HOUSTON — The family of a young man whose body was discovered in Houston’s Buffalo Bayou last year says they believe his death was not properly investigated and are convinced he was murdered, despite police ruling out foul play.
The body of Kenneth Cutting Jr., 22, was found in the bayou in early July 2024, three days after he was reported missing.
According to Houston police, the case has been closed and investigators found no evidence of a homicide. The Harris County medical examiner listed his cause of death as undetermined.
Cutting Jr. was last seen after a night out at Pete’s Piano Bar in downtown Houston. His roommates told police there was an altercation in their car afterward and that Cutting jumped out near the Waco exit off Interstate 10. They said they never saw him again. His body was later recovered more than a mile from that location.
The family says key details remain unexplained — including a reference to “medical hardware” found in Cutting’s neck in the autopsy report. His relatives say he never underwent any surgical procedures.
“I’ve been waiting for a year and a half now,” said Kenneth Cutting Sr., the victim’s father. “He did not fall in that bayou. Somebody put him in that bayou.”
Private investigator Colman Ryan, who has been working with the family, also questioned the conclusion that the death was accidental.
“In my expert opinion, no, I don’t believe so at all,” he said.
Houston police told KHOU 11 on Wednesday that Cutting’s case is closed. Police say there were no signs of foul play and his death was not a homicide.
Cutting’s relatives say they plan to continue pressing for answers and note that the medical examiner’s report states they could not rule out foul play.
“This is a 22-year-old kid that showed up in Buffalo Bayou, and nobody gives a flying flip about it,” his cousin, Lauren Freeman, said. “A proper investigation wasn’t done.”
The Cutting family’s concerns echo those of other Houston families who have questioned how similar cases of bodies found in the city’s waterways have been handled by investigators.
"He did not fall in that bayou,” Cutting, Sr. said. “Somebody put him in that bayou."
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