A 30-year-old mother of five who was studying to become a licensed practical nurse died after being shot multiple times and crashing her SUV into a South Peoria storefront, and the man accused in her killing has now been arrested in Milwaukee. Dionna “Dee” Causey was pronounced dead at 5:22 p.m. on October 5, roughly four hours after the shooting, at OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center.
The Peoria County Coroner's office identified Causey and laid out the medical timeline that ended with her death, according to WCBU. Investigators determined the shooting actually began nearly half a mile from where Causey's vehicle came to rest, in the 1900 block of West Antoinette Street, before she drove away and crashed into the building housing City Market near Western Avenue and Howett Street, the station reported. Peoria police had been called to the 600 block of South Western Avenue around 1:20 p.m. that Monday after reports of gunfire, according to 93.3 The Drive, and officers responding to that call found Causey wounded inside the wrecked vehicle at the intersection.
A Harrowing Half-Mile and a Rush to Surgery
Coroner reports and emergency response records indicated Causey suffered gunshot wounds throughout her body, including wounds to both legs and one to her back or torso, before the crash into the building that also houses the Da Catch restaurant, per Mix 106.9. The crash happened at a busy South Peoria intersection in the middle of a weekday afternoon. She was rushed to the hospital while in critical condition before she ultimately succumbed to her injuries that evening.
Causey was a mother of five and was studying to become a licensed practical nurse.
Suspect Tracked Down in Milwaukee
Peoria police investigators obtained an arrest warrant for 30-year-old Maurice Graves through the Peoria County State's Attorney's Office, naming him as a suspect in the October 5 shooting. Detectives and the U.S. Marshals Service tracked Graves to a residence in the 7800 block of West Oklahoma Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, according to WMBD, which detailed the multi-agency operation that led to his capture.
Graves was taken to the Milwaukee Police Department, where Peoria detectives conducted an initial interview, the outlet reported. He was arrested on a first-degree murder charge, and extradition was pending.
As of mid-October, Peoria police have not publicly disclosed a motive for the shooting or said whether Graves and Causey knew each other before the incident. Authorities have emphasized that the homicide case remains under active investigation by the Peoria Police Department, and those questions remain unresolved.
A Recurring Flashpoint in South Peoria
The stretch of South Western Avenue where Causey's vehicle crashed has seen repeated gun violence this year. In January, a ShotSpotter alert in the 600 block of South Western Avenue recorded 15 rounds fired in an incident that injured a 17-year-old girl, with no immediate arrests made at the scene, according to WMBD's earlier reporting on gun violence in the area.
The shooting also lands amid a year of shifting violence statistics for Peoria. The city recorded five total homicides and three firearm-related homicides through the first half of 2026, down from seven total homicides over the same period in 2025, WCBU reported, after the city finished all of 2025 with 12 homicides. At the same time, shots-fired reports jumped 40% year-over-year in January and February 2026, with 847 rounds reported compared to 526 during the same stretch in 2025, and ShotSpotter alerts climbing from 122 to 163, according to WMBD's earlier coverage — even though the city recorded zero homicides during those same two months.
