There are at least two connections: they were all (1) dead and (2) bodies were found in bayous.
The one time that a drowning of a person in a bayou occurred, it made the news because the people responsible were HPD Officers.
Joe Campos Torres
In the early hours of a cloudy morning in May, a 23-year-old Mexican American man found himself surrounded by six Anglo Houston police officers. By then, the man, José Campos Torres, had been badly beaten. He stood on the edge of a drop of about twenty feet overlooking the murky waters of Buffalo Bayou, near downtown Houston. “Let’s see if this wetback can swim,” one of the cops said, in what were likely the last words Torres heard before he was pushed into the bayou. His body was found two days later, on May 8, 1977, drifting near the water’s edge. Such a story had been and would remain a familiar one in American life: law enforcement officers holding the power of life and death over a young man of color.
As to whether it is one person or multiple persons responsible for those individuals, one thing is certain: no one has been found and charged. So how can Whitmire claim that he is making Houston safer? Or that there is no serial killer? As to people spreading conspiracies that may frighten the community, come on, Whitmire had many Houstonians convinced he was a Democrat.
“There’s no evidence, and I repeat, no evidence, to suggest that any of these incidents are connected,” Chief Diaz said. “For us as an agency, rumors stir fear and anxiety in our communities. It’s important to rely on verified information and investigations.”
Houston Police Captain Salam Zia said the individual who drowned on Saturday, the most recent death, has been identified, but that a next-of-kin has not been notified. Aside from that individual and McKissic, none of the other bodies have been identified by authorities.
Chief Diaz confirmed that 14 bodies have been recovered from local bayous in 2025, so far.
That has not stopped some social media users from speculating on the cases, including some who cite misinformation and speculate that there is a serial killer in Houston.
“Serial killers are very rare,” Kim Rossmo, a criminal justice professor at Texas State University, told Houston Public Media. “We also know that drowning homicides are also incredibly rare … drowning has happened more than people realize. You get nice weather, you get access to water, and there’s going to be more activity like that.”
Comment on the statement from the expert: I have lived in Houston for over 50 years, and I have never seen anyone swimming in a bayou. Not that it hasn’t happened, but I don’t believe those people went swimming in that beautiful, clear bayou water.
The person who was found inside an ice chest must have placed themselves in there and then tipped the ice chest into the bayou.
Whether it is one person who may be killing people and dumping them in the bayous or fourteen people who may have killed them, the fact remains that they have not found anyone.
If nothing else, the conspiracy has forced HPD to acknowledge those deaths, and maybe now they will start investigating. With this mayor, the only way things seem to get done is to involve the media.