handling of the investigations into their deaths. i just want everybody to know i love my daughter, and we need justice. we need answers. reporter: 23-year-old college student lauren smith fields and 53-year-old brenda hee ralls both died december 12th. police in both cases failed to notify the families of their deaths. smith fields family attorney saying they instead learned she died from her landlord, who left a note on her apartment door. smith-fields died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, alcohol, and prescription drugs according to the medical examiner. her death was reported to police by a man she had met on the dating app bumble. we do not believe that if she took those drugs, she knew what she was taking. the bottom line is no matter how she passed away, it was not investigated properly and it was not handled properly. reporter: smith-fields family plans to sue the city for violating their civil rights. their writing that two weeks after smith-fields s death, her
separate incidents last month, slammed the police department s handling of the investigations into their deaths. i just want everybody to know i love my daughter, and we need justice. we need answers. reporter: 23-year-old college student lauren smith fields and 53-year-old brenda hee ralls both died december 12th. police in both cases failed to notify the families of their deaths. smith fields family toorp saying they instead learned she died from her landlord, who left a note on her apartment door. smith-fields died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, alcohol, and prescription drugs according to the medical examiner. her death was reported to police by a man she had met on the dating app bumble. we do not believe that if she took those drugs, she knew what she was taking. the bottom line is no matter how she pagssed away, it was not investigated properly and it was not handled properly. reporter: smith-fields family plans to sue the city for violating their civil rights.