Case Profiles #61
Lauren Smith Fields
Shantell Fields was beginning to grow worried when she hadn’t heard from her daughter, 23-year-old Lauren Smith Fields, since December 11th, 2021. It was now December 13th. Shantell and Lauren’s brother, Lakeem Jetter, went over to Lauren’s Bridgefield, Connecticut apartment to check on her and instead found a note taped to the door. Handwritten on the note was “If you’re looking for Lauren, call this number.” The phone number was for the landlord, and over the phone, he told them that Lauren was dead. Shantell stated “I started panicking. All I could do was just stand there, like if I was frozen. I could not believe what he was telling me, that my baby was gone.” That evening, they were able to get through to someone at the police station where the family learned that Lauren had been dead for over a day. Police told her family that Lauren had met a man from the dating app Bumble, who came over to her apartment. At around 6:30 a.m. the man called 911 frantically and led first responders to Lauren’s unresponsive body on the floor of her bedroom. The man had said that on the evening of December 11th, they were drinking tequila together when Lauren said she wasn’t feeling well. She became ill and was feeling sick and then later stepped outside for a few minutes after texting someone she said was her brother. She came back inside, went straight to the bathroom and stayed in there for about 10-15 minutes. She then fell asleep, he took her to bed and awoke at around 3:00 a.m. to the sound of her snoring and went back to sleep. When he woke up around 6:30 a.m., he found her unresponsive. Police dismissed the man as a “nice guy,” failed to inform Lauren’s family, and Detective Cronin of the Bridgeport Police Department stood Shantell and Lakeem up after promising to meet them at Lauren’s apartment. Shantell entered the apartment and found a used condom, bloody bedsheets, and a pill. She later had to beg for these to be considered as evidence as police were going to discard them. In mid-February, the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Monday released the cause of Lauren’s death: an overdose of fentanyl combined with prescription medication and alcohol. Her death was ruled accidental. A day later, in response to the medical examiner’s findings, the Bridgeport Police Department opened a criminal investigation into her death. Darnell Crosland, the family’s lawyer, said that this investigation should have been opened when Lauren’s body was found. Lauren’s death and how it was handled prompted a change on the state level with new legislation passed unanimously, both sides of the aisle, that requires police departments to notify families of their loved one’s deaths within 24 hours. Lauren’s family proudly shared that she graduated from Stamford, Connecticut’s high school and was taking classes at Norwalk Community College. She was working her way through school as a babysitter and an eyebrow specialist, both of which she was amazing at, and she wanted to become a physical therapist. She also had an impressive following on Instagram and YouTube. Her brother Lakeem stated “Her family loved her, her friends loved her. She was a beautiful person inside and out, and we’re never going to let her name die, never going to stop even after we get justice, we’re going to keep her name alive.”
James Angelo
James Angelo was born in Sudan in 1981, a country that was war-torn and dangerous for a young family. When he was little, he and his family escaped to Cairo, Egypt and lived in a refugee camp for several years, seeking asylum in still less than ideal conditions. At the age of 14, James moved to Portland, Maine and didn’t speak any English, however his skills in soccer seemed to do all of the talking for him. James excelled in the sport, and very quickly was a part of the Portland High School’s varsity team, competing and performing very well. After graduating, the soft-spoken but hard-working young man went on to coach his own youth soccer team, which he dedicated all of his time and effort to. He had dreams of studying criminal justice and eventually becoming a police officer. On September 7th, 2008, James was working his overnight shift as a security guard at Mercy Hospital in Portland when he was approached by two unknown perpetrators and shot in the doctor’s parking lot. He was brought to Maine Medical Center where he died of his injuries. To this day, there have been no arrests in his murder. Anyone with information that could help solve this crime should call Detective Hagerty at 207-874-8602 or Detective Townsend at 207-874-8606.
Image sources:
wtnh.com - “Bridgeport police open criminal investigation into death of TikTok influencer Lauren Smith-Fields”
pressherald.com - “Portland police seek public’s help to solve 2008 killing of security guard”