Nearly nine hours after he was removed from a restaurant, beauty school student Andrea Sarrazola found the man motionless on the sidewalk outside.
HOUSTON — Houston police are investigating after a man was found dead outside a west Houston steakhouse.
It happened at the KFFO Afro Steakhouse in the West Oak Village shopping center along Westheimer near Highway 6, hours after restaurant staff members told detectives they moved him there.
According to Houston police homicide investigators, the 34-year-old man, who they said may have been homeless, came to the restaurant around 11 p.m. Thursday, paid for and ate his meal.
Police said staff told them the man appeared inebriated, so they moved him outside, but claimed he was still breathing at the time. Detectives said surveillance video confirms staff members moved him out of the restaurant.
Nearly nine hours later, beauty school student Andrea Sarrazola, who attends a school next door, discovered the man lying on the ground.
“I was thinking he was like drinking and passed out right there, but then I see his side and it was kind of purple, so I was, like, that looks weird,” Sarrazola said.
She said she called 911 immediately after realizing he wasn’t moving and saw ants crawling on him, a call she said she didn’t hesitate to make.
“Oh, no, I mean, that’s what I’m supposed to do,” she said.
Sarrazola said learning how the man ended up outside left her even more upset.
“No matter what, he’s a human being, and he just died like that, like he was a dog,” she said.
She told KHOU 11 that staff at her school used posters and a trash can to block the view from inside as police worked the scene. The man’s body remained outside for hours.
Police are now working to determine the exact time of death.
The Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death. Investigators said they will consult with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office to determine if any charges are warranted, but no arrests have been made.
KHOU 11 reached out to Afro Steakhouse for comment, but the owner declined to speak.