By Andrew Cluley
Ypsilanti, MI – Eastern Michigan University has hired the Butzel-Long law firm to investigate the university's conduct and communications connected to the death of a student in December.
The EMU Board of Regents also named Jim Stapleton, Gary Hawks, and Francine Parker to a sub-committee in charge of the review.
Stapleton says the law firm will examine the university's processes to find the truth, and will be given as much time as needed to get all the information related to the university's handling of the rape and murder of Laura Dickinson.
Dickinson's body was found in her Hill Hall dorm room in December. The university initially said there were no immediate signs of foul play in her death, but statements from police investigators and the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner contradict the university's statements.
An EMU student from Southfield, Orange Taylor the Third, is charged with homocide, sexual assault, and home invasion in Dickinson's murder.