ESPN to Debut Documentary About 2018 Murder of Student Athlete

  • By Matt Jones
  • March 21, 2023

An investigative documentary about the 2018 murder of a University of Utah student athlete is set to premiere on ESPN+ on Tuesday, March 28, according to ESPN. “LISTEN” will detail the case of Lauren McCluskey, whose ex-boyfriend Melvin Rowland stalked, extorted, and murdered her, the news release reports. The documentary will also dive deeper into institutional failures and her parents’ quest for justice in the aftermath.

The 90-minute documentary will include never-before-seen footage including surveillance videos, police and dispatch recordings, video and audio interviews from the investigation, phone recordings, and more. It will also feature interviews with Lauren’s parents, Jill and Matt McCluskey; Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes; former campus police officer Miguel Deras; Rowland’s parole agent, Megan Thomson; and another of Rowland’s ex-girlfriends.

The documentary by ESPN journalists T.J. Quinn and Nicole Noren serves as both true crime and accountability journalism, the news release reports. The case will also be the subject of the March 31 episode of ABC’s 20/20, titled “Running Out of Time.”

A trailer for the documentary is available in the ESPN press release.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning and Campus Security and Life Safety. He can be reached at [email protected]

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