Editor's note: Above video is a report on the first lawsuit filed by the McCluskey family
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The parents of Pullman native Lauren McCluskey, who was shot and killed in 2018, announced that they are filing a second lawsuit against the University of Utah.
The Associated Press reports that Jill and Matt McCluskey allege the university violated the state constitution by dismissing their daughter’s requests for help in the weeks leading up to her death.
McCluskey’s parents say that university police ignored their daughter because of an “indifference to the risks that women experience when they are suffering from domestic violence,” according to the lawsuit.
The University of Utah declined to comment on the family’s most recent suit until its attorneys could review and respond to the new filing, according to AP.
McCluskey was shot seven times and killed on campus in October 2018. She briefly dated the man suspected of murdering her, according to her family.
Her parents filed a $56 million civil rights lawsuit against the University of Utah in June 2019.
“This is our last resort to effect positive change. The university must pay a large amount to believe that it is in their best interest to believe women," Jill McCluskey said during a press conference announcing the first lawsuit.
She added that any money from lawsuit will benefit the Lauren McCluskey Foundation – which supports charitable work in Lauren’s name – and go toward supporting student-athletes and the family's legal costs.
More than a week before her death, McCluskey had reported to police that her ex-boyfriend was harassing her and demanding money in exchange for not posting compromising photos of her online. Police investigated but they never checked him against state records where they could have discovered he was a parolee.
Audio recordings also revealed that Jill McCluskey reported concerns for her daughter’s safety to campus police in Oct. 2018.
When the University of Utah released a report in December that said McCluskey’s death could not have been prevented, her parents disputed the claim.
“We respectfully disagree with the conclusion that Lauren’s murder could not have been prevented. There were numerous opportunities to protect her during the almost two weeks between the time when our daughter began expressing repeated, elevating and persistent concerns about her situation and the time of her murder,” the family said in a statement.