Cause of death confirmed for Houston River Oaks couple who owned Traveler’s Table

The Brief

The medical examiner’s office officially ruled Matthew Mitchell’s cause of death a suicide and Thy Mitchell’s cause of death a homicide.
Two children were also killed. Their deaths were ruled homicides.
Police believe Matthew shot his wife and kids before shooting himself.

HOUSTON – If you or a loved one is feeling distressed, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Line for free and confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

CLICK HERE for the warning signs and risk factors of suicide and CLICK HERE for more on the 988 Lifeline. 

The medical examiner’s office has officially confirmed how the River Oaks couple who owns Houston restaurant Traveler’s Table and their two children died.

Cause of death confirmed

What’s new:

According to the medical examiner’s office, Matthew Mitchell’s death was ruled a suicide.

The deaths of 39-year-old Thy Mitchell, 8-year-old Maya Mitchell and 4-year-old Maxwell Mitchell were ruled homicides.

The cause of death for all four family members was a gunshot wound to the head, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Deadly River Oaks shooting

The backstory:

The shooting was reported around 5:30 p.m. Monday at the family’s home on Kingston Street, near Avalon Place.

Police previously said that the family’s deaths were believed to be a murder-suicide, with Matthew shooting his wife and kids before shooting himself.

Matthew and Thy were the owners of Montrose restaurants Traveler’s Table and Traveler’s Cart.

Texas Murder-Suicide CoupleTheir Famed Food Network Chef Looks Back For Clues

Matthew Mitchell and Thy Mitchell and Travelers Table Restaurant insta 1
travelerstable.com Composite

The murder-suicide of the famed restaurateur Texas couple — which also left their two young children dead — has the former chef at their Houston restaurant reeling … and looking back to see if he missed any clues to the impending catastrophe.

If you don’t know … the bodies of 52-year-old Matthew Mitchell, his wife, 39-year-old Thy Mitchell, their 8-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son were discovered shot to death in their upscale Houston home Monday. Police say Matthew killed his family before taking his own life.

chef Stanton Bundy linkedin
LinkedIn

Their popular establishment, Traveler’s Table, was featured on the show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” hosted by Emmy winner Guy Fieri … with their former head chef, Stanton Bundy, who tells TMZ … he’s questioning everything in the aftermath of the tragedy — including his faith.

For five years, Stanton ran the Traveler’s Table kitchen and worked alongside Matthew — who he called a great friend — and who, so far as anyone knew, loved his children deeply.

Matthew and Thy Mitchell insta 1

Stanton can’t even begin to imagine what could possibly drive Matthew to something so horrendous … noting Matthew was a savvy businessman, and the chef never saw the couple have anything other than a mild marital “spat” — which never got physical.

Chef Stanton — who gained fame himself by outdueling Bobby Flay on his Food Network show — ventured out on his own about a year ago … but he tells us he still talked to Matthew on a regular basis, and his best friend still works at Traveler’s Table. From what he’s heard, the plan is to keep Traveler’s Table open.

As for whether Food Network should pull their ‘DDD’ episode … Stanton says that should be up to the family, but in his opinion, it would be unfair to the other businesses featured.