A Connecticut family is calling out police who they say isn’t not giving them any answers into the investigation of their 23-year-old daughter’s death.
Lauren Smith-Fields was allegedly found unresponsive in her Bridgeport apartment on December 12 and “later died” police said, but it was her family members who noted her death came shortly after meeting “an older white man” on the Bumble app earlier the same evening.
According to reports, it was that man –– who has yet to be publicly identified –– that called authorities; police aren’t even considering him a person of interest, city officials said. Her brother, Lakeem Jetter, said police told him the man seems “like a nice guy” and “there was nothing to investigate.”
“We haven’t had any answers since the day we found out that she passed away,” Smith-Field’s mother, Shantell Fields, told Yahoo! News, adding that the Bridgeport Police Department told the family to stop calling the department.
“When you ask questions, [the police] don’t know how to answer it at all … and they made it such a hostile environment,” Fields added.
Smith-Fields’ cause of death has yet to be released by the county medical examiner.
Her father, Everett Smith, told News 12 Rochester that the family has “paid out of pocket” for a second autopsy because they felt “uncomfortable” with how officials are handling the investigation, including failing to be properly notified of Lauren’s death.
The family says they didn’t receive a call from police, but found a note taped to her apartment door with the message, “If you’re looking for Lauren, call this number.”
When they eventually gained access to her apartment, the family says they were shocked to find police hadn’t collected all the evidence, including a condom with semen in it and a pill they believe could be a sedative.
According to Yahoo! News, the city confirmed one of the responding officers has been removed from the case, pending an internal investigation.
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