Sneak peek: Loved to Death | Forensic Files

Breakup violence is something that can happen anywhere. You might hear one relationship violence case on the news,
but it's happening in your school whether you know it or not. Breakup violence, we weren't really even sure if
that was a real thing, but I mean now going through this, we definitely know it is a real thing. And like everyone
was just in shock. It ruins not just one person's life or one family. It's such a domino effect. I
mean, the ripples are like outrageous. I mean, it changed my entire life. [Applause]
Nate was a football star. popular, attractive, seemed like he had a perfect relationship with a beautiful
girl. Lauren was a very sparkly, bubbly, sassy girl. I'm sure a lot of students were
jealous of their relationship, but they just would fight a lot. I came home from work and she was
sobbing. That's when she broke up with him. Our group of friends was really really
close. I think we all love each other like sisters. We had a plan to like go out and like
hang out with a bunch of friends. And Lauren never responded. And we got a call from another one of
our friends saying, "Have you seen Lauren? Like I just saw her car parked at the beach." Her car was there and it
was open and her computer was in there and her purse was in there and the windows were down.
She would not leave the car like that willingly. Malcolm ran out on the beach trying to
scream her name, trying to call for her. And I went into the water thinking that
if by some chance she were there, I'd have to find her really quickly. I was texting everybody, calling all of our
friends, frantically asking if they had seen Lauren. The whole town was looking for Lauren.
Her friends began showing up and uh ended up camping out there through the night.
It was a beautiful night and we were facing this horror. And I was thinking some abductor had somehow persuaded
Lauren to get out of her car. And the policemen were talking to me and they were like saying like, "Well, what about
her ex-boyfriend like this?" And I was like, "No, like no, no, definitely not." The police had already been to Nate's
house and Nate was there. You know, he's got an alibi. His parents are there. We stayed there like all night until the
morning. I called Lauren when I got home and texted her and said, Lauren, please
respond. Please tell me if you're okay. I just need to know you're okay. I remember kind of like shaking with
like a really sick feeling because I was just so confused and sad and scared. [Music]

Lauren Astley was a popular teen; her ex-boyfriend, Nathaniel Fujita, a football star. Their breakup was intense - and she's dead. "48 Hours" correspondent Tracy Smith investigates dating and breakup violence Saturday, Sept. 13 at 10:46 p.m. ET (10 p.m. PT) on CBS.

Brief Summary

The episode reveals the impact of breakup violence through Lauren's disappearance after her breakup with Nate.

Key points

The Reality of Breakup Violence. Breakup violence is a pervasive issue that affects many, often hidden from view.
The Search for Lauren. Friends and family frantically search for Lauren after she goes missing under mysterious circumstances.
A Night of Horror. A beautiful night turns into a nightmare as friends wait for news about Lauren.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Breakup violence is something that can happen anywhere.

0:05WatchOct 21, 2013

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