A woman was found dead in a ditch on Wyte Lane near Hirsh Road and Tidwell Road in northeast Houston on Tuesday morning, and homicide detectives are now trying to determine what happened to her. Houston police officers responded to a report of a person down around 10 a.m. and located the woman unresponsive, with what investigators described as apparent head trauma.
Officers Found Her Unresponsive in the Ditch
According to a City of Houston Newsroom release, officers were investigating the death of a female found at 4514 Wyte Lane about 10 a.m. Tuesday. The release states that officers located an unresponsive female in a ditch, and that responding Houston Fire Department paramedics pronounced her deceased at the scene. Preliminary investigation indicated there was trauma to the victim's head, the city said, though the evidence available does not establish a cause of death.
Her identity has not yet been confirmed. The city's release says the identity of the deceased female is pending verification by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. Separately, Click2Houston, which first reported the discovery, has said the medical examiner's office will determine both the woman's identity and the cause of her death.
Homicide Detectives Lead the Investigation
Houston police homicide detectives are investigating the death, and the case was assigned to that unit from the outset, Click2Houston reported. The outlet's report, Woman found dead in ditch in northeast Houston, credits byline reporter Mike Akin and notes the case remains in its earliest stages, with no further details yet released about what led to her death or how long she may have been in the ditch.
Anyone with information in the case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600, per the city's release. No arrests or suspects have been announced, and nothing in the available information ties this case to the circumstances of her death beyond the preliminary note of head trauma.
Other Ditch Discoveries Around Houston
Houston has seen other bodies discovered in roadside ditches in recent years, though each case has its own separate facts. In one east Houston case, ABC13 reported that homicide detectives investigated in the 2400 block of Sakowitz after a maintenance worker picking up trash found a man dead, with a call coming in to police at about 9:45 a.m. And in 2016, Click2Houston reported that investigators identified a woman found in a southeast Houston ditch as Kumba Sesay, whose body was discovered near Southwind Street and Jutland Road; police in that case said they believed her body had been dumped there. None of those earlier cases has been linked to Tuesday's discovery on Wyte Lane.
