COLUMBUS, Georgia. – The mother of a Columbus State University student who apparently died in a subsequent murder has announced that she plans to notify the university of her death.
On the morning of August 18, 2023, police found 21-year-old Gisele Lara dead in a car near the university campus, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported. The body of 25-year-old Nathaniel Janik was discovered on the ground near the vehicle.
Rebeca Lara, Gisele’s mother, has hired Salt Lake City-based law firm Parker & McConkie to file a $25 million lawsuit, the firm said in a press release.
According to the lawyers, the final-year biology student at Columbus State University had been the victim of sexual assault, harassment and stalking by another student in her department and had asked professors and other university staff for help.
Gisele Lara (Parker & McConkie)
The law firm claims that the professor “intentionally or inadvertently” informed Janik about Lara’s report, which led to her death.
“Although the full evidence has not yet been released, when it is released, it will clearly demonstrate that Gisele would be alive today if CSU staff had been properly trained and followed the law. Failure to follow the law can have deadly consequences, as it did in this case,” attorney Brian C. Stewart said in a statement. “For years, CSU and other University System of Georgia institutions have suffered from a lack of leadership and dangerous mismanagement, resulting in chronic problems in responding to and protecting victims of sexual harassment and threats of violence on their campuses. This is a systemic failure, plain and simple.”
Rebecca Lara expressed hope that her daughter’s story would draw attention to the need for increased security measures on college campuses.
“CSU failed Gisele. My beautiful daughter deserved safety measures and protection,” said Rebecca Lara. “I am deeply heartbroken, but I will fight for justice for Gisele and ensure that other families are not struck by such tragedies.”
In addition to the CSU, the Georgia Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and the State of Georgia are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
In a statement to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, a CSU spokesperson said the university continues to mourn Lara’s death.
“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,” the university’s statement said.
