Notre Dame Won't Talk About Woman Who Killed Herself After Reporting Football Player Sexually Assaulted Her

At the end of August, 19-year-old Elizabeth "Lizzy" Seeberg told [university] police that a Notre Dame football player sexually assaulted her. Nine days later, she killed herself. And what has the university said about it in the months since?

Notre Dame refuses to publicly acknowledge the case, and what actions university officials have taken to investigate her allegation remain largely unknown.

Campus authorities did not tell the St. Joseph County Police Department investigating Seeberg's death about her report of a sexual attack, county officials said. Nor did they refer the case to the county's special victims unit, which was established to handle sex offenses, according to prosecutors.

That's from today's Chicago Tribune. So is this ...

Notre Dame also declined to make university officials available, but issued a written statement Thursday: "Any time we are made aware of a student potentially violating university policies, we implement a process that is careful and thorough so that facts can be gathered, rumors and misinformation can be sorted out, and an informed decision can be made about what action to take - if action is warranted. We take our obligation seriously, we involve law enforcement officials as appropriate, and we act in accordance with the facts."

And this ...

In the months since Seeberg's death, the university and its police force have denied formal requests for information from the Tribune, asserting it is not bound by open records laws that make public reports filed at other Indiana police departments. ...

Former federal prosecutor Zachary Fardon, who tried ex-Gov. George Ryan, has been hired by Seeberg's parents to look into circumstances surrounding her allegations and Notre Dame's investigation.

"At this time, we're not prepared to make any comment about Notre Dame's investigation," he said Friday.

Related: SMC student dies at 19 [ NDSMCObserver] Memorial Mass held for Seeberg [ NDSMCObserver.com]