<\/p>\n
Matthew and Thy Mitchell in October 2024 at their restaurant Traveler’s Cart<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n
Photos of Thy Mitchell and her children on a table with flowers and candles\u00a0during a vigil at Traveler\u2019s Cart in Houston on Monday, May 11, 2026.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Conley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Thy Mitchell\u2019s parents accused their daughter\u2019s husband, Matthew Mitchell, of intentionally planning and plotting her murder and those of their two young children after he sank into financial trouble, according to a recent court filing.<\/p>\n
According to Houston police, Matthew apparently shot Thy<\/a> and their children Maya, 8, and Max, 4, before dying by suicide.<\/p>\n Until the May\u00a0suspected murders-suicide,<\/a> Thy and Matthew Mitchell ran the globally inspired restaurants Traveler\u2019s Table and Traveler\u2019s Cart<\/a>, both in Montrose. They were largely regarded as respected restaurateurs, and Thy in particular was heavily involved in supporting other local restaurants<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In a lawsuit, Thy’s parents, Thuy Mai and Lan Huong Tran, alleged Thursday that Matthew planned to kill his family and himself, as reflected in dozens of video clips taken from Ring security cameras inside the Mitchell home in the two weeks before their May 4 deaths.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRather than own up to the financial loss and fraud that he had committed, and face the shame that it would bring, he elected to murder his entire family and then kill himself,\u201d according to their lawsuit in a Harris County probate court.<\/p>\n Mai and Tran are seeking damages for wrongful death, punitive damages and the creation of a court-imposed trust over Matthew\u2019s estate. Probate proceedings around the estate are pending.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mai and Tran\u2019s lawyer declined to give a public comment on the lawsuit.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n A week before the apparent murders-suicide, Matthew mumbles aloud, \u201cgotta kill everybody\u201d on one of the Ring camera videos included as an exhibit in the lawsuit and reviewed by the Chronicle. The camera is pointed at a door, and Matthew only appears in frame for a few seconds of the 26-second video.<\/p>\n Later videos reviewed show Matthew continuing to talk out loud, saying he needed to “end it” and he couldn’t “prevent what’s about to happen to us.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The family’s last day alive was depicted in a scattering of short video clips from the security cameras throughout their home. The videos show that on May 3, Thy left home for brunch and ran an errand at Target to pick up gifts for an upcoming teacher appreciation day. Matthew, apparently alone in the River Oaks area townhome, was seen on camera pacing around the house and muttering to himself.<\/p>\n “I can’t stop it for myself \u2014 I can’t stop it for myself,” Mitchell said, according to a 12:24 p.m. video. “I’m in such a deep hole.”<\/p>\n An hour later, he collapsed onto their living room couch and buried his face in his hands.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n His family returned around 2:15 p.m. with the gifts and news that his daughter had done well on a recent test.<\/p>\n The children were last seen alive in the videos around 10:15 p.m. as Matthew wrangled them to the bathroom to brush their teeth. A selection of the footage next showed Matthew pacing around the house at 3 a.m. and then 4:30 a.m. He walked into a room described as his wife’s office, stood around and left.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the last videos shared in the exhibits, his shadow appeared stationary outside the door for several seconds. He returned minutes later, picked up an object from the floor and appeared to set it on a nearby surface.<\/p>\n Thy’s parents are also accusing Matthew\u2019s mother, Bettie Mitchell, of \u201cconspiring\u201d with him to shield funds from \u201cthose who might seek to recover them based on likely bankruptcy and the fraud he had previously committed.\u201d<\/p>\n In total, Thy\u2019s parents claimed that $1.4 million from various accounts, which Matthew had an interest in, was transferred into Bettie\u2019s accounts with the help of a relative to hide the extent of their assets ahead of the killings. They also claimed Bettie moved them back to the original accounts after the deaths.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The relative, Matthew’s sister Meredith, was a trustee of one of the accounts and would have needed to sign off on the transfer of funds, the lawsuit said, adding emails from February and March that showed Matthew inquiring about the division of their inheritance in the contingency of his mother’s death.<\/p>\n The Chronicle called and texted a phone number listed for Bettie but did not immediately receive a reply.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stacy Kelly, the lawyer representing Meredith, said she would \u201czealously defend those allegations.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelly said she knew little about allegations that Matthew committed fraud. \u201cBut to the extent that Meredith and\/or her mother had anything to do with that?\u201d she said. \u201cNo, absolutely not.\u201d<\/p>\n Meredith was appointed the temporary administrator of Matthew\u2019s will, but Mai, Tran and their daughter Ly Mai intervened on Thursday to request that Meredith not be appointed independent executor.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Mai and Tran requested that the defendants not be allowed to distribute Matthew\u2019s estate without court order, or take action with regard to the Mitchells\u2019 restaurants. They also sought a jury trial.<\/p>\n The Mitchells\u2019 two restaurants remained open immediately after their deaths, but Traveler\u2019s Cart announced this week<\/a> that it will close Friday.<\/p>\n This is a breaking story and will be updated.<\/p>\n