Three men found dead in NE Harris County

HOUSTON

That crime scene -- alleyway near a utility easement on Edenglen Dr. near Hollow Pine Dr. -- is a place that kids use to play and adults use as a walking trail, but it seems no one was there when three men were shot and killed.

After sitting in the alley way for seven hours, the truck under which the three dead men were found was finally taken away.

Left behind was grieving sister, Chrishawn Smith.

"I know it's one of my family members; they verified that," Smith said.

And there are only a few clues.

"It's a mystery," said Sgt. Ben Beall Harris County Sheriff's Office Homicide division.

Deputies were called to the scene around 12:30pm Thursday to find a washing machine in the bed of the truck, two men lying underneath and on the ground just behind it, a third. They had been shot to death and apparently had been lying there for at least an hour and a half.

Neighbors including Anna Diaz heard gunshots between 10:30 and 11am.

"Five gunshots so I was scared," she said.

But no one called 911 until someone saw a body because there, gunshots, residents say, are not uncommon.

"We always hearing something going on," resident Lakevia Tyler said.

As investigators established a crime scene, news spread and family gathered. Two of the men are Karen Fontel's nephews.

"He just told me this morning that he bought that truck for $800," Fontel said.

But he didn't say what he planned to do on Thursday and nothing seemed wrong.

"I had no idea this was going to happen, you know what I'm sayin'? Because they were peaceful," she said.

She has questions and so do investigators.

"No witnesses, no suspects and no identifications on the victims," Beall said.

Family members have identified one of the victims as Torrey Smith, a local rapper. The other have been identified by the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office as Richard Patrick Leonard and Anthony Chris Algere.