John D. Donat, a 58-year-old former chef, combined his love for cooking with a deep desire to serve his community. He was known for his generosity, often using his culinary talents to prepare food he gathered from a local food bank to distribute to people in need. This compassion was a defining part of his life, a life that his loved ones, including his two sons in South Carolina, cherished deeply. Mr.
Donat, a male, had been living at an extended-stay hotel in west Houston, where his simple acts of kindness were a familiar sight.
In the early morning hours of Wednesday, September 30, 2026, Mr. Donat was doing what he so often did: helping others. Around 2:00 a.m., he was outside the hotel where he lived, located at 2130 South Highway 6, handing out food from his Chevrolet Tahoe. He was in the middle of giving a meal to a homeless woman when a man approached the passenger side of his vehicle. The man, in what police described as an attempted carjacking and robbery, demanded money.
Moments later, at approximately 2:20 a.m., witnesses heard the distinct sound of gunshots. According to one woman who had been speaking with Mr. Donat just before, she walked away after the suspect approached and then heard the shots, followed by the sound of Mr. Donat's Tahoe crashing. The vehicle had careened through a wooden fence bordering the hotel parking lot. The assailant fled the scene on foot, leaving a devastating scene behind.
Houston Police Department officers and Houston Fire Department paramedics were dispatched to the hotel. They found Mr. Donat on the ground near his crashed vehicle, suffering from a gunshot wound. Despite their efforts, paramedics pronounced him deceased at the scene. HPD Homicide Division Sergeant J. Nielsen and Detective J. Robles began an immediate investigation into the senseless killing.
Witnesses were able to provide a description of the suspect, which proved crucial. Houston Police Patrol Support Team officers who were already in the area quickly located a person of interest who matched the description. The man, identified as 30-year-old Otis Parks, was detained for questioning. Although he was initially booked into the Harris County Jail on a separate, unrelated offense, the ongoing homicide investigation soon connected him directly to the shooting.
Within days, Otis Parks was charged with capital murder for his alleged role in John Donat's death. The case was filed in the 208th Criminal District Court. Records later revealed that Parks had a significant criminal history, including a prior seven-year prison sentence for a 2018 aggravated assault. While in jail for that charge, he faced four additional felony charges for assaulting jailers and possessing contraband, though those charges were later dismissed. His attorney in the murder case has not commented, but his past record raised questions about why he was on the streets.
In the wake of their tragic loss, Mr. Donat's family organized a fundraiser to cover funeral costs and the expenses required to transport him and his belongings back home to his sons in South Carolina. The fundraiser described him as a man who was tragically and senselessly killed while serving his community. As of October 2026, the case against Otis Parks was proceeding through the court system.
