Death in the Dorms Season 2: Preview, Release Date, More

Mark Twain once said, “Some people get an education without going to college. The rest get it after they get out.” This is a comforting thought, though the college experience is a teaching tool in and of itself. For many it’s the first time they’ve lived away from home, which fosters a sense of independence, however fleeting. Almost everyone leaves an entirely different person, hopefully for the better. Sadly, not everyone walks away unscathed.

Beyond the joy, there can be heartbreak and loneliness as well as anxiety and isolation. Unfortunately some students won’t live to see their graduation day, like the kids featured in ABC News Studios’ Death in the Dorms. The popular series highlighted six tragic stories from colleges across the campus that ended in death. The popular true-crime show is back for a second season and Distractify has an exclusive look at what’s to come.

The trailer for Season 2 echoes what many feel as they enter what some describe as the best four years of their lives. “Kids are supposed to feel safe when you’re off to college,” says a woman in the voiceover. “Kids aren’t supposed to die in college,” another young woman states. “Kids aren’t supposed to die at all.” And thus the heartbreak and rage rise up, in a series that reminds us all that life is precious.

Six gut-wrenching stories of murder on campus are told through the detectives who worked on the cases and the family members who lost their loves ones too soon. Some of the most poignant moments come when parents reveal in brutal detail exactly what happened when they received the worst phone call of their lives. “I yelled. I screamed,” shared one man. On the other side of those calls are the members of law enforcement who have to deliver this news. It’s impossible to comprehend.

Season 2 begins Feb. 22, 2024, with the devastating story of Jenna Burleigh, who in August 2017 was beaten, stabbed, and strangled after a night out at a bar, per 6 ABC Philadelphia. The Temple University student was described by her parents as a “caring and compassionate person who wanted peace.”

Per ABC News, the last thing these students had in common was the fact that their lives were horrifically cut short. The series focuses on Jackson State University accounting major Latasha Norman, Louisiana State University first-year student Max Gruver, University of Miami linebacker Marlin Barnes and his friend Timwanika Lumpkins, Binghamton University nursing student Haley Anderson, College of Charleston student Patrick Moffly, and of course Temple University film studies student Jenna Burleigh.

Of course, the show goes beyond the deeply upsetting deaths of these promising students. We also get to learn about who they were in life. Grieving parents share details about their children in an effort to paint a fuller picture. One woman said her son was the “happiest kid on Earth.” An attractive blond girl had a “great sense of humor.” A woman fighting back tears says this was supposed to be her son’s time. This can be said of all of these students. It should have been their time, but it was stolen.

Season 2 of Death in the Dorms is available to stream on Hulu starting Feb. 22, 2024.