Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Gorgeous YouTuber, 23, Dead in Bloody Bed, Cops say "ACCIDENT"

Episode Date: January 27, 2022

A new investigation launched in the death of a popular social media influencer after allegations of botched police work. 23-year-old Lauren Smith-Fields died of what has been ruled as an accidental overdose of Fentanyl, prescription medication, and alcohol. 911 was called by a man Smith-Fields met through a dating app. Matthew LaFountain told police that he woke up the morning following a date and saw Smith-Fields not breathing while “blood was coming out of her right nostril.” The victim’s family attorney, Darnell Crosland, is pushing for DNA testing after claiming a semen-filled condom and bloody bedsheets found at the scene were allegedly compromised by Bridgeport Police Department.Joining Nancy Grace Today: Darnell Crosland - Victim's Family Lawyer, Croslandlaw Group LLC, www.CroslandLaw.com James Shelnutt - 27 years Atlanta Metro Area Major Case Detective, Former S.W.A.T. officer, Attorney, The Shelnutt Law Firm, P.C., www.ShelnuttLawFirm.com, Twitter: @ShelnuttLawFirm Dr. Carolyn West - Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Washington Tacoma, Award-winning author: " Violence in the Lives of Black Women: Battered, Black, and Blue", Filmmaker: “Let Me Tell Ya’ll ‘Bout Black Chicks: Images of Black Women in Pornography", Keynote Speaker, DrCarolynWest.com Paul Szych - Former Police Commander, Alburquerque Police Dept. Domestic Violence/Stalking Unit, Author: "StopHimFromKillingThem" on Amazon Kindle, StopHimFromKillingThem.com, Twitter: @WorkplaceThreat Dr. William Morrone - Chief Medical Examiner, Bay County Michigan, Author: "American Narcan: Naloxone & Heroin-Fentanyl Associated Mortality", RecoveryPathwaysLLC.com Frank Recchia - Lead TV Reporter, News 12 Connecticut, Connecticut.News12.com, Twitter: @News12Frank, Instagram: @FrankRecchia Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. As many of you may already know, I have 14-year-old twins, boy, girl, Lucy and John David. They're about to turn 15 I ain't even start the program like that because it's very upsetting I want to talk to you about finding answers for a 23 year old young and a 16-year-old little girl, both dead, both beautiful on the inside and out. I'm talking about Lauren Smith-Fields and Tiani Theis, and I want to start with Lauren in the prime of her life. Can you even remember what you were doing when you were 23? I want you to take a listen now to our cut three. This is our friend Frank Rechia,

lead TV reporter, News 12, Connecticut. Listen. It's killing me inside. I miss my baby. The mother of 23-year-old Lauren Smith Fields of Bridgeport says her family's world came crashing down 10 days ago when her daughter was found dead inside her apartment on Plymouth Street under what the family describes as mysterious circumstances. Without a doubt, we know that my daughter was not a drug user and I had a second autopsy myself paid out of pocket because we felt so uncomfortable with the way it was handled. Councilwoman Maria Pereira says police owe Lauren's mom an apology. She sent a really well-written email and I was shocked when just yesterday she told

me she had not even received a response. A mom who's left to plan her daughter's funeral just days before Christmas says she's struggling to find a path forward. Life is not the same. I don't know who I'm going to be after this. You know, I find that really interesting. I don't know who I'm going to be after this. I don't know who I'm going to be after this. I don't know who I'm going to be after this. This is a mother and you can hear her choking back the tears. You know, when you pour all your love, all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, all your money, your hopes and your dreams into

your children. Is that wrong? I don't know. That's what I do. And that is what Lauren's parents have done to find out their 23-year-old girl is dead. And this girl, as far as we know, pure as a driven snow. And I don't like what the medical examiner said. And you can take that and put it in your pipe and smoke it, Dr. William Maroney, joining me, Chief Medical Examiner, Bay County, Michigan. I don't like what they said, and I don't necessarily believe what they said. But hold on, let me get you to it. Take a listen to our cut for Dominique Moody, WVIT, NBC, Connecticut. Hurt and and anger the best way to describe the emotions from Lauren Smith Fields family you can see right here there is still a growing

memorial for her and we know that the family is still calling for justice and they are still asking police for answers after they continue to deal with the loss of their loved one. I see her in everything I do everything I do I see her in everything I do. Everything I do, I see her. Chantel Fields

and her family are still overcome with emotion a month after their daughter and sister Lauren Smith Fields was found inside her Bridgeport apartment. Joining me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now. First of all, this is Crime Stories. I'm Nancy Grace, and I want to thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and SiriusXM 111. And I got to tell you, many times when I would look at a jury when I prosecuted in inner city Atlanta, the words tasted like dirt in my mouth. I'd have to screw myself up to stand up and say what I had to tell the jury because sometimes it was awful. But we cannot turn away from the truth or else we'll never fix anything. With me, Dr. Carolyn West, Professor, Clinical Psychology, University of Washington, Tacoma, award-winning author of multiple books. You can find her at drcarolynwest.com. Carolyn with a C.

Paul Zeich, former police commander, Albuquerque PD, domestic violence stalking unit author. Stop him from killing them. Dr. William Maroney, my longtime friend and colleague, chief medical examiner, Bay County, Michigan, author of America Narcan. This guy has taken it upon himself. You know, a lot of doctors go into high rise buildings with beautiful carpet and paintings up on the wall. This doctor started a mobile unit all on his own to try to stop overdose deaths regarding opioids like fentanyl.

High profile reporter Frank Recchia, lead TV reporter, News 12 Connecticut, and very special guest joining us. Excuse me, I left out James Shelnut, not that you're not special. 27 years, Metro major case, now lawyer at theshelnutfirm.com. Special guest, I was telling you about Darnell Crossland. He is the family lawyer for Lauren Smithfield's family, and he is at crosslandlaw.com.

First, you Frank Rechia. What happened to this little girl? Yes, I know she's 23, but she just looks like a little girl to me. What happened? Well, Nancy, you know, that's the big question. I will never forget getting a call from a member of our city council.

Uh-oh, uh-oh. I don't like the sound of that. You get politics in it and everything goes sideways. But go ahead. Well, City Councilwoman Maria Pereira called me a couple of times. She said there's a case that is not being covered that needs to be covered. And apparently the family had reached out to a lot of people, media, police, and nobody had responded. So I took that cue. We went over, we met with the family. And when I walked into the room, I could just feel the atmosphere in there. And as people in Connecticut know, I had a special needs brother who went missing and whose body was found tragically in pieces a year and a half ago. And so I know what

it's like after many decades as a television reporter, I know what it's like to go to somebody's door on the worst day of their life. But now I know what it's like to have somebody come to my door having gone through it. So ever since losing my brother in that locally high profile case has changed my perspective. When I went in, I applied the sensitivity of somebody who's been through this. And I sat down and I just listened and I let them talk. And I think they were searching for those answers because there's this

dramatic disconnect between the Lauren Smithfield they know, the track star and the star student, young woman with a business, highly articulate young woman, directed, self-possessed, and then this image that seemed to be depicted by a course of events that they still don't understand. And to see things in their proper perspective, you really have to delve into the facts of the case. And I know Attorney Crossland, who I've been speaking to about this case since day one after New South Connecticut broke the store. I'm trying to get my mind around the facts of what happened to this girl because I am not buying what people are selling me. I am not.

I don't believe what I'm being told. Take a listen to our cut one. Our friends at News 12 Westchester. It's Lauren. Hi, guys. Welcome back to my channel. Lauren was a familiar face to YouTube audiences. Her family says she had been a

track star at Stanford High School and was now studying physical therapy at Norwalk Community College. A sweet child, they say, who had blossomed into a beautiful young woman who had the whole world at her feet. They say Lauren had met, quote, an older white man on the dating app Bumble, and it was he who alerted police to Lauren's death. The family says they are not satisfied with answers they got from an investigator. I asked him about the guy. He just made it seem like the guy was a nice guy. It was nothing to investigate. The only contact that we have had was from a very insensitive, condescending, and arrogant detective. Lauren's dad reading a scathing statement saying police failed to extend the most basic courtesies and told his family to stop calling.

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Straight out to Darnell Crosland, the family lawyer for Lauren's family. Now, the banner, the headline everywhere says that I have been reading is influencer dead of fentanyl OD. But I don't think that that's what happened because from what I have learned, this beautiful young woman was not on drugs at all. All the facts that we have before us show us that there was no history of drug use.

This woman woke up every single morning and went to the gym. She was a health nut. She was into all of good food eating. Her and her mother talked about traveling the world. They often travel the world, her, her mom, her grandmother, and everything about her said that she wanted to live a long and healthy and prosperous life. Now, she meets this strange man and all of a sudden, what we describe, the experts describe, as a cocktail of drugs are found in her system.

And everyone who I've spoken to said that there's no way that an individual will take a dose of fentanyl, a hydrochlorine, some other antihistamines, and then wash it down with alcohol. That just doesn't make sense. The only way you get that amount of a mixture in your body is if someone introduced it to you unbeknownst to you. So I think that's what we're finding because because otherwise this 23 year old vibrant young lady would not just ingest all these different types of drugs and then wash it down with alcohol. That doesn't happen. Right now, police are launching a criminal investigation into Lauren's accidental fentanyl death during a bumble date. A woman who was devoted to clean living, organic food, a gym rat, constantly working out, planning travel trips with her mother. I find it really

hard to believe that this is the same young woman found with promethazine, hydroxazine, fentanyl, and a whole lot more in her system. She is found around 6.30 a.m. lying on her side in bed with blood coming out of her right nostril, not breathing. And coincidentally, she had what I believe to be her first date from a dating app the night before and then suddenly she's dead and cold and stiff in the bed with blood coming out of her nose no no that's not right okay Dr. William Maroney you're the chief medical examiner of Bay County, Michigan. Help me understand what was in Lauren's body. And please, dummy down for me. Please do not throw around a lot of medical terms that nobody understands.

I'm a JD, not an MD. So help me out, Dr. Maroney. Go. I think the key words here, our attorney, Mr. Crossland, used the word cocktail. And people are very casual in relationships and sharing drugs. This could be a sexual assault that begins with inadvertent drug administration. Hey, you cut out on me, Maroney. Did you say you believe this could be a sex

assault that started with inadvertent? Is that what you said? Drug administration, like someone slipped this to her in a drink? That's exactly what I'm saying. Well, why don't you say it like that? But okay, you know what? I'm happy to interpret for you. Go ahead. Here's what we have. Some of what we have from the federal government, we know that fentanyl overdose deaths in America are all classified as unintentional and they're all classified as accident. So the medical examiner's hands are really tied, but the investigation should focus on some kind of drug facilitated relationship because fentanyl is so deadly. Somebody not exposed to fentanyl

and then not opioid dependent being exposed to promethazine, hydroxyzine, fentanyl and alcohol for the first time. What is all that? We don't have a chance. What is promethazine? Promethazine makes you drowsy, but its purpose is to reduce nausea. But it makes you drowsy. What's the street name? And it also reduces coughs. What's the street name?

Phenergan. It's called Phenergan on the street. Phenergan. Phenergan. Okay. What is, hold on, hold on. What's hydroxyzine? Hydroxyzine is approved for the use of anxiety.

So it helps reduce anxiety and it makes you relax. But it's also a super antihistamine. It's used for really bad skin reactions and itching. Okay, hold on. What's the straight name? We call it Vistarol. Vistarol. For anxiety and itching. What's the straight name? We call it visceral. Visceral. For anxiety and itching?

Yes, but it makes you sleepy. Everything here is designed to make you sleepy. That's not good because it inhibits your whole body. You explain it in doctor terms why that's so not good. It's not good because it makes you not do things that you would ordinarily be inhibited to do. It makes your brain relax and your body relax and then somebody can take advantage of you. You mean like have sex on a first date? Something like that?

Always. Yes. That's the whole purpose of giving these drugs is to do things to other people. That is a very bad thing, but that is what this cocktail is designed to do. You know, Dr. Maroney, I just want to cry. I just want to cry because this girl, 23-year-old young woman, was doing everything right. She was living a wonderful life, very close to her mom, planning trips. You know, Lucy and John David and I were planning a spring break trip just last night and all devoted to organic living. Hey, let me ask you one more question before I go to Dr.

Carolyn West, Dr. Maroney. What's the street name of fentanyl? What is that? Well, we're calling it fentanyl. Everybody calls it fentanyl and fentanyl has replaced heroin. Fentanyl has replaced cocaine. And fentanyl pills, fake pills are out there. So there's all sorts of different ways that he may have thought he was giving her cocaine and it wasn't. And he can't tell because when he buys the stuff from a drug dealer, the drug dealer doesn't tell you what you're getting. If he told you what you're getting, you'd say, damn, I'm going to die. I'm not going to buy that stuff. That's a crisis, fentanyl crisis in America right now. I think I hear Darnell.

Yes, this is Darnell. How can he determine it's an accident with nothing else before him? And so I'm protesting and objecting to that in writing today. And so I just want the listeners to know when you have one segment of the population, it's very innocuous, death by toxicity. Another one, oh, it's an accident. Let's just forget about this. Nothing to see here, people. Nancy, Paul, just want to chime in right now. Go, Paul. With me, Paul Zyke, former police commander. Go ahead, Paul. You know, the MEs only can go off of what they have, right? They have a body, the toxicology report.

But the investigation at the scene is also something that they need to take into consideration as a homicide and simply looked at it as a suicide, there's about 10 times less investigating that is done. The investigation, simply the inconsistency of the individual saying that, yeah, we didn't have sex, I slept with my clothes on, but yet they found a condom with semen in the apartment. Let's talk about that. I want to talk about the saying you you're absolutely right, Paul Zyke. Take a listen to our cut two. This is Sarah Wallace, NBC4. The I-team obtained this police report of the response to a 911 call

from Lauren's apartment on the morning of December 12th from a white male identified as Matthew LaFountain. The investigator notes he was trembling and visibly shaken. LaFountain said they met on the dating site Bumble, began drinking shots of tequila, and Lauren became ill. That later they played some games, ate some food, and started to watch a movie. He says he carried her to her bedroom and laid her in her bed. He then laid down next to her and fell asleep. He woke up again at approximately 0630 hours and she was laying on her right side. The guy's name is Matthew LaFountain, age 37, and we do not have any hard evidence at all that he fed this young girl, Lauren Smithfield, age 23, any drugs. So who is LaFountain?

Take a listen to our cut 17. There has been so much anger directed at your client, and he has become a point of focus in a contentious national debate. How do you respond to that? Well, I think it's the media that's made him the main focus of this investigation. Although Bridgeport police did investigate the matter, he did fully cooperate, and he's not the main focus of the investigation anymore. As we know, the DEA is involved now, and they will help local authorities investigate the matter and get to the bottom of what happened to Lauren. But supporters led by the family's attorney, Darnell Crossland, say evidence from bloody bedsheets to a semen-filled condom was compromised due to an inadequate response by the Bridgeport Police Department. An inadequate response. I think that's certainly putting perfume on the pig. That is certainly a euphemism. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Let me understand something. To you, Darnell Crossland, you're the family lawyer. There were bloody bedsheets and a semen filled condom. Again, we don't have any direct evidence. Matthew LaFountain fed this young girl drugs, but in his statement to police, I don't see anything about drugs. He said they had some tequila and they were playing board games. ate, watched a movie, she fell asleep and dies. Wow. Death by tequila? That sounds hard to believe.

What about it, Darnell Crossland? Explain to me about the bloody sheets and the semen-filled condom. Well, we have to start with the fact that Matthew LaFontaine leads us to believe that he slept in his snorkel, in his suit and um and there was no sex involved but yet still there's a condom filled uh with semen in the bathroom when the police come instead of roping off the scene and telling people do not step here sir no one enters we have to do our work they don't do that they let the nice guy leave and they never ask themselves about things like the bloody sheet he said that she fell

asleep on her right side, but then blood was coming out of her left nostrils. Now that doesn't even make sense. If you're on your right side, the blood will be coming out of your right nostril onto the sheet. When you look at the sheet, it's in the center and the blood is in the middle. So his lawyer thinks that they did an adequate job. Wait, tell me that about the bed sheets again. So when you look at the bed sheet and we provided the pictures to the media, the blood is in the center of the bed in the sheet. So that would mean that she was on her left side because then that's how the blood would get in the middle because he was sleeping on the right side of the bed. If she was on her right side, the blood would be sort of to the edge of the left side of the bed. Wait, wait, wait. What he's saying, James Shelnut, 37 years, Metro major case.

Now, lawyer is that the scene was staged, that after whatever happened to her. And I've also got to find out, is that her blood and is that his semen? Which, of course, the answer to both of those are probably going to be yes. But James Shelnut, and quickly, Dr. Maroney, think about this. If a lubricated condom was used, could there be trace evidence in her body of that lubricant to tie her to the condom? And Shelnut, to you, sounds like staging of the scene. Explain. It does sound like staging of the scene, but it additionally sounds like just

incompetence coming up front. Who are these guys that came out there and investigated this? These are the new guys that got assigned to this. The first thing I would have done in this situation is looked at the totality of the circumstances. You've got a young girl who is at a house that she has spent very little time at she has no known health problems there's no known disease this isn't a case where hospice is out uh you know she is in a foreign place uh now magically she dies without explanation without explanation because the point that they came out they didn't know what she had taken they didn't automatically

have this toxicology and they failed to lock the scene down. They failed to get a search warrant. They failed to come out and take a look at this. This was fumbled from the very beginning. And I'm hoping that we haven't lost too much evidence to take a look at a prosecution. Well, and another thing, James Shelnut, is when you've got a semen filled condom, you got to have a condom wrapper somewhere. And on that condom wrapper, I guarantee you whoever used it was not wearing rubber gloves at the time or latex gloves there's got to be prints on it so those are just a few things and maroney can you get trace lubricant say out of her vagina that would match up to the condom

almost all those condoms come with something called non-oxynol 9 as the lubricant but i don't if they didn't swab for it, they're not going to get it unless they went in there and they're swabbing the vagina to get trace nonoxynol-9. Okay, what about that? To you, Darnell Carlson, was a rape kit done? Did they do a vaginal swabbing? No.

Oh, dear Lord in heaven. We typically do a SART, which is called S-A-R-T, which is sexual assault rape test. And so that would tell you whether there was any vaginal tears and things of that nature. You're saying they did not do that. They didn't do that. So they just listened to the guy and went, hey, she had some tequila and went to sleep. Now she's dead. They just listened to that and that's what they wrote on the police report

yep just one statement they took no statements from the family at all dr carolyn west professor clinical psychology a university washington tacoma award winning author boy do we need a shrink help me out dr carolyn west well there are numerous concerns that I have about this case, because as I read everything, I'm understanding that more adults between the ages of 18 and 45 have died of fentanyl overdoses in 2000. More than COVID, more than car accidents, more than cancer, more than suicide. So we're talking about 80,000 people between the ages of 18 and 45. It's a national emergency, but it seemed to be really premature to me to assume that this was a case of just a fentanyl overdose. was that drug administered? Because if the drug was intentionally administered to the victim, that would be a drug facilitated sexual assault. Okay. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, wait, wait, wait. Dr. Carolyn West, you got me drinking from the fire hydrant. I'm trying to take in every single syllable you're saying. What did you just say? The last sentence? You said drug facilitated. We know that fentanyl

overdoses are a national emergency. Yes, got it. We know that that's happening. But to assume that this was a fentanyl overdose, that may not be the most appropriate thing to assume. I thought, as I read through the case, that this sounded almost like a drug facilitated sexual assault is a question that I kept wondering about. So if that perpetrator intentionally administers drugs to a victim and then uses that as an opportunity to commit a sexual assault. Drug facilitated sex assault. Yes. Yes. So 9%, according to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 9% of U.S. women have experienced a rape when they were drunk, high, drugged, passed out, or unable to give consent. We're thinking the best estimates we have, about 900,000 women in the past year have experienced a drug-facilitated sexual assault.

Maroney, I can hear you in the background, and I don't want to miss a word that any of you say. Jump in. If 9% that admit, there's a higher number that are embarrassed and don't want to come forward because of the stigma. And if somebody was facilitated by having drugs and alcohol mixed, there's even more stigma and that passes on from the investigation. You need stomach contents to see if that cocktail was in her stomach. You need a urine drug screen to see if it was a long-term exposure over hours. Right. Urine drug screen would show me what?

It would show you that the fentanyl was in her for a couple hours or the day, as opposed to if there's nothing in her urine, but it's in her blood, then bam, it was administered. She got it. She died instantly. So if it was in her blood, it was administered in the last, what, hours. If it was in her urine, then it would have been there all day. Is that what you're saying? Something like that. yeah. Okay, so I'm sure that test wasn't done. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Frank Recchia, help me. News 12, Connecticut. It just, just i mean what can you tell me about a brother showing up on the scene well i spoke with her whole family the day we broke the story we spoke with the whole family and her brother and darnell will bear me out on this has spoken

in detail about having yes he showed up on the scene. He says that he had some dirty laundry. He spoke with his sister. He hadn't seen her in a few days, but he spoke with her and they had what they describe as a normal conversation. And the brother said he did not see any evidence of intoxication. He said, I know my sister is strong. She's articulate. She's a great athlete. And he didn't see any evidence of intoxication when he stopped over. Now, that is the afternoon before she died that night. No, that was around almost 12 o'clock midnight.

And in fact, I just want to clarify, they had went Christmas shopping early that day. And as you could tell by Lauren, Lauren is a fashionista and so was her brother. So she had some of the things that they purchased in her stuff because they got just mixed up when they went shopping. So he pulled up around almost midnight to pick up the stuff that she had of his. She ran out, cheerful, happy, gave him his stuff. And he knows her like the back of his hand. She didn't seem drugged. She didn't seem drunk or anything. And you're hearing the voice of Darnell Crosland, the victim and family lawyer at

CroslandLaw.com. Let me understand something, Darnell. See, I have it bass-ackwards, and I'm glad you and Frank Ricci are correcting me. So, her, I assume, little brother came for...

Big brother. Big brother came to drop off or pick up dirty laundry or laundry at her place. That's at midnight. And she's fine. And she bounces out to go on this date. Is that correct? Yes. No. Darnell. No, that's that's not correct. Told that he came to pick up the Christmas clothes that they had when shopping for early that day. So they had a bunch of bags. And as you know, if you go to Old Navy, they give you a ton of bags, throw everything in one bag. So he said, hey, Lauren,

you have some of my stuff. I'm going to come get it. And he went to pick it up. So that's why he was there. Forget the dirty laundry. Is it about midnight? Correct. And he saw her leave for her date.

No, he didn't know she was on a date. He knew no one was in the house. Okay. I thought you said that she left. No, she was on a date, he knew no one was in the house. Okay. I thought you said that she left. No, she was in her house and he came around almost midnight to pick up some of the clothes that they had bought when they went shopping earlier. I got it. And she was perfectly fine at midnight. Is that right? That's correct. Okay. Frank, help me understand the timeline. Yes, she stepped out. And if you listen to the narrative speaking

yesterday with Peter Kariannis, who is the gentleman's attorney, the Bumbleday's attorney, he said that this gentleman described in the police report her stepping out. And he said it was he thought it was unusual that she took such a long period of time. And there seems to be kind of the veiled implication that what else was going on during that period. You know, I dealt with the family. They were very forthright. And I got the impression that they were genuinely shocked. There was no talk of any illicit drugs or anything like that. Simple exchange, innocent exchange, as they described it, of those items. So midnight that night,

she's fine. 6.30 the next morning, she's dead. Do I have that much right, everybody? You do. Yes. And did the brother know that there was the date there at the house? No, he did not. Got it. All right. What about that timeline, Dr. Maroney? Well, that's why you would think that there's some kind of drug facilitated sexual relationship from this new other person. And she's so vulnerable. You've never done drugs before. And fentanyl is what we use to put you asleep, to take your gallbladder out or to have sex with you oh my god i mean please don't drag him into it can i tell you something else i learned the blood in the center of the bed i think either darnell or frank recchia were

telling me about that the blood in the center of her bed had streaks going to the right side of the bed, which tells me. Her body was moved. She was turned over or moved. Yes, that is staging. Why is there staging? And let me say for the umpteenth time, Matthew LaFountain, the day, the design engineer, has not been connected to any evidence that he gave her an OD. Let me just keep saying that. Dr. Carolyn West joining me, Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Washington, Tacoma.

What are your thoughts, Dr. West? Again, we don't know what his role in this was, but I teach a course on family violence. I teach a course on sexual assault. And I think we have to think about the angle of the dating apps in this. Perpetrators who commit types of crimes like this, they're very strategic about who they target. And they're going, those dating apps are just a great way of targeting people, sadly. And so what kinds of vulnerabilities did he pick up on? She was much younger. She didn't know him very well. Coming to her house. And that's a great way, unfortunately, to isolate victims so that they can commit sexual assault. So we have to understand the whole grooming process that perpetrators potentially could use.

So I'm really concerned about the vulnerability that he may have taken advantage of. And Nancy, can I jump in there on this? Yes. Speaking, you know, the guest makes a good point here. Bumble has made it clear that they try to vet their members the best they can. And Bumble has reached out to my office and made a public statement that as of yesterday, the police department still has not called them to ask for anything. And Bumble has said that they try their best to cooperate with law enforcement. So we should not be sitting here guessing at every single angle. Come on, police officers, do some work.

They even called Bumble and say, can we, can we have the transcript of the communications between the two? So as your guest just stated, we can see what this communication was like with this young lady. They didn't have to do that. I was thinking the exact same thing. Those phone records, something to show what kind of communication happened here. One thing that's happening also guys is Dar Darnell Crossland and Frank Rechia explained to me this.

There are people saying that the brother, her brother, came over. She went outside for a few moments, met with him, and went back to the back for 15 minutes. Are they trying to suggest the brother OD'd her? Absolutely. And that was all derived from the self-serving statement that the same Matthew LaFountain, who changed his Facebook, who changed his name immediately after she died, provided. And he can provide whatever he wants. What do you mean change Facebook and change name? Explain. I mean, right after Norman died, his Facebook used to say Matthew LaFontaine. Then he changed it to Matt Thomas.

But the Facebook was the same. He just changed his name. So all the experts are saying that kind of behavior is indicative. Yet still, his lawyer is saying he's cooperating. We reject that notion. But again, he creates a timeline that she went out to see her brother and then she came back in. He said that she looked sick, but then they kept on drinking. So he has a duty to render assistance to somebody who may be sick and he did nothing. Well, she was sick. Where does the used condom come in? Frank Recchia, a question to you. Is Mr. LaFountain still cooperating? Well, we spoke exclusively with

his attorney yesterday. You played a clip with that, Peter Tarianis. And Peter Tarianis continues to assert that his client has cooperated fully and will continue to cooperate. However, when we did ask directly if he would be willing to submit a DNA sample. He didn't comment, but he said that his client is willing to continue cooperating, also pointing out that his client has no criminal record. Well, did Lauren Smith have a criminal record? No. Did her brother? Not at all. Her brother, one of her brothers is a firefighter, I know, and I know you have to go vet it through that. And the other brother, I'm not sure if he has a public criminal record or maybe a juvenile record.

What about the one that came over that night? That's what I'm saying. So I only know one is a firefighter, and they go through a serious vetting in the city of Bridgeport. And the other brother works with his father at a gym. I haven't pulled his criminal record. Question, which one came over that night? Lakeem came over that night. Is that the firefighter or the one that works at the gym? Frank Reckia, where does the case stand right now? Sunday, which came days after our reporting, getting the word out. And the mayor brought in

the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Okay, so they brought in the feds. They brought in the feds. And final thought to you, Paul Zyke. Well, the feds are going to be looking at the fentanyl angle. I mean, obviously, that's, you know, that's what they do with the DEA. They're going to look at that angle. But the bottom line is is so many of the questions that everyone has brought up and the family's bringing up comes down to one foundational element, and that is this was not investigated as a homicide. Therefore, all these different things weren't done. I mean, you wake up next to a dead woman in your bed and you're able to leave and you're not, you know, you're not investigated as if you may have something to do with that.

The unfortunate truth is most law enforcement agencies and even homicide units are not equipped or ready to detect deception or scenes that have been set up. If somebody's really good at deception when they when it comes to positioning bodies, changing, you know, details around, they're going to believe the first thing that they can get their their their minds around. We wait as justice unfolds tip line 203-576-TIPS. Repeat 203-576-8477. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.