DeAra Shanae Banks-Booze, also reported as Deara Banks and known as “DeeDee,” was a 35-year-old woman who died after a shooting on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Northwoods, Missouri, in north St. Louis County. Online reports identified her as being from Hazelwood, with one report listing her residence in the 6900 block of Noble Drive. Her funeral arrangements were later posted by William C.
Harris Funeral Directors, with services scheduled for April 23, 2026, in Spanish Lake and interment at Oak Grove Cemetery.
The shooting was reported at about 5:30 p.m. in the 6900 block of Pine Ridge Drive, a residential area in Northwoods. Northwoods police officers responded to the scene after a call for service and found Banks suffering from life-threatening gunshot wounds. She was taken to a nearby hospital, but she was later pronounced dead from her injuries. What began as an emergency response quickly became a homicide investigation after her death.
The public details released in the first days after the killing left many questions unanswered. Reports said St. Louis County Police Department detectives took over the investigation after the Northwoods Police Department asked the county to lead the case. Investigators were described as working to build a timeline, gather evidence, review the scene, and speak with witnesses to determine what happened before the gunfire erupted.
One detail repeatedly noted from the scene was a black Kia Forte near a tree with its rear windshield shattered. News reports described crime-scene tape blocking off the area while officers processed the scene, and the damaged vehicle appeared to be a focus of investigators. Authorities, however, had not publicly confirmed whether Banks had been inside the vehicle when she was shot, whether the car was directly connected to the shooting, or how the events unfolded in the moments before officers arrived.
As of the available online reports, no arrests had been announced, no suspect had been publicly identified, and no charges had been filed. Police had not released a suspect description, had not said whether Banks knew the person who shot her, and had not stated whether they believed the shooting was targeted or random. The case remained open, with county detectives handling the investigation and the person responsible still not publicly named.
