{"id":111354,"date":"2025-10-09T14:44:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T14:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/111354\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T14:44:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T14:44:10","slug":"16-bodies-found-in-houston-bayous-this-year-spark-serial-killer-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/111354\/","title":{"rendered":"16 bodies found in Houston bayous this year spark serial killer concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/us-regions\/southwest\/texas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Texas police<\/a> have found at least 16 bodies in the bayous around Houston so far this year, according to authorities and local reports, sparking concerns of a serial killer which city leaders are working to dispel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\">Houston&#8217;s mayor has said police have no evidence of a serial killer, but experts are calling for an extensive investigation into the deaths.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Something is afoot,&#8221; said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and criminal justice professor, at Penn State-Lehigh Valley. &#8220;A coincidence? Unlikely. A careful inspection of each case is warranted, including the 48 hours prior to the discovery of their disappearance.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The spate of apparent drownings is reminiscent of another concerning number of deaths in the waters of Lady Bird Lake in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/austin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Austin<\/a>, Texas.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/serial-killer-fears-grip-texas-community-after-dozens-bodies-pulled-from-lake-cannot-ignored\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><strong>SERIAL KILLER FEARS GRIP AUSTIN AFTER DOZENS OF BODIES PULLED FROM LAKE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/houston-bayou-bodies-found.png\" alt=\"First responders wearing PFDs place a sheet over a body recovered from a bayou in Houston\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Houston fire and police personnel recover a body from White Oak Bayou near the Heights in Houston, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (Jill Karnicki\/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Five of the bodies were discovered in a five-day span last month, according to Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There is no evidence, and I repeat no evidence, to suggest that any of these incidents are connected,&#8221; Diaz told reporters.<\/p>\n<p>Capt. Salam Zia, commander of the Houston Police Department&#8217;s homicide division, said the youngest victim was 20. Authorities later revealed the bodies belonged to both males and females, and ranged in age from their 20s to their 60s.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Rumors stir fear and anxiety in our communities,&#8221; the chief said. &#8220;It&#8217;s important to rely on verified information and investigations.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>However, authorities have discovered at least two more bodies since authorities made those remarks, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chron.com\/news\/houston-texas\/article\/houston-bayou-body-death-21090439.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">according to Chron<\/a>, Houston&#8217;s local news site.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/new-england-serial-killer-fears-grip-coastal-town-after-paddleboarders-terrifying-murder\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><strong>NEW ENGLAND SERIAL KILLER FEARS GRIP COASTAL TOWN AFTER PADDLEBOARDER\u2019S \u2018TERRIFYING\u2019 MURDER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/houston-bayou-bodies-found-mayor-speaks.png\" alt=\"houston bayou bodies found mayor speaks\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>HPD Police Chief Noe Diaz listens as Mayor John Whitmire comments on a recent number of bodies found in Houston bayous during a news conference in Houston, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Kirk Sides\/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/houston-and-galveston\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Houston Mayor John Whitmire<\/a> slammed misinformation and &#8220;wild speculation&#8221; online and from political candidates surrounding the cases at a news briefing on Sept. 23.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We do not have any evidence that there is a serial killer loose in Houston, Texas,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Let me say that again, there is no evidence that there is a serial killer loose in the streets of Houston.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/houston-bayous-bodies-found-landscape-1.png\" alt=\"grass and flowers line the waters of the sims bayou in Houston, spanned by a long bridge\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>The Sims Bayou Greenway near the Houston Botanic Garden and the Glenbrook Park is shown in Houston, Friday, April 4, 2025. (Melissa Phillip\/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/teens-body-found-under-suspicious-circumstances-detroit-area-cemetery-prompts-investigation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><strong>TEEN&#8217;S BODY FOUND UNDER SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES AT DETROIT AREA CEMETERY PROMPTS INVESTIGATION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>He called the number of deaths &#8220;alarming&#8221; and asked for patience as city police investigate.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I grew up in Houston,&#8221; he told reporters. &#8220;Unfortunately, drowning in our bayous is not a new phenomenon.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>There are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/science\/planet-earth\/water\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">2,500 miles of waterways<\/a> around the city, he said, as well as a homeless population living outdoors.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/houston-bayous-bodies-found-landscape-2.png\" alt=\"shallow muddy water surrounded by trees in one of houston's bayous\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>The Bayou running through Piney Point Village on Friday, April 18, 2025 in Houston. (Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/missing-new-orleans-boy-12-died-after-alligator-attack-drowning-authorities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><strong>MISSING NEW ORLEANS BOY, 12, DIED AFTER ALLIGATOR ATTACK, DROWNING: AUTHORITIES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Whitmire suggested that when homeless people die, their friends often throw them in the water.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Unfortunately the homeless, when they pass, often end up in the bayou,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>He also pointed to alcohol use and mental health problems as potential factors in the deaths.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Texas police have found at least 16 bodies in the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111355,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[264],"tags":[30854,69195,18,117,69194,19,17,337,34138,2461,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-111354","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-austin","9":"tag-crime-world","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-houston-and-galveston","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-music","16":"tag-police-and-law-enforcement","17":"tag-texas","18":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}