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Dating apps can be the answer to a hopeless romantic’s dream, and it can also be completely life-altering. The tragic death of 23 year old Lauren Smith Fields leads to more precautions when dating online.
The young Black social media influencer was found dead in her apartment Dec. 12 after going on a Bumble date. Smith-Fields’ family claims the police department was negligent in their investigation into her death. Last Sunday (Jan. 23), family, friends, and the Bridgeport, Connecticut community came together for a rally to demand answers from officials and honor Smith-Fields life.
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The march, named “Justice For Lauren,” began at the Bridgeport Police Department and ended at the city government center. Sunday also marked what would have been Smith-Fields’ 24th birthday.
Bridgeport police reported that Smith-Fields died “unexpectedly” on Dec. 12, 2021, at her home on Plymouth Street. Her parents, Shantell Fields and Everett Smith, said they had been trying to get in touch with Smith-Fields and didn’t find out about her death until they discovered a note on her front door from her landlord two days later.
According to the incident report obtained by News 8, a man Smith-Fields met on the dating app, Bumble, told officers he woke up next to Smith-Fields to find that “blood was coming out of her right nostril” and “she was not breathing.” The responding officer describes when he arrived, the man appeared “frantic” and was “trembling and visibly shaken.” The documents detail that the man told them he only knew Smith-Fields for three days and she got sick while they were drinking the night before. He also told them at one point Smith-Fields was in the bathroom for 10 to 15 minutes, but eventually came out and fell asleep.
Source: Dating Apps Can Be Deadly For Black Women: Family Seeks Justice After Death of Lauren Smith-Fields
