Lauren Smith-Fields: 23-Year-Old Found Dead in Bridgeport Apartment After Date With ‘Older White Man’
Lauren Smith-Fields, 23, was found dead in her Bridgeport, Connecticut apartment on December 12, 2021.
Lauren Smith-Fields had dreams of being a physical therapist as well as using her growing influence on social media to change the world. She had her own business, was active on Youtube, uploading beauty videos and creating playlists, but she was serious about her studies.
The 23-year-old was studying physical therapy at Norwalk Community College in Norwalk, Connecticut.
But a mystery has taken hold in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where Smith-Fields lived and where her family still resides.
Smitih-Fields was found by police in her Bridgeport apartment on Sunday, December 12, 2021. She was not breathing when police showed up.
According to her family, the person who called the police was “an older white man” who Smith-Fields had recently met on the dating app, Bumble.
The family found out on Dec. 13, after Lauren didn’t answer any phone calls or text messages, that she was deceased. They didn’t learn from the police, though. They got the news from the landlord.
“I started panicking,” Ms. Fields told the New York Times. “All I could do was just stand there, like if I was frozen. I could not believe what he was telling me, that my baby was gone.”
Inextricably, police for more than a month did not reveal whether they were considering the man as a suspect or even person of interest, according to news reports.
According to Smith-Fields brother, Lakeem Jetter, police told them the man was “a really nice guy” and “didn’t need to be investigated.”
The local law enforcement establishment has not been helpful, according to Smith-Fields’ father.
The local police have not made many comments on the case and the medical examiner’s office took more than a month to release a cause of death: Overdose of fentanyl combined with prescription medication and alcohol. The office ruled her death an accident.
How Did Lauren Smith-Fields Die?
What is known about the case is from an incident report written by the Bridgeport Police Department. In that report, it says that Lauren and the 37-year-old man, who was described as a “white male,” met at her apartment, ate food and drank tequila.
The two watched a movie and Lauren reportedly feel asleep on the couch. The man picked her up and put her in her bed and he laid beside her until morning.
When the man woke up at 6:30 a.m., “she was lying on her right side, blood was coming out of her right nostril onto the bed, and she was not breathing,” he told investigators, according to The Times.
Notably, when the man reported the death to the police, “He was trembling and visibly shaken,” according to the report.
As a result, Smith-Fields’ father said he believes his daughter’s death may be foul play. “Without a doubt, we know that my daughter was not a drug user. I had a second autopsy done myself paid out of my own pocket because we felt so uncomfortable with the way it was handled,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fields’ mother remains inconsolable about her daughter’s death: “I’s killing me inside. I miss my baby,” she said.
“Life is not the same. I don’t know who I’m going to be after this,” her mother said.
Smith-Fields’ mother wrote a letter to the Bridgeport Police Department about her daughter’s case, but they reportedly haven’t responded.
“She sent a really well-written email — it was lengthy, it was extensive, it was very detailed — and I was shocked when she told me just yesterday she had not even received a response,” Councilwoman Maria Pereira said.
Finally, the Bridgeport Police Department has responded publicly about the Smith-Fields case.
“The Bridgeport Police Department takes these concerns very seriously,” the police said in a statement. “The Command Staff of the Detective Bureau is reviewing the handling of this case to ensure that best practices were and are being followed. It is imperative to note that the death of Lauren Smith-Fields remains an ongoing investigation. Our department extends its deepest condolences to the family of Lauren.”
More than several weeks after the victim’s death, Bridgeport mayor, Joseph P. Ganim acknowledged that Internal Affairs had opened a criminal investigation in the case and that the lead detective had been removed
He also admitted that the way the victim’s family found out about the death was not in line with protocol.
“Death notifications should be done in a manner that illustrates dignity for the deceased and respect and compassion for the family,” Ganim said, according to The Times.