By JADA LEMOS
Staff Writer
Lauren Smith was a 23-year-old student from Bridgeport, Connecticut. She was a part-time babysitter and an eyebrow specialist, who passed away after a date with a man she had met online. As of today, her family and supporters still demand justice for her.
Investigators say Smith had a date with a man she met on Bumble, a dating app, and was found dead in her own apartment soon after the date. 911 operators stated that it was in fact the man that called for an ambulance after he realized Smith’s nose was bleeding and she wasn’t breathing. Police have refused to release any names or even question the man she went on a date with because he “looks like a nice guy”. A lot of her loved ones say that the man needs to be questioned, as he was the last person to see her alive. Authorities have reported that there was no foul play involved in Smith’s death, but her family isn’t convinced.
“They wanted us to forget about our daughter, their sister, our loved one,” Smith’s mother, Shantell Fields, stated while speaking to WNBC. “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’s brother, Lakeem Jetter, also spoke to the station about the police department’s response to his sister’s death as “careless.” Jetter also stated that the police did not try to contact him after finding his sister’s body and that they failed to collect many items of evidence, including a sedative pill and a 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”. The police department has not yet responded to requests for any comments.