What to Watch Friday: Dateline & 20/20 explore 2 cases of mishandled college murders

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Here’s what’s on TV tonight.

Dateline: Justice for Kristin Smart (9 p.m., NBC)

The parents of Kristin Smart, the college student who disappeared on her college campus in 1996, talk for the first time since their daughter’s killer was sentenced.

Denise and Stan Smart speak in an exclusive network interview with Josh Mankiewicz about the sentencing of Paul Flores. Stan Smart addresses his frustration with the California Polytechnic State University campus police’s handling of the initial investigation after Kristin disappeared while walking home from an off-campus party. She was declared legally dead in 2002 but her body has never been found.

The episode also features interviews with insiders connected to the case, including San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office detective Clint Cole, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson, Your Own Backyard podcast host Chris Lambert, prosecutor Chris Peuvrelle, witnesses to the night Kristin disappeared, her college friends and more.

20/20: Running Out of Time (9 p.m., ABC)

“20/20” also takes on the mishandled case of a murdered college student. The show teams with ESPN to explore the 2018 murder of University of Utah student-athlete Lauren McCluskey.

McCluskey was killed by her boyfriend, who misled her about his identity and background, and stalked and harassed her when she broke up with him. McCluskey’s former boyfriend was Melvin Rowland, a 37-year-old sex offender who had recently been released from prison. McCluskey ended the relationship when she learned this, and contacted campus police when he began extorting and harassing her. For one week, McCluskey repeatedly asked campus police, local law enforcement and school officials for help, but did not receive it. She was then kidnapped on her way back from class and later found dead in a car.

The episode is anchored by David Muir and examines the events and investigates the institutional failures associated with the McCluskey’s killing. There is reporting from ESPN’s T.J. Quinn and Nicole Noren, plus interviews with Lauren’s parents, Jill and Matt McCluskey; the Utah attorney general; a former campus police officer; and others connected to the case.

This streams the next day on Hulu and is available to stream now on ESPN+

Some programming descriptions are provided by networks.