Sex assault claim, tension came before Columbus State murder-suicide, investigation shows

The 2023 murder-suicide that left two dead on Columbus State University’s campus was preceded by a troubled relationship between the two involved, including sexual assault allegations and distress signs, according to documents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The GBI’s investigation into the fatal shooting of Gisele Lara and Nathaniel Janik on Aug. 18, 2023, also found that family members close to Janik thought the two were dating. Lara’s family and friends didn’t think they were dating, according to an investigative summary from the GBI.

GBI’s investigators interviewed more than half a dozen people in their investigation. That included Matthew Gilbert, who told investigators he was Lara’s boyfriend at the time; Jonathan Funston, Lara’s former fiance; Daniel Janik, Nathaniel Janik’s father; Amber Janik, Nathaniel Janik’s sister; Rebecca Lara, Gisele Lara’s mother; Michael Newbrey, a professor for both Lara and Janik; and other students at CSU. GBI also compiled autopsies, cell phone data and more.

The shooting happened Aug. 18, 2023, and the investigation closed June 6, 2024, after District Attorney Don Kelly decided he wouldn’t pursue criminal charges.

What unfolded before fatal Columbus shooting?

Newbrey, who taught an ecology class that Lara and Janik both took, said to investigators that Lara and Gilbert told him Janik had sexually assaulted Lara over the summer, according to GBI’s investigation documents. Newbrey said he was told about it two days prior to the shooting. He was required to document and report the allegation, and he contacted his supervisor to start a Title IX complaint.

Gilbert, who told investigators he lived with Lara for about a month or a month and a half, said she told him about the alleged sexual assault shortly before they went to Newbrey to report it.

Janik and Lara had Newbrey’s class together the day of the shooting, according to GBI’s investigation. A student interviewed by investigators said she saw the two having an argument before class that day, and said they weren’t sitting together when they got to class.

That student later received a text from Lara that said “Ignore him I’ll fill you in later. He went from a nice guy to a weirdo overnight,” according to GBI documents.

Newbrey told investigators Lara and Janik showed up to class five minutes late the day of the shooting.

“Dr. Newbrey stated that while they were in class, he noticed that they looked distressed,” GBI investigators wrote in their report. “Dr. Newbrey advised their behavior as being wide eyed, they looked unhappy, they were fidgeting a lot. They did not sit together, and he noticed they had flushed face.”

Newbrey ended class at 9:49 a.m. for an appointment with another student at 10 a.m., according to the GBI investigation.

Gilbert came to campus to bring Lara a coffee after that class ended, according to GBI’s investigation. He told investigators he didn’t want her to be alone. When he got to the parking lot where he was set to meet Lara, he found the area roped off with police on scene.

Newbrey told investigators he was still in a student meeting when Gilbert showed up at his office and said something bad happened. The two went outside and saw the crime scene.

Gilbert couldn’t be reached for comment before this story was published.

Newbrey told the Ledger-Enquirer in a statement Wednesday that the university doesn’t comment on pending litigation, but “we continue to mourn the loss of Gisele Lara and respect the grief of Gisele’s family.”

Janik’s family believed he was dating Lara

Daniel Janik told investigators his son and Lara were seeing each other, and their relationship was tumultuous, according to GBI’s report. He said his son was increasingly frustrated with life and wanted to go to Alaska to get away from it all.

Daniel Janik didn’t respond to a request for comment before publication.

Amber Janik told investigators her brother and Lara were romantic but didn’t advertise it. She said they started dating at the beginning of the summer semester, according to GBI documents.

She also told investigators Lara would visit her brother at their apartment, and they would be affectionate with each other and had a pregnancy scare over the summer, according to GBI records.

“(Amber) Janik said that Nate knew that Lara lived with her ex-boyfriend, Matt, but that they were just friends now,” GBI investigators wrote.

Photos provided to investigators showed Lara and Nate Janik at his family’s home, according to the document.

Rebecca Lara told investigators her daughter had been dating Gilbert since February 2023. She said she had no knowledge of her daughter dating Nate Janik. She announced earlier this month that she plans to sue CSU and the state of Georgia over her daughter’s death.

Jonathan Funston told investigators that Gisele Lara once asked Funston’s opinion on whether she should date Gilbert or Janik, according to GBI documents. He told her she should date Gilbert, because Janik seemed creepy to him.

Funston said he and Lara were basically roommates but she spent most of her time with Gilbert, according to the investigation records.

“Funston advised that he did not think Lara was serious about Janik but had entertained the possibility of dating him momentarily. Funston said that from his understanding, Lara had moved on and had decided to date Gilbert,” investigators wrote.

Funston told the Ledger-Enquirer that as far as he knows, Janik had asked Lara out and she had turned him down.

Data recovered from Nathaniel Janik and Gisele Lara’s phones showed worrisome google searches from Nathaniel Janik and a recording from the day of their deaths from Lara’s phone.

Recovered photos showed Janik and Lara in both public and private, affectionate settings, according to GBI documents.

There were also Google searches on Janik’s phone from Aug. 17, 2023, which included, “Does a Christian who commits suicide go to Heaven?” and “Can suicide victims go to heaven?”

There were no photos of Janik in Lara’s phone, according to GBI’s investigation, but there was a recording from the day they died in which she’s heard getting in a vehicle and asking Janik to let her leave. Lara says on the recording she’s going to call the cops.

“Janik is heard saying he did not care if the police come and says he will shoot himself if they come,” investigators wrote in records. “ … Janik tells Lara that she is not leaving until they work it out.”

Lara died by a gunshot to the head and her death was ruled a homicide, according to GBI’s investigation. Janik also died by a gunshot to the head and his death was ruled suicide.

Victim’s mother responds to investigation

Rebecca Lara told the Ledger-Enquirer she was “very disappointed” in the GBI investigative summary. She said the report featured “misinformation and inaccurate statements about my daughter.”

“There is victim blaming,” she said, adding she felt there were missing details. Rebecca Lara said she’s concerned that not all information has been released, including toxicology labs and blood-alcohol levels for Nate Janik.

She said after reviewing the report, she feels it’s “apparent that CSU failed Gisele by not responding to her safety concerns prior to and after being shot on campus.”

“My hope and prayers are that by highlighting Gisele’s story real changes can occur that ensure campus safety and responsible oversight by the universities,” Rebecca Lara said.

She added that universities need to have an environment that’s protective and safe for learning. She felt Gisele Lara’s report about Janik should’ve been responded to more promptly.

When asked about the possible relationship between her daughter and Nate Janik mentioned in the report, Rebecca Lara said, “The only time Gisele mentioned Nate Janik was when she informed her uncle in early August that a male student (Nate Janik) was harassing her, creeping her out and she was going to report to CSU.”

“Whether Nate Janik believed he was ‘dating’ or a research partner with Gisele there is absolutely no reason to harm or murder Gisele,” she said.

This story was originally published August 29, 2024 at 12:24 PM.