In a heartbreaking discovery, 8-year-old Da'Nilya Bankhead and her 27-year-old mother, Terri Bankhead, were found deceased in their St. Louis, Missouri, home on August 11, 2021. The grim scene was uncovered by Terri's mother, who went to the apartment on Pleasant Street after being unable to reach her daughter. Inside, she found both her daughter and granddaughter bound and fatally shot.
The initial investigation into the double homicide led police to believe the tragic event was a
targeted attack. Family and friends described Terri Bankhead as a charismatic and funny individual, a loving single mother who was the life of the party. Her daughter, Da'Nilya, was a young girl whose life was tragically cut short. The community was left in shock and mourning, with many calling for an end to the violence that had claimed two of their own.
Within days of the discovery, a suspect was identified and apprehended. Prinshun McClain, an 18-year-old at the time, was arrested in connection with the murders of Terri and Da'Nilya Bankhead. The investigation also linked McClain to the killing of another woman, 26-year-old Victoria Manisco, who had been found shot to death on her porch the day before the Bankheads were discovered.
Prinshun McClain was subsequently charged with three counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree burglary, and four counts of armed criminal action. In January 2023, he was convicted of the murders of Terri Bankhead and Da'Nilya. Following the conviction, McClain was sentenced to consecutive life sentences for the mother and daughter's deaths, to be served after a life sentence he had already received for the murder of Victoria Manisco. Prosecutors stated that McClain had targeted the Bankheads because they lived in the same apartment building.
