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, with apparent blunt force injuries, police said.
The death has left investigators working to determine when the man was killed, who was inside the business overnight and why the front door was locked during hours when the shop was expected to be open. Police had not released the victim’s name or a suspect description by Saturday.
Officers were called around noon Friday to the business in the 10500 block of Bellaire Boulevard, near West Beltway 8. Police said a coworker went to check on the overnight employee after no one had heard from him that morning. The coworker entered the business and found the man dead in the kitchen area. Investigators said the man appeared to have blunt force trauma. “We are still trying to determine exactly what happened overnight,” a Houston police investigator said at the scene.
Detectives said the front door was locked when officers arrived, which stood out because the business was supposed to be open. The back door was unlocked, and the victim’s vehicle appeared to be missing, police said. Investigators also said two men had visited the business overnight, but police had not identified them as suspects. No arrests had been announced, and officials did not say whether security video had been recovered from the shop or nearby businesses.
Tropical Tea is in a busy commercial stretch of southwest Houston known for late-night restaurants, tea shops, game rooms and small businesses. Police described the business as a place that serves drinks and food and has games. Detectives said the death likely happened sometime overnight, but the exact time remained unclear. Witnesses told police they came by at night and found the doors locked even though the business was expected to be open.
The case is being handled as a homicide. Investigators are expected to review evidence from inside the business, speak with employees and nearby witnesses, and look for the missing vehicle. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences would be expected to confirm the victim’s identity and cause and manner of death after an autopsy. Police had not said whether robbery, a workplace dispute or another motive was being investigated.
By Saturday, the business remained at the center of a homicide investigation. Detectives were still working to build a timeline from the hours before the worker was found and to determine who last saw him alive.
Author note: Last updated May 9, 2026.