The family of Lauren Smith-Fields are demanding answers from the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, after the 23-year-old black woman was found dead in her apartment on December 12, 2021. According to news reports, that evening Smith-Fields met up with Matthew LaFountain, an older white man she met on the dating app Bumble.

Police reports suggest LaFountain called authorities around 6:30 am on Dec 12 after waking up to Smith-Fields on the floor unconscious with dried blood around her nose. She was pronounced dead at 6:49 am.

According to the Chief Medical Examiner, Smith-Field’s cause of death was determined to be “acute intoxication due to the combined effects of fentanyl, promethazine, hydroxyzine, and alcohol,” and the manner to be accidental.

But her family isn’t convinced that police findings thus far tell the whole story. According to the family attorney, Matthew LaFountain was never investigated or detained after he called the police. It seems as though the police just took his word for it.

“The fact that the police failed to investigate the man she was found with as a person of interest leaves us with more questions than answers,” said family attorney Darnell Crosland.

Her family is certainly justified in their frustrations with the city. When Smith-Fields was pronounced dead on the scene, police did not notify her family of her death. They learned of their daughter’s death from a note left by the landlord on her door when they went to visit her.

“How do I not get any notification that my daughter passed away?” Fields asked during an interview with yahoo.

The family also says they believe their daughter was drugged. Her mother told reporters she found a condom with semen inside and a pill that the family believes could be a sedative. According to the family, Smith-Fields didn’t do drugs, rarely drank liquor, and regularly went to the gym.

“The question is less what toxins were in her body but how they got there,” said family attorney Darnell Crosland.

Mayor Joe Ganim announced this week the city’s Office of Internal Affairs will conduct a “full and fair investigation” into the police’s handling of her death.

“There is no tolerance for anything less than respect and sensitivity for family members and their loss,” said Ganim in a statement. “I will work with the Chief of Police to make appropriate changes here in Bridgeport now our department’s policies and practices regarding notifying family members of a death.”

Crosland filed noticed last week that the family would be suing the city of Bridgeport.

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