Texas man dies in steakhouse parking lot after staff mistook him for sleeping homeless man

A Texas man died in the parking lot outside a Houston steakhouse after restaurant staff, according to his family and police, moved him outside believing he was a sleeping homeless man and did not seek medical help. Police said an autopsy is pending as investigators review what happened surrounding the Aug. 7, 2025, death near the Eldridge/West Oaks area.

The incident occurred after Jessie Mobley Jr., 34, had eaten at KFFO Afro Steakhouse in a strip mall setting. He was found outside the restaurant the next morning, just after 9 a.m., by a student from Behind the Chair Institute, a beauty school next door. Investigators said Mobley was propped up with his belongings when he was moved outside and not discovered until the following day.

Mobley’s aunt, Charlene Fogg-Drake, told KHOU that she was disgusted by the staff’s actions and said they should have sought help. “Why didn’t you call 911? I feel like people need to be accountable for it, I really do,” she said. Mobley’s mother, Renee Mobley, told the Houston Chronicle that she wondered why the staff hadn’t requested medical assistance for her nephew. “If you don’t know what’s wrong with someone, you shouldn’t assume.”

The restaurant’s owners declined to comment, according to KHOU. Houston police have not released a cause of death, saying authorities are awaiting results from the autopsy.

Mobley lived with his aunt in Houston and was cremated there before his ashes were returned to Spring, Texas, about 25 miles north. His parents, who have suffered the loss of three children over the past 13 years, described their grief as overwhelming. “There’s no aging gracefully after losing a child,” the father, Jessie Mobley Sr., said, noting he has endured multiple health problems as a result. The family said they were told Mobley’s body had begun to decay by the time they saw him.

In the days after the death, Fogg-Drake said she arranged flowers and candles at a memorial near the site, but those tributes have been removed on several occasions, according to local reports. She added that she planned to host a dinner for Mobley at a waterfront restaurant to honor his memory, but he died shortly before his 35th birthday.

As investigators continue to probe the circumstances of Mobley’s death, the case has drawn attention to questions about how bystanders and staff respond when a person appears to be in medical distress. Police have not released additional details about the autopsy timeline or potential charges, and the restaurant’s management has not commented publicly on the incident. The investigation continues as authorities seek to determine whether timely medical intervention could have changed the outcome.