Payas Rohit Deo, 19, disappeared from his family’s home in Pasadena, Texas, on the evening of February 8, 2025, after dinner. His gray 2015 Toyota Camry was found the next day about six miles away near Allen Genoa Road and Smith Avenue with the driver’s side window smashed, blood on the front seat, and his shoes left inside the vehicle.

After nearly three weeks of searching, Deo’s body was located on March 1, 2025, in a field near Dumas Street and Almeda Genoa Road in southeast Houston. The remains were in an advanced state of decomposition. An autopsy by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences determined he had been shot twice, in the head and neck, and ruled the death a homicide.

On March 19, 2025, Pasadena police arrested 20-year-old Nickalous Ahmed Benjamin and charged him with murder and tampering with a human corpse. Investigators from Pasadena’s Violent Crimes Unit and the Houston Police Department are continuing to examine the circumstances. Deo’s family held a candlelight vigil on March 6, 2025, seeking answers and justice.

If anyone has information about Deo’s movements on February 8 or the discovery of the Camry, please come forward.