Dejah Hood, 18, was described as friendly, fun, talented, determined and trustworthy. She was a talented hair stylist, had a great fashion sense and was photogenic.

Her friends smiled ear to ear, remembering the vibrant character of 18-year-old Dejah Hood.

“You never really saw her mad,” Hood’s friend and classmate LaMonica Hull said Thursday. “She was always smiling, happy, and had great energy.”

Maurese Johnson first met Hood in the eighth grade, and by the time they entered high school, the pair were best friends. Hood was adventurous, and loved going out and having fun, Johnson said.

“She was a person that you wanted to be around. She’s one of those types of people when you first meet her, it’s like you know her already,” Johnson said. “She was different.”

Hood was found dead Tuesday after being reported missing by her family the day before.

LaMonica and her twin, TaMonica Hull, described Hood as friendly, fun, talented, determined and trustworthy. They said she was a talented hair stylist, had a great fashion sense and was photogenic. They also said Hood had great advice and a welcoming, genuine energy that made people comfortable to confide in her.

“She was a good friend,” LaMonica Hull said through tears.

Jamaurea Britton, 19, was arrested after Tyler Police Department detectives discovered Hood’s body behind Hollytree Apartments. Britton told police he killed her in a ”fit of rage,” according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

When news broke that a body was found, LaMonica said she tried to continue her day as normally as possible until it was confirmed to be Hood.

“My heart dropped because it was just so unexpected, and then the way she went was uncalled for — she didn’t deserve that,” LaMonica said. “I know that she went out with a fight.”

Johnson said he has a million questions for Britton, but mostly he wants to know, why Hood?

“I love Dejah and her family,” he said. “I’ll make sure I’ll be around for her family, for her. That’s what she would want.”

Hood was a 2023 Tyler High graduate and a talented hair stylist. She wanted to attend college and leave the city of Tyler to pursue her dreams.

“She’s just gone too soon,” TaMonica Hull said.

Her friends say Hood would want them to mourn, but not for long. She’d want them to persevere.

Britton remains in the Smith County jail on bonds totaling $1.05 million. He has been charged with murder and terroristic threat of family/household.

People can donate to a GoFundMe page created by Hood’s family by visiting www.gofundme.com/f/remembering-dejah.