Lauren Smith-Fields’ Death Now Being Investigated For Foul Play
After authorities said there was no foul play in the death of 23-year-old Lauren Smith-Fields, her death is now being investigated for potential foul play.
According to CNN, officials stated the department's narcotics and vice division has opened an investigation, which will be assisted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Acting police Chief Rebeca Garcia said in a statement police are focusing on "the factors that led to her untimely death.”
On Dec. 12, 2021, the Black Tik Tok influencer who was found dead in her Bridgeport, Conn. home after going out on a date with a white man from the dating app Bumble. The unidentified man, who was the last person to see Smith-Fields alive, reportedly called 911 “after realizing her nose was bleeding and she had stopped breathing, according to the incident report.”
PEOPLE reported Tuesday (Jan. 25) that the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner found that Smith-Fields died of "acute intoxication due to the combined effects of fentanyl, promethazine, hydroxyzine, and alcohol."
On January 23, Darnell Crosland, Smith-Fields’ family lawyer, told Bridgeport, Conn., station WTNH, “Now to find out that all of these substances are in their daughter’s body that basically took her life, they’re so angry right now. This looks further like a manslaughter. It looks more like a murder, and if the police don’t start acting fast, we’re going to have a real big problem on our hands.”
Smith-Fields' mother, Shantell Fields, told WNBC that the police are not taking her daughter’s death seriously, "They wanted us to forget about our daughter, their sister, our loved one. They thought they were just going to throw her away like she was garbage, like she wasn't important, like she didn't have family members who loved her. We're fighting for her."
Smith-Fields' brother, Lakeem Jetter, alleges authorities didn’t even contact the family after finding Lauren’s body and did not collect certain evidence, including a sedative pill and used condom from her apartment.
"I feel like because he's a white guy and she's a Black girl, they're just throwing it under the rug," he said, while alleging police told his family they wouldn't be investigating the white man, saying "he seemed like a nice guy."
Since news of Smith-Fields’ death has been made public, a GoFundMe campaign is now live in order to help the family with legal fees.
