Human remains found in a burned vehicle at a storage lot on Rhodes Road have been identified as Winsolon Trahan, a man reported missing earlier this month. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office has taken over the investigation, now treating the case as a murder.
On Tuesday, October 8, 2024, at approximately 12:30 p.m., the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Watch Command alerted the Homicide Unit after skeletal remains were discovered in a vehicle at 20603 Rhodes Road. Initially thought to be animal remains, an anthropologist from the Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed they were human.
The vehicle was linked to a missing person case when Trahan’s wife reported him missing on October 3, 2024. The car had been found burned near Deerhurst Lane and Braunston Lane just after midnight on October 1, 2024, following a jurisdictional dispute between city and county authorities. After the fire was extinguished by Northwest Fire, the vehicle was towed to the storage lot on October 2, 2024.
Upon further investigation, evidence including a possible bullet hole in the skull was found, suggesting foul play. The case transitioned from Missing Persons to Homicide after discussions with Trahan’s family, who could not confirm the identity but believed it was likely him.
After months of investigation, including witness interviews, security footage analysis, forensic evidence processing, and electronic device examination, detectives identified Dominique Johnson (born April 2, 1977) as a suspect. On March 31, 2025, a Harris County Grand Jury indicted Johnson on felony charges of murder and arson. Johnson was already in custody at Harris County Jail on an unrelated charge at the time of the indictment.