her. She said she had already blocked several of the numbers. The dispatcher then informed Lauren that they'd be sending the information to an officer to give her a call, but no call ever came.

Speaker 1: 27:29

The very next day, on October 13th, at 9.22 am, lauren contacted University Police again, this time reporting that she had received more text messages that she believed were from Melvin or his friends. Lauren said she was being blackmailed and the text demanded money in exchange for not posting compromising photos of her and her with Melvin online. She informed the dispatcher that 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 to an account, as demanded, in hopes of keeping the photos private. The dispatcher took the information and passed it over to Officer Miguel Daraas.

Speaker 1: 28:17

Lauren told Alex about the blackmail and how she contacted the campus police. Alex told her she needed to go in person. So on Saturday, october 13th, at 11.16 am, lauren and Alex went to the campus police. Officer Daraas and another officer came out to speak with the girls. The entire thing was conducted right there in the lobby of the campus police station. Neither Daraas nor the other officer ever once, when the girls were there, took them into a room to talk privately about what was happening. Lauren and Alex addressed concerns that Lauren lived on the first floor and suggested that Lauren be moved to a different housing. They told the officers how Melvin was a sex offender and Alex had to actually Google it and show it to the officers herself instead of them running his name through the database. Officer Daraas wrote the report and kept telling the girls this was all just a scam. Lauren filled out the report. The officer gave her a case number and said the detective currently wasn't in the office and that Lauren would hear back by Tuesday.

Speaker 1: 29:28

Over the next few days Lauren spoke to Officer Miguel Daraas by phone, in person, by text messages and eventually called the Salt Lake City Police Department, which referred her back to campus police. The case was assigned to an on-call detective, kayla Dalloff. Our commanding officer, sergeant Corey Neuvel, told Dalloff not to come in. No one in the campus police department checked Melvin's parole status. Later that evening at 5.45 pm, lauren called the Salt Lake City Police Department. She tells them how she's been blackmailed for money. The Salt Lake City dispatcher tells Lauren she's going to turn her over to the campus police to handle it. Lauren tells her she's already spoken with them but also wanted to call Salt Lake City Police and inform them as well. Lauren gets transferred to the campus police. She asks when an arrest would be made given the information that she provided. The campus dispatcher tells Lauren she can talk to an officer if she wants and that the dispatcher can arrange that. Lauren said quote yeah, that sounds good. End quote.

Speaker 1: 30:41

Lauren was still continuously being harassed and receiving messages. Lauren messaged Officer Dara's screenshots of the blackmail threats that had the photos. She was frequently in contact with Officer Dara's by phone, text and email. In an article from the Salt Lake Tribune, officer Dara's displayed at least one of the intimate images that Lauren had shared with him for the investigation while showing another campus officer his phone. The? U has said it was unaware of the display until the Tribune inquired about it in 2019. Another officer told the Tribune that Dara's bragged about being able to look at the image whenever he wanted. A state investigation into the incident was launched after the Tribune's report and it confirmed that the display occurred On October 16th. A parole agent spoke with Melvin but did not know about Lauren's allegations because the University Police had not communicated with the adult probation and parole. Melvin's use of social media violated his probation and involvement in a new crime also would have been a violation and could have sent him back to jail.

Speaker 1: 31:59

On October 16th through the 19th, kayla Dahliff, the campus detective assigned to Lauren's case, worked on other investigations. On October 19th at 4.48pm, lauren called the Salt Lake City Police Department to ask for more help. Salt Lake City's dispatcher tells her to call campus police, which she does. Detective Dahliff returned Lauren's call and said she would not return to work until October 23rd. The detective tells Lauren to call campus dispatch if she gets another message. That appears to be an attempt to lure her somewhere. From October 19th through the 22nd, security videos shows Melvin at various campus locations, apparently looking for Lauren. Over the weekend, lauren sent three screenshots to campus police showing Melvin's criminal history and his offender details. On October 22nd at 10.39am, lauren talked to Officer Darius after she had received another text message from a spoof number, with the message claiming to be from Deputy Chief Rick MacLennan, asking her to go to the police station. The only logical conclusion was that Melvin had sent it to get Lauren to leave her dorm, but Darius never reported Lauren's concerns to any of his superiors at the department. No-transcript.

Speaker 1: 33:26

From 3 to 6 pm, melvin waited for Lauren with some of her friends at the dorms. By 8 20 pm Melvin confronted Lauren in the parking lot outside of her residence hall. She was returning from a night class and on the phone with her mom. When she screamed no, no, no, melvin grabbed her and she dropped her phone in belongings. He then dragged her to a different spot in the lot, forcing her into the backseat of a 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 McCluskey had heard on the phone and asked officers to respond. We're gonna take a listen to Matt's call with campus police dispatch.

Speaker 4: 35:43

In security. How can I help you?

Speaker 2: 35:46

Hi, is this the University of Utah?

Speaker 4: 35:48

This is how can I help you?

Speaker 2: 35:49

Okay, this is a dispatch center in the South State of Washington. I have a 911 call to transfer you. Hold on one moment please.

Speaker 5: 35:56

Okay.

Speaker 2: 35:57

Sir, are you still there? Hi Okay, you're on the phone with the dispatch for the University of Utah. Hi this is Chris with the FNVisa.

Speaker 5: 36:05

Police. Hi, my daughter, lauren McCluskey, was talking to her mom and then she just started saying no, no, no, no, no, and it sounded like someone might have been grabbing her or something.

Speaker 4: 36:22

Okay, how long ago was this?

Speaker 5: 36:26

This was just two minutes ago. Okay, okay, coming out here.

Speaker 4: 36:36

Does she live on campus? Yeah, okay, okay, what's her name?

Speaker 5: 36:48

Lauren McCluskey. Okay, will you spell that last?

Speaker 4: 36:50

name for me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Will you spell the last name for me?

Speaker 5: 37:01

Yes, M-C-C-L-U-S-A-E -Y.

Speaker 4: 37:07

Okay, Okay and what's her date of birth? Okay, and you said the phone line went dead.

Speaker 5: 37:29

Yeah, the phone line went dead. Okay, have you tried calling her back? No, I'm sorry, the phone is not dead, but we can't. She must have dropped it and the phone connection is still here. Do you want the number?

Speaker 4: 37:44

Yes, please open Okay. And do you? Happen to know what building or room number she lives in. I'm sorry. Do you know what room number she lives in and what building?

Speaker 5: 38:11

Yes, well, what building Her house? What building is she living in? Okay, she lives on the it's not stage point, but it's one of the other ones, building 830 something, okay. Okay, just concentrate. So it's building 263-92-111. She was walking from GC-1570. Okay.

Speaker 2: 38:56

She had a car.

Speaker 4: 38:57

She had a car, alright, and what was your name?

Speaker 5: 39:09

My name is Matt McCluskey.

Speaker 4: 39:13

Okay. Okay let's get the phone number for you.

Speaker 5: 39:21

Okay.

Speaker 4: 39:33

Alright.

Speaker 5: 39:40

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: 39:56

Okay. Has he made any threats or anything like that?

Speaker 5: 40:02

His friends were kind of harassing her a little bit while they were. I can't believe we're involved with that.

Speaker 4: 40:11

Yes, okay, I actually. I have an officer right here that dealt with that. Let me talk to him for one second. I'll be right back on with you. Okay, I'll still be able to hear you, but you won't be able to hear me, okay.

Speaker 5: 40:25

I know we have to concentrate on helping. Okay, so the officer there knows about her situation. He's telling us this too. Yeah, he's been on. Could you go up and bring my cell phone, because I gave him my phone number. Okay, it's upstairs in my closet or on my nightstand, in case they call that number. Okay, let's focus. Hello, hello, hello.

Speaker 4: 41:39

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: 41:53

From the DC, which is what is that? Something common Gardener Commons? Someone's been talking on her phone. Hello, hi, I have a back pass and I need a phone. Okay, could you just stay there. I think she was mugged. The care, care, is about to call the cops. I'm talking to the cops. Okay, someone picked up her phone and backpack.

Speaker 4: 42:24

I'm trying to get a good location. All right, where is the backpack out? Can you get a location for me?

Speaker 5: 42:32

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: 42:46

It's right by her apartment. It's right by her apartment.

Speaker 5: 42:54

I'm sorry, can we do that again?

Speaker 4: 42:57

I'm showing her apartment as yeah, and you said it's right by that building.

Speaker 5: 43:05

Well, I think so. Maybe the scouts would call the cops. Tell her to just call the cops directly, would that be better?

Speaker 4: 43:13

Yeah, yeah, if she could call us directly, that would be awesome. I'm going to let you go and if you hear anything, if you hear anything else, give us a call back, please, okay.

Speaker 1: 43:26

Police were dispatched to the parking lot and found Lauren's belongings. More police officers were called in. A search began of her dorm room, the parking lot and the surrounding area. At 8.38pm, melvin had called a woman that he met on a dating site and asked her to pick him up. They went to dinner at a restaurant, drove by the state capitol and went to her home downtown where he took a shower. She then dropped him off at a coffee shop. At 9.55pm, while searching the parking lot, police found Lauren's body in the back seat of a car. She had been shot at least seven times. At 9.56pm, a secure in-place alert was sent campus-wide telling the university community that there had been a shooting. At 10.09pm, an alert was sent with a suspect. Information Updates were sent about every 30 minutes. At 11.46pm, an alert lifting the secure in-place order was sent after the university police determined that Melvin had left the campus On October 23rd. At 12.01am, an alert was sent identifying the suspect as Melvin Rowland. The woman who had picked up and went to dinner with Melvin called the police after seeing his mugshot on the TV. She told them that they had met on a dating app and that he said his name was Apollo Santos. At 12.46am, salt Lake City police found Melvin and followed him on foot. He entered Trinity AME Church at 239 East Martin Luther King Boulevard, 600 South. As police entered the church, melvin fatally shot himself. At 1.47am an alert was sent saying that Melvin had been located and was no longer a threat.

Speaker 1: 45:26

Later on, on October 23rd, university Police Chief Dale Brophy told reporters that his officers could not find Melvin in the days before the shooting, although no one had been looking for him. He incorrectly said Melvin had walked away from a halfway house, a statement the university later corrected. The next day, on October 24th, the Department of Corrections revealed that a parole agent had spoken to Melvin on October 16th, unaware that four days earlier Lauren had begun calling University Police to accuse him of harassing her. The campus community came together for a vigil to honor Lauren McCluskey On October 25th. In an emotional press conference, brophy revealed for the first time that Melvin had extorted Lauren on October 13th, threatening to release compromising photos if she didn't pay $1,000. Brophy also revealed that Melvin stalked Lauren on campus for at least three days before killing her and spent three hours before the shooting hanging out with her friends in her residence hall. Brophy also said that the man who had loaned Roland the gun, contacted police after seeing media reports about the slaying. The University of Utah President Ruth Watkins said she would ask an outside investigator to review University Police protocols, but said the review would not examine the decisions of individual officers. In his monthly news conference, governor Gary Herbert announced that he had also ordered an investigation of the Utah Department of Corrections and the Board of Partents and Parole to look into possible mistakes there that may have contributed to Lauren's death.

Speaker 1: 47:20

The State's Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing announced that it was investigating unlicensed activity by Diamond Security Group, the company that hired Melvin under the alias Sean Fields as a bouncer at Salt Lake City restaurants. It had a security contract with the London Bell, where Melvin had met Lauren. Black Diamond Security Group said that it had ended its relationship with Melvin about a month earlier. Within a few hours, the DOPL issued a citation and a ceased and desist order against Black Diamond, saying that the company was not licensed to provide security in the state. The state said that the company never did a background check on Melvin before hiring him.

Speaker 1: 48:08

More of Melvin's violent past was also uncovered. That included an attempted sexual assault of a teenage girl in 2004, a 2012 parole hearing in which he admitted to raping the teen and two other women, and a 2016 admission that he had threatened that quote if an agent were to come conduct a field visit, he might become violent. End quote. On October 26th, university of Utah trustees talked in a hastily arranged closed-door meeting about the competence of the University police and administrators in the wake of Lauren's death. The next day, two women who had briefly dated Melvin earlier that year described his pattern of lies and manipulation to the Salt Lake Tribune, including falsehoods about his age and not disclosing his criminal record. On October 29th, released police records revealed that Melvin was suspected, but never charged, with burglarizing two women he dated in 2015.

Speaker 1: 50:18

On November 2nd, watkins changed course, announcing that the independent review she described in an October 25th news conference would look at actions taken by individual officers in the week before Lauren was killed. The team included two former commissioners of the Utah Department of Public Safety John T Nielsen, who served in that post from 1985 through 1988, and is also an attorney, and Keith Squires, who retired as commissioner in August. Former University of Wisconsin-Madison police chief Sue Riesling was selected as the third team member. She has since become the executive director of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators. On November 13th, jill McCluskey tweeted that quote the person who let Lauren's killer the gun needs to be prosecuted. End quote.

Speaker 1: 51:19

On December 19th, the Independent Review Team released its report. The review of the Utah Department of Corrections and Board of Pardons and Peril was also released. Watkins said the report about the University Police quote does not offer any reason to believe that Lawrence Slaying could have been prevented. Instead, the report offers weaknesses, identifies issues and provides us with a roadmap for strengthening security on our campus. End quote. But Bill Nielsen listed multiple significant missed opportunities, including the reports to housing officials by Lawrence's friends and the days when the detective assigned to her concerns was off and the case was not assigned to another officer during that time. Among its recommendations, the review said the campus Department of Public Safety is understaffed, that it needs to hire a victim advocate, that it needs to develop a coordinated working relationship with existing victim advocates elsewhere on campus, that it needs to train all of its officers about interpersonal violence issues and it needs to adopt a lethality assessment already used by many other Utah Police departments in interpersonal violence cases. Lawrence's parents spoke out the next day questioning Watkins' assertion that their daughter's death could not have been prevented. They also called for police officers involved in her case to be disciplined.

Speaker 1: 52:55

On January 25, 2019, lawrence's parents, frustrated by the lack of action, went on ABC's Good Morning America to talk about their daughter. They again called for discipline and for the first time, they said they were considering a lawsuit. A few weeks later, on February 7, a Utah lawmaker drafted a bill prompted by Lawrence's murder. She called for Utah's public colleges to develop detailed response plans for cases of sexual assault, stalking and dating and domestic violence, with an emphasis on training officers how to recognize warning signs. Matt McCluskey later testified on behalf of the bill, and it was signed into law by Utah Governor Gary Herbert on March 29.

Speaker 1: 53:47

On what would have been Lawrence's 22nd birthday, watkins announced that the school had made significant changes to ensure student safety. The? U increased training for officers to recognize warning signs of domestic and dating violence. The updated policies created new task force and shared information across campus, including sending safety reports from housing staff to the police. She repeated that no campus officers would be disciplined in this case. Watkins said quote I do not believe it serves the ultimate mission of improving campus safety to fire anyone who acted in good faith end quote. On February 20, a second bill to come in response to Lawrence's death stalled in committee. The legislation would open the way for lawsuits against individuals whose borrowed firearms are used in a felony. It didn't pass in 2019 legislative session or when it was brought up again in 2020. But the sponsor Representative, andrew Stoddard, has pledged to continue working on it.

Speaker 1: 54:59

On February 25, the Utah Department of Corrections released the parole log for Melvin. It showed that he had a few violations using a dating app, testing positive for marijuana and missing some counseling appointments but he mostly got high remarks. On March 7, Detective Dahliff, who was assigned to the investigation of Lawrence's concerns, left the university's police department. It was later learned that she was fired after making similar mistakes. On another female student's case, a 17-year-old girl had reported being threatened by a male student at the? U. He had trapped her in his room, she said, and then he left her a voicemail saying that he was going to kill her. After she was able to get out, dahliff left work for the weekend without taking any action. She now works for the Weber County Sheriff's Office.

Speaker 1: 55:58

On March 13, federal charges were filed against Nathan Daniel Vogel. The man who loaned his gun to Melvin Vogel had a friend buy the gun for him in September of 2018 because he didn't think he could get one. After being generally discharged from the Army a step below an honorable discharge, he was charged with unlawfully purchasing the weapon. To charge Vogel under state law in connection with the loan, prosecutors would have to show he knowingly gave the gun to aid in the crime or knew Melvin couldn't own a gun because of his criminal background. Vogel later pled guilty and he was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

Speaker 1: 56:44

On June 5, the University of Utah's Police Department held an award ceremony honoring employees for how they responded to Lauren's concerns before her slaying and media questions after her death. They celebrated a dispatcher and two administrators, despite the independent review that found several staffers mishandled her case. Lauren's parents said the honors seemed disrespectful and out of touch. Matt McCluskey suggested the ceremony borders on obscene. The? U later apologized for including Lauren's name in the program.

Speaker 1: 57:20

On June 27, lauren's parents filed a $56 million lawsuit against the? U. They alleged that the campus police could have prevented their daughter's killing and that the school's president was irresponsible and insisting otherwise. Jill and Matt McCluskey said it was a last resort. They wanted an apology, but said that they never got one. They asked the school to fire the officers involved, but that didn't happen. They tried working with President Watkins to remedy the situation but said she would not respond to their emails. The lawsuit was filed against Officer Dara's, detective Dahliff, the University and the State which funds the public school. It also named then campus police chief Dahl-Broffy and officials in the housing department. It called Lauren's death tragic, avoidable and untimely and accused the university of refusing to respond, making it liable. It said that the student, her family and friends all reached out more than 20 times to report concerns. The biggest jab of the complaint is that the? U failed in its obligation to follow Title 9. This federal law requires schools to swiftly investigate reports of sexual violence and provide services to individuals who report discrimination or violence. That same day, the? U released reports showing it had spent nearly $60,000 for public relations advice after Lauren was killed.

Speaker 1: 59:01

On July 1, officer Dara's, who was also supposed to handle Lauren's case, was disciplined for making the same mistakes again on another woman's case. He was assigned to respond to a call reporting a domestic violence incident in married housing on campus. In February. Dara's went to talk to the woman and provide her with information about how to report assault by a partner. When he arrived, the suspect was there too. Dara's let the man stay as he interviewed the concerned woman. According to his discipline letter, he did not call for backup, which the police department requires for cases involving fights or abuse between partners when both parties are present. He also did not check if the man was on parole, even after the man attempted to call his parole agent in his presence. Dara's accepted the warning without appeal and it was placed in his file. The? U began requiring professors to include a statement in their course syllabus that lists the phone number for the campus police and directs students to call there with concerns.

Speaker 1: 1:00:13

On August 15, the? U announced more changes in response to Lauren's death. A $1 million investment went to improving building alarms, having police patrol outside of night classes and creating a new transportation system. On August 26, president Ruth Watkins publicly took questions from faculty and students for the first time since Lauren was killed. It had been nearly a year since her death. At this point she faced pushback, though, for declining to speak about officers' discipline in the case. She said quote Of course this is not at all an appropriate forum for me to talk about individual personnel cases and some of the nuances of what was different between case A and case B. End quote. On September 17, officer Dara's resigned from the University Police Department. He transferred to work as an officer at the Logan Police Department in northern Utah.

Speaker 1: 1:01:15

On September 21, the? U filed its first response to the lawsuit filed by the? Mccluskies. In it the school suggested that quote no matter how heartbreaking, its officers had no obligation to protect Lauren from her attacker. End quote. The school's attorneys argued that her killer wasn't a? U employee or student and had no connection to the university. So it was not responsible for his actions and had no way to control him. And they added he was often on campus only because Lauren had at times willingly invited him to her dorm room. The university's filing concluded quote. Liability for this would require that schools be guardians of every student's safety from any act of relationship violence, no matter where the act arises or who perpetrates it. End quote.

Speaker 1: 1:02:13

The filing immediately touched off circumstances of the? U, with some accusing the school of victim blaming. The Utah Attorney General's Office, representing the? U in the ongoing case, released a response defending its arguments In a surprising public statement on September 26,. Student leaders at the university condemned the administration, criticizing how it handled fears reported by Lauren, denied responsibility after her murder and created an atmosphere in which students worry campus police won't protect them. It's the first time the? U's student government has published such a formal critique. A university administrator responded shortly after saying it would take time to rebuild trust. Tensions continued to rise. Nearly 100 students, mainly women, walked out of class and staged a protest on October 21st to discuss their concerns with the used police department. It came one day before the first anniversary of student athlete Lauren McCluskey's murder. The group somberly stood outside the school's administration building and carried posters that asked where were you when Lauren needed you? President Watkins responded by saying that Lauren's murder revealed problems on campus. It was one of her strongest statements on the case to date. On November 23rd, the? U received a $300,000 federal grant to improve how it responds to cases of stalking and dating and domestic violence on campus. Two days later, powerhouse attorney Christine Durham, a former Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice, joined the legal team representing the McCluskeys. On February 4th 2020, another bill prompted by Lauren's case was drafted by the Utah Senate. It aimed to improve how Utah universities responded to sexual assault and strengthen coordination between on campus and off campus law enforcement. It was also signed into law Thanks to the Tribune reporting on May 17th that officer Dara showed off explicit photos of Lauren McCluskey to his coworkers before she was killed.

Speaker 1: 1:04:34

The university confirmed that display occurred, making that statement in response to a continued push by the Tribune to obtain public records about how the case was handled. Still, the? U said it didn't know about the inappropriate behavior and abuse of evidence until after Dara's left the department in September of 2019. According to two fellow officers, dara showed off at least one of the images to a male co-worker. One officer said Dara bragged about getting to look at them whenever he wanted. That report kicked off a wave of responses. The Logan Police Department, where Dara's work, pledged to do an investigation. The? U has also asked the Utah Department of Public Safety to thoroughly review the situation, after saying its internal process was insufficient. Dara's hired attorneys who denied the display occurred. Meanwhile, several lawmakers also proposed bills to address officers handling sensitive information and setting up rules to punish those who abuse it. The school's chief safety officer later responded that he's restructured how police officers on campus deal with evidence. Any pictures that an officer receives on a cell phone as evidence must be entered unaltered into the department's evidence database by the end of the individual's shift, and then they need to be deleted from their personal devices.

Speaker 1: 1:06:08

On June 8th, jill and Matthew McCluskey filed a second lawsuit against the? U, this time in state court. It alleged that the school denied their daughter equal protection under Utah's Constitution. On June 29th, the University of U announced that it would overhaul its troubled police department, requiring more public reporting of misconduct, hiring new command staff to oversee officers and devoting a division to victim services, with a special focus on sexual violence. The move has been the most far-reaching of the University's response to Lauren's death. There would be five main divisions police, community services focused on victims, emergency management, security for the main campus and security for the University's hospital. The change also came after the? U released a campus climate survey. It showed that students' trust in officers was down significantly. When the survey was previously conducted in the spring of 2018, before Lauren's murder, a majority of the students said that they felt that the University did enough to protect students. With the same question asked in 2020, less than half did. On July 21st, the University of Utah filed its own lawsuit saying it shouldn't have to release counseling records about Lauren, who spoke to a school psychologist in the days and hours before she was killed. Her parents had asked for the documents. However, the? U argued that those should be considered confidential even after death.

Speaker 1: 1:07:53

On August 5th, the Utah Department of Public Safety released its report confirming that Daris showed off the intimate photos of Lauren in the days before her death. Investigators found the images were displayed to at least three of Daris' male co-workers without a work-related reason. One employee recounted that Officer Miguel Daris commented specifically about getting to quote look at them whenever he wants. End quote. And that employee admitted that he too made crude remarks when seeing the images which Lauren had given to Daris as evidence in her extortion case. Another said that the other officers chimed in, saying Daris was lucky to get to work on the case and that Lauren was a cute girl. On another occasion Daris showed a sergeant one of the nude photos of Lauren while they were at the crime scene. On the night she was fatally shot on campus after his superior said quote I wonder what she looked like. End quote. The investigators couldn't determine whether Daris had saved or downloaded the intimate photos to his personal phone, but the report notes Daris switched phones after Lauren was killed. So much of the data later recovered on his device was encrypted or corrupted. Three officers at the? U were fired for not speaking up about the display. Sooner, on August 7th, the Logan Police Department fired Miguel Daris for showing off the photos while he was previously working at the? U. Logan Police Chief Gary Jensen said that the abuse of evidence is? Quote inconsistent with the high expectations and standards placed upon our officers by the community. End quote. On September 22nd, a month shy of the second year anniversary of Lauren's murder, the? U opened a new center for violence prevention founded in part to research intimate partner violence after Lauren's death.

Speaker 1: 1:10:00

On October 15th, salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced that his office declined to prosecute Miguel Daris over showing off the photos, while he believes the officers actions were quote definitely reckless. End quote. Gill said there is no Utah law for addressing this type of police misconduct. Gill said, quote. We realized there was no real statute that we could use for this case. We're incensed, like everyone else, by this behavior. It was inappropriate, but if there's not a statute, there's nothing we can do. End quote. Gill's office examined whether it could charge Daris under the revenge porn law in Utah With that sharing or displaying a compromising photo of someone without the person's consent can be prosecuted. The statute, though, requires proof that the person in the images was harmed. Lauren's death made that impossible. Members of the person's family being hurt, such as Lauren's parents, don't count. Gill and Matt McCluskey said that they were disappointed in Gill for not pursuing justice in the US and Gill for not pursuing justice in their daughter's case. Six days later, on October 21st, about 40 protesters marched around Gill's office, rallying against the district attorney for not filing charges against Daris.

Speaker 1: 1:11:27

The next day, acknowledging for the first time that the on-campus murder of track star Lauren McCluskey was preventable, the University of Utah agreed that it could have better protected her and failed, and it would pay out $13.5 million to her parents as part of a legal settlement. The settlement announcement came a day later, on the two-year anniversary of Lauren's death. At a news conference, the? U President, ruth Watkins, said she was sincerely sorry for the loss of Lauren. She read from a statement saying, quote 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. The school built an indoor track to be named for Lauren and used by the track and field team on which she competed at the? U With the new facility. Gill McCluskey said her daughter, quote, will always have a presence on the campus and quote the family walked around the current outdoor track to honor their daughter on the anniversary. Additionally, the new Center for Violence Prevention at the? U, created partly in response to Lauren's death, would now bear her name. On January 12, 2021, ruth Watkins announced that she would be stepping down in April to take a new job with Strata Impact, a national education nonprofit. In an interview with the Tribune, she acknowledged that Lauren's case was part of the reason for her departure. She had led the university in the top post for three years and was the institution's first female president.

Speaker 1: 1:13:20

On February 3, state lawmakers publicly released several bills for the general sessions, spurred by Lauren's case and the concerns over Daris is showing off of her photos. One from Representative Craig Hall passed and now strengthens the existing law around revenge porn, adding that officers can be charged with sharing sensitive photos of the victims. Representative Andrew Stoddard also got through a few pieces updating language in the state code on investigating officers for misconduct. Another that passed was from Senator Yanni Iwamoto, which aims to prevent problematic officers from easily jumping departments in Utah, but her proposal to create a student commission to look at safety issues was gutted and stripped of that provision. Instead, it only requires campus police agencies to collect more data on crimes. On March 3, legislators gave final approval to the settlement agreement between Lauren's parents and the university.

Speaker 1: 1:14:29

On April 6, wacken served her last day as the university president, and on April 13, braffi, the former police chief, and Daris, the officer who showed explicit photos of Lauren, took the first step toward filing a lawsuit against a government agency. Braffi, who received a full year's salary and a $6,000 party when he retired amid criticism of his department's mishandling of Lauren's case, says he wasn't treated fairly and wants the school to pay him millions. Daris, who quit his job at the? U before his misconduct was investigated, claims he deserves millions too. Also joining their lawsuit was the former deputy police chief, who stepped down and declined to participate in that investigation, and two other former officers arguing they were all mistreated. In the fallout from the high-profile case, they are seeking $10 million from the University of Utah In 2022,.

Speaker 1: 1:15:33

As the fourth anniversary of Lauren's death approached, matt and Jill met two reporters at a hotel in Moscow, idaho, a short drive from Poland. They learned some details of ESPN's investigation for the first time. They said they'd be comfortable watching videos from some of the people involved, including Miguel Daris, to offer their reactions. On March 28, 2023, espn released Listen on ESPN Plus about Lauren's case. Espn and 2020 partnered in making a four-year investigative story about Lauren's case. The 2020 episode is titled Running Out of Time. I will have links to both programs in the source material listed in the show notes I'm going to read from Lauren's obituary.

Speaker 1: 1:16:26

Her work ethic in the classroom, weight room and on the track was exceptional. Her teammates and coaches were inspired and amazed at how she never complained even when the weather was foul or practice was especially tough. Lauren has been described as quiet, but more accurately, she chose her words carefully. Her professors were delighted by how she was engaged and made incisive, on-point comments. In college she truly blossomed. Lauren never had an unkind word to say about anyone. She loved being with friends and was a great dancer. She had a strong singing voice, loved karaoke and even did stand-up comedy.

Speaker 1: 1:17:10

Lauren was a Christian. She grew up attending Community Congressional United Church of Christ and in college attended Capitol Church in Salt Lake City. She was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at the University of Utah. She was a deep, independent thinker with an interest in philosophy and a strong sense of right and wrong. She was a gifted writer, winning a high school award in her junior year of high school as the top writer at her prep school and excelling in college. Even her texts and emails were beautifully composed. Lauren enrolled in electives on grammar and logic for pure intellectual enjoyment. She was looking forward to graduating and finding a job in public relations or academic advising, preferably someplace warm. Lauren served as a communications intern at Cortland Place Retirement Community where her grandparents lived. In this internship, she designed and completed a picture dictionary with stories that she wrote about the residence. She enjoyed interviewing them and taking their pictures for the project. Her grandparents received wonderful feedback from their neighbors that they loved the book and interacting with Lauren. A model student athlete, Lauren had a 3.77 GPA and applied to graduate in Spring of 2019. Recognizing her academic accomplishments, the University of Utah conferred a posthumous Bachelor's of Science degree in communications, and that's the case of Lauren McCluskey.

Speaker 1: 1:18:49

If you or someone you know needs help because of domestic violence or abuse, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. That's 1-800-799-7233. That's 1-800-799-safe. You can also text START to 887-888 or visit wwwthehotlineorg. Be sure to follow on Instagram at Crime Connoisseurs. You can find Crime Connoisseurs wherever you listen to your podcasts. In the meantime, keep it classy Connoisseurs, and I'll catch you on the next case.