Middlebury senior Lia Smith found dead; police rule death a suicide

Lia Smith, a 21-year-old senior at Middlebury College and a transgender woman, was found dead on Oct. 23 near the Knoll, a secluded area by the college’s organic farm. Police have ruled her death a suicide and said she left no note. Friends and family told The New York Times that Smith struggled to feel accepted and had been the target of online and on-campus harassment.

Her photo and birth name were posted on X by a website that outs trans women athletes, and Middlebury removed her athletics bio amid the criticism. Smith and people close to her said she faced shouted slurs in town, at least one complaint about her bathroom use, and growing national debate and policy actions over transgender women in sports, which her father and friends said contributed, in part, to her distress.

Smith had a long relationship with diving and was recruited to Middlebury’s Division III program; she had practiced with the team though records and her coach say she had not returned to competing. Those who knew her described ongoing struggles with mental health that dated back to high school, and friends and family said she had felt increasingly unsafe and isolated as anti-trans sentiment intensified.

The college and community held multiple memorials, with hundreds attending events at her high school and on campus.

Key Topics

Culture, Lia Smith, Middlebury College, Transgender Women, Diving Team, Ncaa