More than 13 years after Donald “Donnie” Lapointe was found dead in the trunk of a car in Houston, the people who loved him most say the pain has never gone away.
Lapointe, 28, was discovered on Sept. 24, 2012, in the 12800 block of Nimitz Street after a passing motorist spotted a vehicle in a ditch and contacted police.
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Investigators said Lapointe had been beaten and shot. Authorities have said it appeared he was killed elsewhere, placed in the trunk, and left in the area where the vehicle was later found. No arrests have been made.
Now, his wife, Jennifer, and his mother, Renee, are sharing memories of the man they say was far more than the way early reports may have portrayed him.
‘He was a loving and caring person’
To Renee, her son was caring, funny, genuine, and deeply devoted to the people around him.
“He was a very loving and caring person,” Renee said. “If anyone needed help, he would help them and not ask for anything in return.”
She described Donnie as someone who loved video games, sports, and the Dallas Cowboys, even while living most of his life in Massachusetts.
People who knew him, she said, often remembered the same things.
“He had a smile that could light up a room,” Renee said. “His eyes would sparkle. He was just a sweet, sweet person.”
Renee said her son faced challenges growing up, including learning disabilities and struggles tied to a serious car accident when he was a child. But she said those hardships never made him unkind.
“He wasn’t dangerous or violent,” she said. “He was always helping people.”
Jennifer described him in much the same way, remembering him as a devoted father who was heavily involved in his children’s lives.
“We were very involved with our kids,” Jennifer said. “He was supposed to go on a field trip with our daughter that day.”
Jennifer said she and Donnie moved to Texas from Massachusetts with hopes of building a better life for their young family.
Like many young couples, they struggled financially and moved often, but she said they stayed focused on their children and future.
“He was a dreamer,” Jennifer said. “He wanted to be somebody.”
At the time of his death, Jennifer said Donnie had been working as a pizza delivery driver and was trying to find steadier work as the family prepared to move back to Massachusetts.
A job opportunity that raised concerns
In the weeks before his death, Jennifer said Donnie became excited about what he believed could be a life-changing job opportunity.
According to Jennifer and Renee, Donnie met a man while delivering pizza who later offered him work. The opportunity, they said, involved trucking and what was described to him as “peace officer” work.
Jennifer said the situation made her uneasy almost immediately.
“It didn’t sit right with me,” she said.
Renee said she also questioned whether the offer was legitimate.
“It sounded too good to be true,” she said.
Both women said Donnie appeared most interested in the promise of better pay and a chance to support his family, not in the more dangerous side of the work.
According to Jennifer, he later met with the men several times and spoke about one of them in a way that raised red flags.
The last day Jennifer saw him
Jennifer said Donnie left to meet the men again on the night of Sept. 23, 2012. He never came home.
The next morning, she said, she woke up with a bad feeling.
“I just had a really bad feeling,” Jennifer said.
That fear deepened when a neighbor told her a reporter had come by asking questions about her vehicle and mentioning that a body had been found.
Jennifer said she and Donnie shared one car and one phone at the time. She tried to reach him, called police, and eventually learned the vehicle found on Nimitz Street was theirs.
Later, authorities confirmed the body in the trunk was Donnie’s.
“I didn’t want to believe it,” she said.
Jennifer said he had been so badly beaten that authorities initially had difficulty identifying him.
For Renee, the loss was devastating.
“They didn’t just kill my son,” she said. “He was like my best friend.”
She said learning about his death and then seeing how he was discussed publicly only deepened the family’s pain.
Renee said she was especially hurt by early narratives that made it sound as if her son had been involved in drugs or crime.
“The police report really reported wrong about something,” she said.
Jennifer echoed that frustration, saying she has long wanted people to know who her husband really was.
“Nothing talked about him being a good father,” Jennifer said. “Nothing about church or our family.”
Both women strongly dispute the idea that Donnie’s killing was simply the result of a drug deal gone wrong.
Questions that remain
Jennifer said she gave investigators names and background information about the people Donnie had been meeting with before his death. Renee said the family has long believed there are people who know more than they have said.
Their suspicions remain just that — suspicions — and no one has been charged in the case.
Jennifer said a detective early on seemed committed to the case, but over time, communication became less frequent.
“The last time I spoke to anyone was about eight years ago,” she said.
Renee said the silence has been one of the hardest parts.
“Nobody has ever paid for this,” she said.
More than a decade later, Donnie’s family says they still hopes renewed attention could lead to new information.
“We want justice for him,” Jennifer said.
Renee also hopes someone who may know something will finally come forward.
Anyone with information about Donald “Donnie” Lapointe’s killing is asked to contact the Houston Police Department at 713-308-3600. Those wishing to remain anonymous may contact Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS (8477).
For his family, the years have passed, but the loss has never faded.
“He was a good person,” Renee said. “He was a good husband, and a good father.”