A quiet Monday evening in Houston’s River Oaks neighborhood turned tragic when police found a family of four dead, including a couple and two children inside their home during a welfare check. Authorities believe the deaths were the result of a murder-suicide and the investigation is ongoing.
What happened?
At 5:26pm local time on Monday May 4, Houston Police Department officers were called to a home on Kingston Street near Avalon Place in the River Oaks area after the family’s babysitter and one of the victims’ sisters raised the alarm and they had not seen or heard from the family since Sunday night, per KHOU.
Officers arrived around ten minutes later and entered the home, where they found four people dead, a father, a mother and two children aged eight and four. All four had died from gunshot wounds.
Police identified the adults as Matthew Mitchell who was 52 and his wife Thy Mitchell who was 39, as per reports. The couple owned two restaurants in Houston’s Montrose neighborhood, Traveler’s Table and Traveler’s Cart and employees confirmed they were the adults found dead, per KHOU. The children had been found dead in their beds, according to Fox 26. People also reported that Thy Mitchell was pregnant at the time of her death.
Investigators said evidence at the scene indicates the man shot the three victims before turning the gun on himself. Police are continuing to work on a timeline of events. HPD Homicide Division detectives are handling the investigation.
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Family speaks out
Thy Mitchell’s sister confirmed the deaths in a heartbreaking Facebook post, identifying the family and asking for privacy. “Ly Mai wrote that her sister, Thy and Thy’s children, Maya and Max, passed away last night,” the post said. “Our family is grieving deeply and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult time. Funeral arrangements will be shared when they are available. Thank you for your understanding and support.”
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What neighbors are saying?
The deaths have deeply shaken the tight-knit River Oaks community. A neighbor told KHOU the family had not lived there long but said she had seen them walking near her home. “It’s very sad,” she said. “I just shake for the little kids and the family and we don’t know all the details. A lot of people know more, I’m sure, than we know, but it’s just a tragedy when anything like this happens.”
Another neighbor, Cindy, told Click 2 as cited by People that Houston that in nearly two decades of living in River Oaks she had never witnessed anything like this. “I’ve lived in this neighborhood for 19 years and never seen anything like this,” she said. “We haven’t had these kinds of tragedies. We don’t have robberies.” She added: “We have incredible constables in this neighborhood, but it’s very sad. I just shake for the little kids.”
