After two days of mediation, the parents of slain track star Lauren McCluskey did not reach a settlement with the University of Utah in their $56 million lawsuit alleging the school could have done more to protect their daughter.
Jim McConkie, the attorney representing the McCluskeys, described the talks as frank and open but ultimately “unsuccessful.”
“We understand better now what the issues are,” he added Wednesday evening. And “while Jill and Matt McCluskey continue to be disappointed in the University of Utah, they are always willing to discuss and work through differences in the future.”
The McCluskeys sued last June, alleging that campus police at the U. could have prevented Lauren’s murder. Lauren, 21, was fatally shot outside her dorm Oct. 22, 2018 by Melvin S. Rowland, a 37-year-old registered sex offender on parole whom she had briefly dated. He died by suicide hours later.
Lauren, though, had contacted campus police several times in the weeks before that to report that he was harassing her after she ended their relationship Oct. 9. Many of those concerns were not taken seriously, according to a later independent investigation.
The review team that looked into how the U. handled the case found that officers there did not recognize the warning signs of potential domestic violence — largely because they lacked the necessary training.
The U. has maintained in response filings, though, that it wasn’t liable for Lauren’s death, in part because her attacker was not affiliated with campus, and it therefore had no control over his actions.
The Salt Lake Tribune will update this story.
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/3e4uxqL
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