Before you continue
This case involves sexual violence. Casepin presents the record in neutral, non-graphic language. Choose whether to continue.
Solved case · 2018
The short answer
University of Utah student-athlete Lauren McCluskey was killed on campus on October 22, 2018, by the man University Police identified as responsible; he died before he could be charged, and the case prompted an independent review and a $13. 5 million settlement.
The coverage index
1 piece from 1 creator: ranked, with duplicates removed and short clips set aside.
The Search for Lauren McCluskey’s Murderer
Kendall RaeVideo · YouTube · 1 min · 2025Titles and descriptions are the creators’ own and may not reflect current legal status. The sourced facts are in the file below. Players load only when you press play. Suggest coverage we’re missing.
The case file
Lauren McCluskey was a 21-year-old University of Utah student-athlete and member of the track and field team. On the night of October 22, 2018, she was shot and killed near her campus dormitory in Salt Lake City.
In the weeks before the killing, McCluskey ended a brief relationship after learning that the man had misrepresented his identity, age, and criminal background. She then reported harassment and extortion to University of Utah police. The university's official timeline records those reports as the context preceding the October 22 attack.
University Police officially identified that man as the person responsible for killing McCluskey. He died by suicide during a police pursuit early on October 23 and was never charged. The identification is an official investigative conclusion, not a court adjudication.
An independent review commissioned by the university and released December 19, 2018, found the campus police department understaffed and identified missed warning signs and investigative shortcomings, while saying it could not conclude at that time that the murder was preventable.
On October 22, 2020, the University of Utah and McCluskey's parents announced a $13.5 million settlement. The university acknowledged that her death was preventable, and the settlement included funding and institutional commitments in her name. The Utah Legislature ratified the agreement by joint resolution in 2021.
5 dated entries · 2018–2021
Lauren McCluskey was shot and killed near her dormitory on the University of Utah campus.
The man University Police identified as responsible died by suicide during a police pursuit. He was never charged, and the identification was not a court adjudication.
An independent review found campus police understaffed and identified missed warning signs and investigative shortcomings, but did not conclude at that time that the murder was preventable.
The University of Utah announced a $13.5 million settlement with McCluskey's parents and acknowledged that her death was preventable.
The Utah Legislature ratified the settlement by joint resolution (H.J.R. 10).
2 named in this file
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
10 cited
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
Official / agencyUtah State LegislatureAccessed Jul 13, 2026
Official / agencyUniversity of UtahAccessed Jul 13, 2026
Official / agencyUniversity of UtahAccessed Jul 13, 2026
PressCBS NewsAccessed Jul 13, 2026
PressCBS NewsAccessed Jul 13, 2026
PressDeseret NewsAccessed Jul 13, 2026
PressESPNAccessed Jul 13, 2026
PressESPNAccessed Jul 13, 2026
PressKUTVAccessed Jul 13, 2026
PressThe Salt Lake TribuneAccessed Jul 13, 2026
Trust
Are you family of someone named in this file? Corrections and removal requests from victims’ families are prioritized.
Near this case
Federal Heights neighborhood, Salt Lake City, Utah · 2000s
Fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Smart was abducted at knifepoint from her Salt Lake City bedroom in June 2002 by Brian David Mitchell and held captive for about nine months, during which he repeatedly raped her, before she was located alive in Sandy, Utah, in March 2003.
SOLVEDListenFormer Salt Lake City Public Library main branch (now The Leonardo), Salt Lake City, Utah · 1990s
On March 5, 1994, Clifford Lynn Draper took hostages at gunpoint on the second floor of the former Salt Lake City Public Library main branch, claiming to have a bomb. After a standoff of more than six hours, off-duty Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Lloyd Prescott shot and killed Draper, and a real but non-detonated bomb was later safely destroyed by police.
SOLVEDListenSalt Lake City, Utah · 2000s
Destiny Norton, a 5-year-old Salt Lake City girl, was kidnapped and murdered in July 2006 by a 20-year-old neighbor after leaving her home following an argument with her parents. Her body was found in the neighbor's basement, less than 100 feet away, following an eight-day search involving thousands of volunteers, police, and the FBI.
Credit: Raptac·CC BY-SA 4.0·SourceSOLVEDListenBardstown, Kentucky · 2015
Crystal Rogers, a 35-year-old Bardstown, Kentucky, mother of five, disappeared in July 2015 and has never been found; in 2025, her former boyfriend, Brooks Houck, was found guilty of her murder, and two other men were convicted of related conspiracy and evidence-tampering charges.
Credit: Wisconsin Department Of Justice·Public domain·SourceSOLVEDListenBarron, Wisconsin · 2018
A 13-year-old Wisconsin girl was abducted from her home after her parents were fatally shot in October 2018 and was found safe 88 days later after escaping her captor's rural cabin in January 2019.
Credit: NCMEC / Manchester (NH) Police Department·Law-enforcement release·SourceOVERTURNEDListenManchester, New Hampshire, United States · 2019
Harmony Montgomery, a five-year-old girl in Manchester, New Hampshire, was reported missing in 2021 and was later found to have been killed by her father in 2019; his 2024 murder conviction was reversed on appeal in 2026.
