Found Deceased CT - Lauren Smith-Fields, 23, Bridgeport, 12 Dec 2021

[Mert]

Her brother admitted he stopped by but said it was only about some laundry and he couldn’t tell she was drunk.

Her date however said she had drank to illness already and came back after seeing her brother to spend 10-15 minutes in the bathroom.

Both above were in daily mail I linked upthread.

if you google her brother’s name you will find some background. Add the keyword methadone to narrow further.

Thank you for the info. I did see multiple articles that show a spotty background.

 

[Kori17]

Apparently, the family attorney also has a checkered past. Google his name.

 

[akazia1978]

Thank you for the info. I did see multiple articles that show a spotty background.

Yes, I did as well. Strange that she got sick right after seeing her brother. I do not believe the Bumble date gave her anything.

 

[Kori17]

Yes, I did as well. Strange that she got sick right after seeing her brother. I do not believe the Bumble date gave her anything.

Agreed!

 

[sds71]

Bridgeport Police open criminal investigation into the death of Lauren Smith-Fields

As a result of the report, the Bridgeport Police Narcotics and Vice Division opened a criminal investigation. They will be assisted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

According to Bridgeport police, Fentanyl is a strong narcotic associated with an epidemic of opioid-related overdose deaths in the United States.

“The Bridgeport Police Department continues to treat the untimely death of Lauren Smith-Fields as an active investigation as we are now refocusing our attention and efforts to the factors that lead to her untimely death. We have engaged several partners to assist with this portion of the investigation. Once again, we offer our sincerest condolences to the friends and family of Lauren Smith-Fields and ask that anyone with information to please contact 203 576-TIPS,” said Bridgeport Police Chief Rebeca Garcia.

 

[Hannah3105]

Yes, I did as well. Strange that she got sick right after seeing her brother. I do not believe the Bumble date gave her anything.

I agree with this. I think her brother gave her the cocktail of drugs (which I believe are a common mix) and this is why she went outside (to pick up).

Its incredibly sad what has happened to Lauren. Regardless of her life choices (any drugs and who she chose to spend time with) she did not deserve to die. She was a young woman who was enjoying life and learning from her mistakes, as we all did in our teens and twenties.

What I will say though, is that it is not fair to pursue a criminal investigation of this man (her date) on the basis that Lauren had never taken drugs before, when her social media (IG) clearly showed images and videos depicting drug use last week. This content has now been removed from her IG. Why? To protect the brother? All MOO. JMO. IMO.

 

[Mert]

I was not aware that she was posting references to drugs online. It is odd to me that people do this.
Her family may regret their actions if the brother ends up being charged.

My opinions.

 

[Shamrock1]

I’m behind - what exactly is the family alleging about LE? I see several articles mentioning “disrespect” and how upset the family is - but what’s the underlying issue?

 

[whiterhino]

I agree with this. I think her brother gave her the cocktail of drugs (which I believe are a common mix) and this is why she went outside (to pick up).

Its incredibly sad what has happened to Lauren. Regardless of her life choices (any drugs and who she chose to spend time with) she did not deserve to die. She was a young woman who was enjoying life and learning from her mistakes, as we all did in our teens and twenties.

What I will say though, is that it is not fair to pursue a criminal investigation of this man (her date) on the basis that Lauren had never taken drugs before, when her social media (IG) clearly showed images and videos depicting drug use last week. This content has now been removed from her IG. Why? To protect the brother? All MOO. JMO. IMO.

RBBM

Are LE now investigating Laurens date? Thought I'd read somewhere that all deaths related to fentanyl were to be treated as a criminal matter due to the opioid crisis.

"As overdose deaths mount, prosecutors are increasingly treating them as homicide scenes and looking to hold someone criminally accountable. Using laws devised to go after drug dealers, they are charging friends, partners and siblings. The accused include young people who shared drugs at a party and a son who gave his mother heroin after her pain medication had been cut off. Many are fellow users, themselves struggling with addiction."

They Shared Drugs. Someone Died. Does That Make Them Killers? (Published 2018)

In general, I think it might be against Instagrams' TOS to post images that promote drug use etc. Maybe those images were deleted to protect the victim from blame? Some users are known to keep overdose kits on hand, makes one wonder if Lauren knew what she was taking (imo that combination seems a bit off).

In any case, I hope Lauren is resting in peace and that her family receive justice. No one deserves that.

 

[Kori17]

I was not aware that she was posting references to drugs online. It is odd to me that people do this.
Her family may regret their actions if the brother ends up being charged.

My opinions.

Has anyone considered hair analysis to check for drug use?

 

[Gardenista]

I was not aware that she was posting references to drugs online. It is odd to me that people do this.
Her family may regret their actions if the brother ends up being charged.

My opinions.

Where did she post about drugs online?

 

[Mert]

The post above mine states that her Instagram reflected it and has since been removed. I am not on social media, so I have not seen. My opinions.

 

[evilwise]

I agree with this. I think her brother gave her the cocktail of drugs (which I believe are a common mix) and this is why she went outside (to pick up).

Its incredibly sad what has happened to Lauren. Regardless of her life choices (any drugs and who she chose to spend time with) she did not deserve to die. She was a young woman who was enjoying life and learning from her mistakes, as we all did in our teens and twenties.

What I will say though, is that it is not fair to pursue a criminal investigation of this man (her date) on the basis that Lauren had never taken drugs before, when her social media (IG) clearly showed images and videos depicting drug use last week. This content has now been removed from her IG. Why? To protect the brother? All MOO. JMO. IMO.

Websleuths is a victim friendly forum and that courtesy usually extends to victims families and their legal representatives. I would be surprised, even in the current social climate, for a family to work so hard at raising the profile of a case if a member of that family were actually the one responsible.

However it doesn't bother me in the slightest for law enforcement to investigate the possibility - and that's what I'm reading between the lines of the chief's statement

 

[IDK]

Very odd case—one thing stands out. If I was on a date and my date became sick to the point of vomiting, I would not hang around! I’d be concerned they had a GI bug and I wouldn’t want to take a chance on catching it. I’m a germaphobe though so maybe that’s not the norm?

 

[flower_girl]

Where did she post about drugs online?

Yes, this seems like speculation if there's no proof? What drugs was she posting about publicly on instagram?

 

[cvaldez1975]

Very odd case—one thing stands out. If I was on a date and my date became sick to the point of vomiting, I would not hang around! I’d be concerned they had a GI bug and I wouldn’t want to take a chance on catching it. I’m a germaphobe though so maybe that’s not the norm?

i would excuse myself as well.

 

[flower_girl]

I’m behind - what exactly is the family alleging about LE? I see several articles mentioning “disrespect” and how upset the family is - but what’s the underlying issue?

Conn. police probe death of Lauren Smith-Fields, found dead after a date in December

-They didn't notify next of kin - her parents had to go to her apartment to find a note from the landlord on her front door

"Crosland told CNN that Smith-Fields' family only learned of her death two days later, through a note from her landlord. They had visited her apartment because "Christmas dinner was supposed to be at Lauren's house that year" and she hadn't been answering her calls.

"When I got there, there was a note on the door saying, 'If you're looking for Lauren, call this number,'" Shantell Fields, her mother, told CBS News."

-They initially did not investigate her date because he "seemed like a nice guy" in their words

"When we asked about this guy, [the initial detective on the case said] 'he was a nice guy, there was no need to investigate,' " Lauren's father, Everett Smith, told ABC affiliate WTNH."

-The police allegedly hung up on the family and told them to stop calling and hung up on them from this article and many others:
Police investigation of Black woman's mysterious death "racially insensitive," family says

 

[iamnotagolem]

I feel bad for the date, he seemed to try to do the right thing by staying with her after she got sick. I imagine waking up next to a dead body would be traumatizing.

 

[flower_girl]

i would excuse myself as well.

Her date also noted that they kept drinking and that he stayed the night and slept next to her in the bed, and woke up to her unresponsive/deceased in the bed.

I can't think of anyone I know who would stay over if someone was vomiting and also sleep next to them in bed, on a first date??? Extremely odd.

 

[Shamrock1]

Conn. police probe death of Lauren Smith-Fields, found dead after a date in December

-They didn't notify next of kin - her parents had to go to her apartment to find a note from the landlord on her front door

"Crosland told CNN that Smith-Fields' family only learned of her death two days later, through a note from her landlord. They had visited her apartment because "Christmas dinner was supposed to be at Lauren's house that year" and she hadn't been answering her calls.

"When I got there, there was a note on the door saying, 'If you're looking for Lauren, call this number,'" Shantell Fields, her mother, told CBS News."

-They initially did not investigate her date because he "seemed like a nice guy" in their words

"When we asked about this guy, [the initial detective on the case said] 'he was a nice guy, there was no need to investigate,' " Lauren's father, Everett Smith, told ABC affiliate WTNH."

-The police allegedly hung up on the family and told them to stop calling and hung up on them from this article and many others:
Police investigation of Black woman's mysterious death "racially insensitive," family says

Thank you so much for the list!