Lauren McCluskey.
In 2018, this University of Utah athlete realized her boyfriend wasn’t who she thought he was, and worse. She repeatedly sought help following their break-up as she was harassed, and stalked, before being murdered. No one listened to her.
Now, in a new investigative documentary that exposes vast institutional failure, ESPN delves into McCluskey’s life, death, and her parents’ quest for answers. ESPN and 20/20 will bring the investigation to viewers and readers in multiple ways. “LISTEN” will debut on Tuesday, March 28, at 7 pm ET on ESPN+ and will be the focus of a two-hour 20/20 report on Friday, March 31, at 9 pm on ABC, anchored by David Muir.
McCluskey’s murder by Melvin Rowland made national news, but the people and institutions responsible for protecting her failed at every turn. Allegations of police misconduct led to legislative change, and the McCluskey family settled a $13.5M lawsuit. But revelations of individual and institutional failure continue.
This 90-minute documentary contains new information, interviews, never-before-seen surveillance video, police and dispatch recordings, previously unreleased video and audio interviews from the homicide investigation, phone recordings, and more.
“LISTEN” is part “true crime” and part accountability journalism. Award-winning ESPN journalists T.J. Quinn and Nicole Noren, who have been reporting the story for four years, give a window into their investigation and ongoing battles to obtain records from the University of Utah.
Quinn has been an investigative reporter for ESPN since 2007 after coming from the New York Daily News, where he was a member of its sports investigative team. He also previously worked for the Salt Lake Tribune. He recently was the lead reporter for ESPN’s coverage of WNBA star Britney Griner’s detention in Russia.
Noren, Quinn and William Weinbaum are producers/reporters. Other producers are Mike Drago, Cathy Honeywell, José Morales and Laura Purtell. Rayna Banks is the executive producer, while the senior executive producers are Chris Buckle and Craig T. Lazarus.
LISTEN will be available for on-demand viewing on ESPN+ and ESPN+ on Hulu after the March 28 premiere. Watch the trailer below.
