Feature
University Policy Questioned in Wake of Murder By Teresa Cajot In the aftermath of Katy Benoit’s murder, one of the most prevalent questions seemed to center around whether the University of Idaho did everything in its power to protect the student from one of its own professors. The university first garnered criticism when it refused to release information from student and employee records, citing a legal ‘’obligation to protect student and employee rights.’’
Benoit, who was shot multiple times outside of her home last week, had recently filed a sexual harassment complaint against Ernesto Bustamante, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and Communication. Benoit initially informed officials at the University of Idaho about her concerns in June, just a few months after ending a relationship with Bustamante. According to Benoit’s roommates, Bustamante threatened her with a handgun numerous times and even went so far as to put the gun in her mouth at one point. When confronted by university officials, Bustamante denied the charges and proceeded to file a complaint against Benoit for defamation of character. He resigned effective last Friday, just days before Benoit was gunned down. According to police reports, Bustamante committed suicide in a Moscow, Idaho hotel room shortly after Benoit’s murder. In the hotel room police found six guns and prescribed medication for bipolar disorder, anxiety, epilepsy, and depression. Following the release of court documents on Wednesday, Benoit’s family asked the university to provide details on its response to the complaints against Bustamante. The university, however, has refused release any employment records until the state courts confirm that they can legally do so.
However, the school did say that Benoit’s complaint was taken seriously and contact with her was maintained, both to review the situation and to provide safety advice. The university further instructed Benoit to contact police to discuss her safety concerns, which she did on June tenth. After filing the complaint Benoit reportedly contacted the school via email and asked to discuss the situation further. In her email, she stated that she did not want the complaint to be brought before Bustamante. According to school officials, however, he had already been informed and ordered to keep his distance from her. According to Moscow Police Lt, Dave Lehmitz, school officials called the Moscow Police Department on July 14th to report Bustamante’s behavior and the department, in turn, tried to contact Benoit multiple times. Before the police could actually reach Benoit, the University of Idaho informed the department that Benoit did not want police involvement. Despite the university’s ongoing failure to provide additional information about the student-professor relationship or about Benoit’s complaints against Bustamante, it appears as though the school did respond to the situation appropriately. In fact, according to Idaho law, school officials are not required to notify law enforcement officials about such allegations when the victim is an adult. As it should have, the university stepped beyond its legal obligation to protect one of its students, but even that was not enough, leaving many to wonder if anything more could have been done.
Understandably, Benoit’s family and friends want answers and the university has not been forthcoming with details.
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