Police said the man had blunt force injuries and his vehicle appeared to be missing.
HOUSTON, Texas — Houston homicide detectives are investigating after an overnight worker was found dead Friday inside Tropical Tea, a business in the Alief area, after a coworker went to check on him.
The death is being treated as a homicide as police work to determine who killed the man, when he died and whether anyone took his vehicle. Investigators said the man had blunt force injuries, but they had not released his name, age or a suspect description as of the latest public updates.
Police said the case began Friday morning after the victim’s coworker could not reach him. The coworker went to the business in the 10500 block of Bellaire Boulevard, near Turtlewood Drive, and found the man dead in the kitchen area. Officers were called around noon to the shopping center, where detectives spent hours entering and leaving the business as they gathered evidence. A Houston police investigator said the worker’s injuries were clear when officers arrived. Police said the man worked overnight, and investigators believe the killing happened sometime during the night or early Friday morning. The exact time remained unclear.
Investigators said the front door was locked when the business was expected to be open, a detail police described as unusual. The back door was unlocked when officers checked the building. Detectives also said the victim’s vehicle appeared to be missing. Police did not say whether they had found signs of forced entry, whether cash or property was missing from the business, or whether security cameras captured the attack. Officers said two men had visited the business overnight, but police did not publicly identify them as suspects. Investigators also said two witnesses reported going to the business at night and finding the doors locked, even though it was supposed to be open.
The business was identified as Tropical Tea at 10515 Bellaire Blvd. Police described it as a place that serves food and drinks and has games. The shopping center sits in Alief, a large and busy area of southwest Houston with restaurants, small businesses, apartments and late-night traffic along Bellaire Boulevard. The location of the body in the kitchen area raised questions about what happened inside the business after normal customer activity slowed. Police had not said whether the victim was alone when the attack happened or whether the two men seen overnight entered the building.
No arrests had been announced, and no charges had been filed in the case. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences was expected to confirm the victim’s identity and determine the formal cause and manner of death. Homicide detectives were reviewing the scene, the unlocked rear door, the locked front entrance, the missing vehicle report and any records that could show who was at the business overnight. Police had not released a license plate number or description for the missing vehicle in the public reports available Friday and Saturday.
Scene video showed investigators moving in and out of Tropical Tea as the shopping center remained marked by police activity. The case drew attention because the worker was found by someone who knew him after he failed to respond Friday morning. Police said the coworker’s decision to check the business led to the discovery. Officials gave few details about the victim, and the lack of a suspect description left many parts of the case unresolved. Detectives said the investigation was active and continuing.
The case remained open Sunday, May 10, with detectives still working to identify who was inside the business overnight and what happened before the worker was found in the kitchen.
Author note: Last updated Sunday, May 10, 2026.