Manisbel Tamayo, 39, was found dead in Houston on Saturday, December 31, 2016, and her death was ruled a homicide. The Washington Post's homicide database, which tracked killings in Houston through 2017, lists her case under January 25, 2017, and records it as open with no arrest. The Houston Police Department investigated.
Her case is also listed in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, known as NamUs, under case number UCP92917.
NamUs case numbers that begin with UCP are used for unclaimed persons: people who were identified after death but whose bodies were not claimed by family. That suggests Manisbel may have had no relatives nearby who came forward, at least at first.
Beyond her name, her age and the date she was found, almost nothing about her has been made public. No news story about her death, obituary or memorial page could be found for this account. The record does not say how she was killed, where exactly she was found, how long she had been dead, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
Her age and sex stand out. Most homicide victims in Houston were young men. A woman of 39 who was found dead on New Year's Eve and whose body went unclaimed may have been living alone, or far from her family, and the people who saw her most often may have been neighbors, co-workers or friends rather than relatives.
The location recorded in the Post's database places her death south of downtown Houston. People who lived in that area at the end of 2016 may remember her, and may remember the police activity that followed.
Houston, the fourth-largest city in the United States, recorded roughly 200 to 300 homicides a year between 2007 and 2017, and its homicide detectives carried heavy caseloads. Hundreds of the city's killings from those years were never solved. Cases with few public details, like hers, often faded from view quickly.
Old Houston cases can still be solved. In November 2025, Houston police charged two men with murder in a May 2016 driveway shooting on McDaniel Street in north Houston that had gone unsolved for more than nine years. The victim's sister said the family had believed the call would never come. Crime Stoppers of Houston accepts tips without asking for names, and a tip that leads to charges may be eligible for a cash reward.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Manisbel Tamayo could be found in news archives or public records. More than 9 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew Manisbel Tamayo, or who saw her in the last weeks of 2016, may hold information that could help, and her family may still not know what happened to her. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a vehicle seen leaving the area or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can call the Houston Police Department Homicide Division at 713-308-3600, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS (713-222-8477).
