Renaudra Smith

Renaudra Smith, a 28-year-old Black woman remembered by her loved ones for her big heart and wonderful sense of humor, was building a future for herself in Dallas, Texas. Known affectionately as “ReRe” or “Naud,” she was a graduate of the city's Townview Magnet School and was described by those who knew her as a deeply sweet person. In the fall of 2017, she was looking forward to a new chapter in her life, as she was pregnant and expecting a child. Her life, and that of her unborn baby, were tragically cut short in a moment of devastating violence.

On the evening of November 8, 2017, a disturbance was reported at Renaudra’s apartment in the 800 block of North Lancaster Avenue. Around 10:00 p.m., Dallas police officers responded to a call and discovered a horrific scene inside the home. Renaudra had been shot. Emergency medical services were dispatched, but her injuries were too severe. She was pronounced dead at her apartment, a place that should have been her sanctuary.

The Dallas Police Department’s Homicide Unit immediately launched an investigation into the killing, registered under case number 255684-2017. It did not take long for detectives to identify a primary suspect: Renaudra’s 46-year-old boyfriend, Benjamin Bass. Investigators determined that Bass had shot Renaudra during the disturbance and then fled before authorities arrived. The motive for the shooting was not publicly detailed, but the act itself was clear.

With Bass identified as the alleged killer, the police department issued a warrant for his arrest on a charge of murder and sought help from the public to locate him. Homicide Detective Edward Parker was assigned to lead the case. Photographs of Bass were circulated by news outlets and on police bulletins, warning that he was wanted for the murder of his girlfriend. Crime Stoppers offered a reward of up to $5,000 for any information that would lead to his arrest and indictment, and a manhunt for the fugitive began.

For a time, Bass’s whereabouts remained unknown as law enforcement searched for him. The pursuit, however, did not end with an arrest and a trial in a Texas courtroom. At some point after he fled Dallas, Benjamin Bass was found deceased in the state of Georgia. His death brought the criminal investigation to a close, as the sole suspect in Renaudra’s murder could no longer be brought to justice to answer for the crime.

In Dallas, Renaudra’s family and friends were left to grieve an unimaginable loss. A visitation was held on December 1, 2017, followed by a Celebration of Life Service the next day at the Eternal Rest Funeral Home in DeSoto, where those who loved her gathered to share memories and mourn the vibrant young woman who had been taken from them.

Renaudra’s death was later highlighted in the annual "Honoring Texas Victims" report by the Texas Council on Family Violence. Her story became a solemn reminder of the lethal consequences of intimate partner violence, memorializing a woman and her unborn child as victims of a preventable tragedy. While the criminal case is closed due to the death of the suspect, the memory of Renaudra Smith endures as a painful testament to a life of promise that was violently stolen.