Nick Miller

Memorial at Scene of Crime

Last August, tragedy struck campus when student Gisele Lara was shot and killed by classmate Nathaniel Janik, who then killed himself. Now, one year later, Lara’s mother Rebecca Lara has served an ante litem notice, which signals her intent to file a $25,000,000 wrongful death lawsuit against CSU and related government entities. The notice claims that CSU’s negligence contributed to Gisele Lara’s death. 

Rebecca Lara states, “CSU failed Gisele. My beautiful daughter deserved safety measures and protection. I am utterly heartbroken, but I am committed to seeking justice for Gisele and ensuring that such tragedies do not befall other families. Gisele’s story will shine a spotlight on the need for enhanced safety measures and accountability within educational institutions.” 

Gisele Lara was a senior Biology major and a Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Scholar. She had published research with the National Science Foundation and was beginning to apply to biology PhD programs. Her murder shocked the campus and caused many to question safety at CSU. 

After the homicide-suicide, CSU administration updated its emergency handling and incident response procedures. A Cougar Alert sent out in response to the incident was criticized for its lateness and vague wording.  

In a community meeting, University Police chief Laura Bennett apologized for the delayed alert. Attendees, including students, faculty, and staff, voiced concerns about gun safety on campus, desires for extra safety training, and confusion about the Cougar Alert’s wording. 

At the time, many on campus were focused on the aftermath of the shooting. Now, the events leading up to the tragedy are coming into focus. The ante litem notice and press release published by law firm Parker & McConkie, which is representing Rebecca Lara, provides previously-unknown information about the case. 

The notice details Lara and Janik’s interactions prior to the murder, multiple parties’ reports to CSU about Janik’s behavior, and CSU’s alleged failure to appropriately follow university policies, resulting in Lara’s death. 

During the summer of 2023, Lara and Janik participated in fish research trips led by Department of Biology professor Dr. Michael Newbrey. The two were not friends, states the notice, but were researching the same species of fish. CSU Police’s investigation states that the two had been dating that summer according to Janik’s sister, a detail which is not mentioned in the ante litem notice. The police reports state that Janik responded to a lack of attention from Lara with depression and alcohol consumption. Janik raped Lara at some point over this summer, according to the notice, a Create Care report filed later, and CSU Police’s investigation.

In early August, Lara told her uncle that a classmate was harassing her, and that she would report him. She also told her boyfriend, Matt Gilbert, that Janik was “creepy.” 

On Monday, August 14, 2023, four days before the murder, the notice states that Lara communicated to Dr. Newbrey that she was concerned for her safety about being around Janik, and that she could not work in a research group with him. In response, Dr. Newbrey had Janik change his research focus and assured Lara that the two would be “nowhere near [each other].” These communications are not mentioned in CSU Police investigation records.

Two days later, on the morning of August 16, the notice states that security camera footage shows Janik stalking Lara. Soon after, Lara told her boyfriend that Janik’s behavior was scaring her.  

At noon, Lara spoke with Dr. Newbrey again about the issue, reporting that Janik had raped her and was continuing to stalk and sexually harass her, states the notice. Gilbert then spoke with Dr. Newbrey to request that he report the issue to the university. At 5:47 PM that day, Dr. Newbrey created a Create Care report. He marked the report as “Critical.” 

According to the ante litem notice, the report “appears to have been routed to Dana Larkin, Assistant Dean of Students, and copied Title IX Coordinator Sarah Secoy, University Chief of Police Laura Bennett, Lt. Wendy Brundage, and all Campus Security officials with authority to act immediately.” Despite the number of people contacted, the notice alleges that no actions were taken to provide interim support or develop a safety plan.  

Dr. Newbrey’s report did not mention his conversation with Lara or his observation that she was upset, which he texted her about after filing the report. The ante litem notice alleges that CSU was ignoring Lara, a Latina woman, but listened to Gilbert, a white man; when Lara spoke to Dr. Newbrey alone on August 14, no report was made, and it was only after Gilbert’s conversation with the professor on August 16 reiterating Lara’s experiences with Janik that action was taken to file a report. 

On the morning of August 17, Sarah Secoy sent Lara an email suggesting that she schedule a meeting with Secoy about the Create Care report. This email, alleges the ante litem notice, showed no sense of urgency and did not explain supportive measures available to Lara.  The notice further alleges that Secoy falsely stated that her email contained links with more information, but the email provided to the family did not contain any links at all. Furthermore, it claims, all potential meeting times offered by Secoy via email were in conflict with Lara’s class schedule. 

Later that day, Janik’s behavior intensified when he chased Lara to her car. This occurred as Lara left a class the two did not share, indicating to lawyers that he was stalking her whereabouts. 

According to the ante litem notice, witness testimonies make it apparent that Janik was aware of the report made about him as a result of CSU faculty or representatives “intentionally or inadvertently” sharing this information. The murder, says Parker & McConkie, was a retaliation against Lara “out of anger and/or fear of the consequences he would face as a result of her report.” 

The next day, on August 18, Janik killed Lara. Before a class, the two were seen having an altercation. According to multiple witnesses, they both appeared distressed and tense during class. A classmate noted that Janik appeared agitated and frequently looked back at Lara. 

After the class, Janik followed Lara to her car and confronted her, accusing Lara of cheating on him. Though they were not in a relationship, Janik would demand that Lara “needed to date him.” As Lara sat in her car, Janik shot and killed her. Soon after, he shot and killed himself. “These events were captured in an audio file that [Lara] recorded on her phone,” the anti litem notice reports. 

When responding to the scene, campus police found Lara still breathing, states the ante litem notice, but “CSU campus police prevented paramedics from examining Gisele or attempting to provide any life saving measures and/or medical treatment.” However, this is contradicted by police reports about the incident, which states that both Lara and Janik were pronounced dead by Columbus Fire/EMS and make no mention of preventing access. The CSU police report states that Lara was still breathing but did not have a pulse; no mention of life-saving attempts is made.

“In the aftermath of Gisele’s murder,” the notice continues, “CSU has refused to perform a transparent investigation, often denying them access to, and even destroyed, information that Gisele’s family needed to understand the whole story. CSU even erased all traces of comments on its social media pages criticizing the school’s response to the murder.” 

Title IX is a law which prohibits sex-based discrimination at schools receiving federal funding. Its regulations include the prohibition of student-on-student sexual harassment and selective enforcement of policies due to gender bias. 

Schools receiving federal funding are required to respond proactively, promptly, and without indifference to reported sexual harassment. Claimant Rebecca Lara alleges that the sexual harassment Lara endured was objectively severe and offensive, that CSU officials had been appropriately notified, that CSU’s actions showed indifference to the situation, and that CSU’s indifference resulted in Gisele Lara’s wrongful, untimely death. 

The ante litem notice gives multiple reasons for considering the school’s response inadequate. CSU officials, it states, were aware that Janik had raped Lara, that he continued to harass her, and that the situation was critical and escalating. It is alleged that CSU officials improperly informed Janik of the report against him, which led to his retaliation, the murder of Lara. 

The notice also alleges that CSU did not properly move forward with the Create CARE report in response to Lara’s reports but did respond to Gilbert’s reports. This shows, it states, discrimination toward Lara by CSU due to her gender and/or race.  

Ms. Lara’s attorney, Brian C. Stewart, states, “While the full evidence has not yet been made public, when it is released, it will clearly show that if CSU employees had been properly trained and followed the law, Gisele would still be alive today. Failure to follow the law can have deadly consequences, as it did in this case.” 

The Uproar received the following statement from CSU: “While the university does not comment on pending litigation, we continue to mourn the loss of Gisele Lara and respect the grief of Gisele’s family.”