Nia Booker was a 34-year-old nurse’s aide from Cincinnati and a single mother of four who was days away from her due date with her fifth child when she was killed. On the evening of August 5, 2023, she was riding in the passenger seat of a car in Avondale with a friend while three of her children, ages 7, 8, and 9, sat in the back. At about 5:15 p.m. at Rockdale and Harvey avenues, a gunman pulled up and fired several shots into the vehicle. Nia was struck twice, critically injured, and rushed in a private vehicle to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where she died shortly after arrival. She had told her youngest children to get down, which her family says may have saved them.

Doctors delivered Nia’s baby girl, Israella, after the shooting; the newborn spent time in intensive care and was later taken off a ventilator and breathing on her own. Cincinnati police investigated using witness statements, surveillance footage, and other leads. On August 10, 2023, 22-year-old Miquan Barfield was arrested after a police chase and crash; he was charged with murder and other offenses. The family spoke at his sentencing, and a judge handed down a 28 to 33.5 year prison term in May 2025, after Barfield accepted a plea to involuntary manslaughter, multiple felonious assault counts, and failure to comply.

Did anyone see the car or activity around Rockdale and Harvey avenues on August 5, 2023?