Police are investigating how the man died after witnesses reported seeing his body left in a southwest Houston parking lot.
HOUSTON, TX — Houston police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found Saturday afternoon at a southwest Houston apartment complex after a witness reported seeing him dumped in the parking lot, authorities said.
Officers were called to the 5700 block of Rampart Street on Sept. 12 after receiving a report about a body being left at the complex. Police confirmed that the man died, but investigators had not determined whether he was already dead when he was brought to the property. The cause of death also remained undetermined.
Houston police homicide investigators took over the case as officers and emergency personnel worked at the scene. Police said emergency responders attempted life-saving measures but were unable to save the man. Authorities had not determined where he suffered the injuries that led to his death or where he died.
Surveillance video obtained by ABC13 shows a Toyota entering the apartment complex parking lot at about 2:18 p.m. and stopping near the area where the man was later found. The vehicle remained there for less than two minutes. A man could be seen getting out of the vehicle at least once before the Toyota left the parking lot, according to the station’s review of the footage.
A woman who called 911 told ABC13 that she and a neighbor witnessed the man being left at the complex. Her description raised questions about whether the victim had suffered trauma before he was found. Police, however, had not announced a cause or manner of death, and investigators had not publicly confirmed how any injuries occurred.
Police had not officially released the victim’s identity in the initial reporting. Relatives who spoke with ABC13 identified him as Santos Macario Chay Tamayac. His brother-in-law told the station that Tamayac had gone to work that morning and that the family did not yet know what happened before he was found at the apartment complex later in the day.
The case remains a death investigation as detectives review surveillance footage, witness accounts and other evidence. No arrest or criminal charge had been announced in connection with the man’s death, and police had not publicly identified a suspect or described a possible motive.
Investigators also had not said who was driving the Toyota shown in the surveillance video or whether the vehicle had been located. The circumstances surrounding the man’s arrival at the apartment complex, including where he had been beforehand, remained under investigation.
Houston police had not announced a final cause of death or released additional findings as of the latest available reporting. Homicide investigators were continuing to determine when and where the man died and what led to his death.
Author note: Last updated September 15, 2026.