The 48 Hours Team Tackles Break-Up Violence

We've all heard about domestic abuse amongst married couples, but what about "break-up violence" amongst teens? MarieClaire.com got a sneak peak of a new investigation by the CBS show, 48 Hours, which tackled the topic in its upcoming special, "Loved to Death. (opens in new tab)"

The special is set around the death of Lauren Astley (opens in new tab), who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, Nathaniel (Nate) Fujita in July 2011. Both from a quiet suburb of Massachusetts, Lauren was set to attend Elon University in the fall of 2011, and Nate was committed to Trinity for a football scholarship. The two had ended their tumultuous relationship, but one final meeting turned their lives upside down.

In order to promote awareness of "break up-violence," 48 Hours correspondent Tracy Smith and senior executive producer Susan Zirinsky hosted a luncheon on Wednesday with a panel of bloggers and dating violence advocates. Astley's father, Malcolm, was also in attendance. "Our goal is to have healthy relationships taught at all grade levels," Astley said. "It is only required in seven states."

"We live in a different time and place…and the pressure is enormous on teens," Zirinsky said. Speaking to the power social media can have in spreading awareness of abusive relationships among the age group, 48 Hours will post this special, along with a separate unaired story of a similar premise, on its website.

Statistics show that one in three teens have been a victim of physical or emotional abuse. Only three percent tell authorities, only six percent tell their family members, but 75 percent tell a friend. In the documentary, Lauren's friends said they saw some the warning signs, but were largely unaware of the severity. Casey Corcoran from Futures Without Violence (opens in new tab)stated that youths need to learn early on about the technical and emotional aspects of dealing with healthy and unhealthy relationships.

"Loved to Death" will air Saturday, October 26th, at 10/9c on CBS.