Dec. 12, Smith-Fields was found dead in her Bridgeport, Connecticut home after meeting Matthew LaFountain through the dating app Bumble. After a night of drinking, LaFountain alleges he carried Smith-Fields to her bedroom and fell asleep. LaFountain told police that he discovered she was not breathing and lying on her right side with blood coming from her nose the following day.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lauren Smith (@soooolalaa)

The family's attorney, Darnell Crosland, told Rolling Stone that the family intends to sue the Bridgeport Police Department for failing to investigate the death of their loved one.

"It's happening all too often with Black girls missing across this world, across this country, and no says anything," Crosland said. "We're suing the city of Bridgeport for failure to prosecute and failure to protect this family under the 14th Amendment."

To raise money for their private investigation into Lauren Smith-Fields' death, the Smith-Fields family initiated a GoFundMe fundraiser. In the statement by the family, they claimed that the officers involved in the case mistreated them.

"In the beginning of this nightmare, our family was extremely mistreated by the Bridgeport Police Department, who, as we stated, initially declined to investigate Lauren's untimely death. Although BPD has now decided to begin to conduct an investigation, our family would like to conduct of our own," the statement continues. "We are extremely grateful for the outpouring of love shown to our family from all over the world during this time and ask that you continue to show that love by assisting us in hiring a private investigator."

Out of the $100K the family seeks, almost $78K has been raised through GoFundMe.

Lauren-Smith-Fields

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week