ESPN to Debut New "30 For 30" Podcast, Re-Examining 2006 Case That ESPN Reporters Helped Investigate

ESPN has announced a new installment in their 30 for 30 podcast series, Murder at The U, re-examining the Bryan Pata case from 2006 and how ESPN reporters brought the investigation into the spotlight. 

What’s Happening: 

• ESPN has announced the newest installment in its acclaimed 30 for 30 Podcasts series, this one titled Murder at The U. 
• Hosted by ESPN Investigative Reporter Paula Lavigne, including reporting from ESPN’s Dan Arruda and Scott Frankel, the multi-part podcast will unravel the true story behind one of college football’s darkest tragedies - the 2006 murder of University of Miami star Bryan Pata - and the years-long pursuit of truth that followed.
• The announcement comes on the 19th anniversary of Pata’s death.
• At just 22 years old, Pata was a senior defensive tackle for the Hurricanes and a top NFL prospect - a hometown hero with a seemingly unstoppable future. But one November night, after practice, his life was cut short when he was shot and killed outside his Miami apartment complex. The shocking crime sent tremors through the football world and left his family, teammates, and an entire community demanding answers that never came.

• Nearly 11 years later, a team of ESPN journalists began reexamining the long-stalled case, uncovering new evidence, tracking down forgotten witnesses, and ultimately helping bring the story back into the public eye. Their reporting, and a lawsuit against Miami police to open records, unearthed revelations that reignited the investigation, which resulted in the arrest of one of Pata’s former teammates, Rashaun Jones, who is now awaiting trial.
• Murder at The U and all of ESPN’s 30 for 30 Podcasts can be found on ESPN.com, the ESPN App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, iHeart and wherever podcasts are available.
• Murder at The U will premiere early next year, with a specific date and more details expected to be announced in the future. 

Potential Spoilers - ESPN’s Involvement In The Case: 

• In 2017 to 2018, ESPN launched a deep, longform investigation (“Death at The U: Who killed Bryan Pata?”) that obtained thousands of documents, police reports, audio recordings, and conducted over 100 interviews, many with people who had never been approached by law-enforcement.
• Their investigation highlighted failures and inconsistencies in the original police work, including missing leads, records that were destroyed or missing, delays in interviews, and key suspects not properly followed up with. An expert that ESPN interviewed concluded this was not a random act, but involved someone who knew Pata.
• ESPN sued the Miami‑Dade Police Department (MDPD) in March of 2020, seeking to force disclosure of records in Pata’s case. Their reporting uncovered a major error: a key witness in the case, Paul Conner (or “Connors” in some records), whom prosecutors had stated was dead, was in fact, very much alive and living in Louisville, Kentucky,  discovered by ESPN reporters.
• We’re sure all of this will be explained more in length in the new podcast installment.