Lauren Astley's Father Works With Wayland Students To Raise Awareness About Teen Dating Violence

WAYLAND (CBS) - Lauren Astley, a Wayland high school graduate, was murdered by her boyfriend in 2011 at only 18-years-old.

"People hear about Lauren's story and realize well some of these red flags that escalated between her and her boyfriend's relationship; they can see it in their relationship nowadays," student Maeve Kelleher said.

Malcolm Astley, Lauren's father, spent Friday night working with students at the Wayland High School football game, educating teens about domestic violence and healthy relationships.

"It's events like this that help me pull out of what can be deep despair about the loss and about the ongoing losses," Astley said.

"We just thought it was really fitting especially in the month of October, which is domestic violence awareness month, that we have a stand and we are collecting donations," student Mia Djafari said.

"We had this great training with the team. It was amazing we got this great big public event, part of what we're hoping for, which is the conversation in the car on the way home from tonight's game," Reach Beyond Domestic Violence, Director Jessica Teperow said.

Students also expressed the importance of learning the signs of unhealthy relationships early on.

"Some people they're young, it's their first relationship and they don't understand the signs that they could be in a bad relationship," Djafari said.

If you or someone you know is in a dangerous or unhealthy relationship there is help available. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233.