HOUSTON – A 47-year-old man has been charged with capital murder in the death of an employee at Tropical Tea, a karaoke bar in the Little Saigon neighborhood.
Houston police arrested Christopher Lee Bowden, who records show is homeless, on Wednesday.
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A Harris County District Court judge set his bond at $1 million on Thursday.
The victim, identified by police as 54-year-old Chun Chen, was found dead in the kitchen area at the bar in the 10500 block of Bellaire Boulevard on May 8 by coworkers who hadn’t heard from him.
Captured on surveillance video, Bowden allegedly came into the back of the business last Thursday night and approached Chen behind the bar counter before repeatedly hitting him with a hammer, according to a law enforcement source, who said Chen fell to the ground and Bowden appeared to continue hitting him with the hammer.
After setting the hammer down, Bowden allegedly started taking money from the cash drawer, the source said. Other employees later told detectives the drawer usually had about $100 in it, but all the money except for coins appeared to be gone during the investigation.
While Chen remain laying on the ground, the source said Bowden allegedly poured hot oil from the fryer all over him, and detectives found Chen’s cell phone and credit card melted and deformed near him when they responded to the business the next day.
Surveillance video shared with KPRC 2 News appeared to show Bowden leaving the business after the attack in Chen’s minivan, which the law enforcement source said police later recovered near the business.
Police got called to the restaurant after colleagues said they hadn’t heard from Chen and found him with an injury to his head at the business. The front door was also locked, investigators said, after finding the back door unlocked.
In 2021, Bowden pled guilty to two criminal mischief charges, and court records show he has previous arrests for trespassing, burglary, and driving while intoxicated.
Bowden now has a court-appointed defense attorney and isn’t due back in court until late June.