In the early morning hours of April 21, 2025, the quiet of a Bull Shoals, Arkansas neighborhood was shattered by an act of violence that claimed the life of 48-year-old Anita Suzanne Due. A female, she was discovered inside her vehicle in the 500 block of Maple Avenue with a gunshot wound to her head. Emergency responders rushed her to Baxter Health in Mountain Home, but she tragically succumbed to her injuries.
The investigation quickly identified a primary suspect: Anita's 49-year-old
estranged husband, Brooks Dean Due. He was immediately sought on charges of first-degree murder and violating a protection order. The protection order stemmed from a history of domestic violence. Records indicated that in the months leading up to her death, the couple had separated. An argument had previously erupted when Anita took her vehicle to Brooks' residence for repairs, during which he demanded to see her phone. This escalated to him allegedly pulling a gun, threatening to kill both of them, and physically assaulting her. Following this incident, Brooks Due was arrested but was released on a $50,000 bond just under an hour later. A previous petition for a protection order had also been filed by Anita years earlier, in 2007, though it was later dismissed.
Following the shooting, a manhunt for Brooks Due was launched, involving the Bull Shoals Police Department, the Marion and Baxter County Sheriff's Offices, and the Arkansas State Police. Law enforcement considered him armed and dangerous. The search intensified when a state police helicopter spotted a vehicle matching the description of Brooks' on Shoal Creek Trail near Norfork Lake. As a canine tracking team joined the search, gunshots were heard in the vicinity. Shortly thereafter, Brooks Dean Due was found deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, bringing a somber end to the pursuit. No arrests were made as the sole suspect had taken his own life.
