What would have been Lauren Smith-Fields 24th birthday celebration yesterday became a day of protest, with her family demanding answers and justice over her mysterious death.

Around 100 friends, family members, and activists gathered outside the Bridgeport, Connecticut, police department and marched to Margaret E. Morton Government Center, chanting “Happy Birthday, Lauren” and “Black Women Matter”.

Smith-Fields had been due to holiday in Greece with her grandmother for her birthday, but on 12th December, 2021, the young woman was found dead on blood-soaked bed sheets at her apartment.

With her was a white man named Matthew Lafountain, 37, whom she had met on Bumble, an online dating app that claims to provide a “safe space” for women.

Lafountain, 37, had been the last person to see the young woman alive. He had reported Smith-Fields’ death to the police, citing a nose bleed as the cause of the blood on the sheets.

Smith-Fields’ family was not notified of her death until days later via a note left on their door by their landlord. Further investigation at the deceased’s apartment uncovered a semen-filled condom and an unidentified pill. 

Despite the concerning physical and situational evidence, Smith-Fields’ family have accused local police of being “racially insensitive”.

The lead investigator on the case did not detain Lafountain for questioning, with cops claiming he seemed like a “nice guy”, according to Smith-Fields’ family.

On Friday, the family filed a claim against the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut and its police department, citing a violation of rights of Smith-Fields and her family under the 14th Amendment of the 1983 Civil Rights Act.

Speaking to NBC Connecticut on January 14, Darnell Crosland, a lawyer for the family, said, “We have seen the amount of resources that have gone to other cases involving missing white women like Gabby Petito, and we know so many Black women are missing so much in this country.”

The hashtag #JusticeForLaurenSmithFields has been trending on social media since the story first broke, with one Black content creator, Safia, calling for a Bumble boycott. 

“Bumble, the dating platform that literally profits and became a billion-dollar company off of their promise to keep women safe, is now silent about the role they might have played in the death of Lauren Smith-Fields”, she said.

To date, the video has garnered 1.1 million views.

According to news reports, Bumble has since reached out to the family via Crosland and has offered to start a foundation in the victim’s name.