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Hiding a female student's rape and murder on campus in December 2006 for 10 weeks will cost Eastern Michigan University at least $4 million, including fines, a settlement with her parents and severance pay to fired administrators.
EMU will pay $2.5 million to the family of Laura Dickinson, whose raped body was found in her dorm room naked from the waist down with a pillow over her head. The university had insisted that no foul play was suspected.
It's a good thing the family was amenable to a settlement, according to Sheldon E. Steinbach, a Washington lawyer and former general counsel to the American Council on Education. "The last thing that Eastern Michigan would want to do would be to litigate this matter," he said. "With their gross ineptitude and negligence in handling this, I would fear for the financial solvency of the institution if this went to a jury trial." He said an insurer may cover part of a settlement but could bow out if a case went to trial.
Dickenson's family had accepted her death as the result of a heart attack caused by cardiac arrhythmia and the stress of final exams. Only 10 weeks later did they learn the truth, after a former student was arrested and ...