🚨💔 SHE REPORTED HER EX TO POLICE REPEATEDLY. SHE GAVE THEM EVIDENCE. THEN, JUST DAYS BEFORE SHE WAS MURDERED, AN OFFICER SHOWED HER PRIVATE PHOTOS TO OTHER OFFICERS. And what happened during her final phone call with her mother makes this case even more heartbreaking. Her name was Lauren McCluskey. She was just 21 years old. A talented college athlete. An honors student. A young woman with plans for her future. But on October 22, 2018, Lauren was murdered on the University of Utah campus by a man she had briefly dated. And the most disturbing part? Lauren had repeatedly reached out to police before she was killed. Earlier that October, Lauren discovered that her boyfriend, Melvin Rowland, had lied about his age and identity. He was actually a convicted sex offender who had been released from prison and was on parole. Lauren ended the relationship. But the harassment didn't stop. She began receiving disturbing messages, including threats to release intimate photographs unless she paid money. Lauren reported the extortion to campus police. She even provided the messages and photographs as evidence. She was trying to get help. But while Lauren was desperately trying to get the situation resolved, an officer handling her case showed her private photographs to other officers. That detail would not become publicly known until AFTER her murder. 💔 OCTOBER 22, 2018. Lauren was walking back to her dorm after class. She was talking to her mother on the phone. Suddenly, her mother heard Lauren scream. Rowland had confronted her in a campus parking lot. He forced her into a vehicle and shot her multiple times. Lauren's father called police after her mother heard the attack. But by the time officers located Lauren, she was dead. She was only 21. Rowland later died by suicide as police pursued him. And the questions surrounding Lauren's repeated attempts to get help were far from over. ⚖️ THEN CAME THE INVESTIGATIONS. Investigators identified serious failures in how university police handled Lauren's reports. A separate investigation confirmed that an officer had shown her intimate evidence photographs to colleagues, including instances unrelated to legitimate police work. Think about that. She had trusted law enforcement with extremely personal evidence because someone was threatening her. And instead of that evidence being handled appropriately, some of it was displayed to other officers. In 2020, the University of Utah reached a $13.5 MILLION settlement with Lauren's family. The university acknowledged that it had failed Lauren and that her death was preventable. But no amount of money could bring her home. Today, Lauren's family continues working to protect others through the Lauren McCluskey Foundation and an initiative called Lauren's Promise. Eight years have passed. Lauren should be 29 years old today. Instead, her family is left honoring the life she never got to finish. 💔 HERE'S MY QUESTION: When someone repeatedly reports harassment, stalking, and threats, should law enforcement be legally required to take additional protective steps before the situation escalates? Because Lauren did what victims are so often told to do. She reported it. She provided evidence. She asked for help. And she still lost her life. Rest in peace, Lauren. ❤️ - @old.history094