A city mayor has been accused of 'gaslighting' Houston amid fears of a serial killer, following the discovery of a 16th body being pulled from a bayou.
16 bayou deaths have been reported in the Harris County area so far this year, an alarming figure which has prompted some speculation that a serial killer may be on the loose.
Houston mayor John Whitmire has previously shut down these claims, saying earlier this month: "We do not have any evidence that there is a serial killer loose in Houston, Texas."
The mayor called the drownings 'not a new phenomenon', blaming drugs, alcohol and homelessness for the tragic deaths.
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"Unfortunately the homeless, when they pass, often end up in the bayou." he said in a press briefing earlier this month.
However, Lauren Freeman, who lost her cousin Kenneth Cutting Jr. earlier this year, claimed the mayor is 'gaslighting' the city of Houston following his recent comments.
Kenneth Cutting Sr., the victim's father, added to Fox News Digital: "All them people didn't commit suicide or fall into the bayou accidentally and drown. It's ridiculous.
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"There's been so many of 'em in the last three years."
UNILAD has reached out to Whitmire's office for comment.
Cutting was nowhere to be seen after a night out in Houston back in June, with police pulling his body from the bayou just days later.
An autopsy looking into Cutting's death found no external injuries, while a toxicology report concluded there were no drugs in his system.
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Kenneth Cutting Sr. added to Fox News Digital: "Something happened to my son. My son didn't fall into the bayou and drown."
Meanwhile, Freeman added: "Either there’s a serial killer on the loose, or the scum of society have realized they can start dumping bodies in the bayou in the midst of the heat and they start decomposing so nobody gets caught. You just can’t stab them or shoot them."
Anthony Curry's body was one of those to be discovered this year, with his death ruled as accidental drowning, with an examination finding PCP and ethanol in his system.
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Curry's family are also looking for answers, with his sister, Alexis Curry, telling Click 2 Houston: "That ain’t my brother. He’ll go somewhere and chill off before he just go jump in some water."
Alexis described her brother as her 'superhero', and said she had no idea how his body could have ended up in the bayou.
“I really want to know what happened,” she added.
Callum Jones