Police said evidence showed Matthew Mitchell shot three relatives before killing himself.
HOUSTON, Texas — A Houston restaurant couple and their two young children were found dead Monday evening inside their River Oaks home after officers responded to a welfare check, police said, in a case investigators described as a murder-suicide.
The deaths of Matthew Mitchell, 52, Thy Mitchell, 39, daughter Maya Mitchell, 8, and son Maxwell Mitchell, 4, have shaken Houston’s dining community and the River Oaks Elementary School community. Police said evidence indicated Matthew Mitchell shot the three relatives before killing himself. The Harris County medical examiner later ruled his death a suicide and the deaths of Thy Mitchell and the children homicides. Investigators had not released a motive by Friday.
Houston police said patrol officers went to 2113 Kingston Street about 5:25 p.m. May 4 after being told the family had not been heard from or seen since the previous night. A babysitter and a relative had raised concerns, according to police and local reports. Officers entered the home and found four people unresponsive with gunshot wounds. HPD Homicide Division Detectives L. Brooks and R. Bounds reported that evidence at the scene showed the male “shot the three victims and then shot himself.” Police first released only the ages and relationships of the people found inside, saying their identities were pending verification by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
The medical examiner later confirmed the family members’ identities and listed gunshot wounds to the head as the cause of death for all four. Matthew Mitchell’s death was ruled a suicide. Thy, Maya and Maxwell Mitchell’s deaths were ruled homicides. Police had not publicly released an exact time for the shooting, and investigators had not announced whether a note was found. Houston police said no calls for service had been made to the family’s address in the previous six months. The case remains assigned to the department’s homicide division, which is reviewing the welfare-check timeline, evidence inside the home and information from people who last had contact with the family.
The Mitchells were widely known in Houston for Traveler’s Table and Traveler’s Cart, Montrose restaurants built around food, travel and global street-market ideas. Traveler’s Table opened in 2019, and Traveler’s Cart followed in 2024. The couple also launched a travel clothing line called Foreign Fare. Their restaurants had drawn television attention, including Food Network features. Thy Mitchell served on the board of the Greater Houston Chapter of the Texas Restaurant Association and was selected by her peers as Greater Houston Restaurateur of the Year for 2025. Emily Williams Knight, president and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association, said the group would remember Thy Mitchell as “a ray of light who inspired everyone around her.”
Traveler’s Table and Traveler’s Cart said both restaurants would remain open after the deaths and thanked staff members who kept working through the loss. “We are asking for unity and respect for our privacy as we navigate this immense loss,” the restaurant team said. The team said it would continue serving customers in honor of the Traveler’s legacy. Police have not announced charges because the person identified as the suspected shooter is dead, and no other suspect has been named. The next steps are expected to include continued police review and any final updates from investigators or the medical examiner’s office.
Outside the Kingston Street home, flowers and family photos were placed near the entry as neighbors and friends absorbed the news. Roses, hydrangeas and orchids were left at the home, a cream-colored townhouse near Westheimer Road in one of Houston’s best-known residential areas. Maya Mitchell attended River Oaks Elementary School, where Principal William J. Dedrick told parents the school community had suffered a loss. “One of our scholars died,” Dedrick wrote in a message shared by the district. Houston school officials made counselors and crisis response staff available to students, parents and employees after the deaths.
A public vigil is scheduled for Monday, May 11, from 2 to 6 p.m. at Traveler’s Cart, 1401 Montrose, to honor the Mitchell family. As of Friday, the family had been identified, the restaurants remained open and police had not released a motive.
Author note: Last updated May 8, 2026.