HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – The parents of a father who was mysteriously stabbed to death in his Northwest Harris County home are speaking out.
Family members say 39-year-old Austin Kanuch was killed on September 22, 2023. To this day, no one has been arrested for the crime.
Austin Kanuch was a 39-year-old father of three, who had so much to look forward to. He was a successful luxury car salesman at Infiniti, and he and his wife had just closed on a new house. The next day, all of that changed.
On September 22, 2023, detectives said Kanuch was mysteriously murdered inside the family’s current rental home off Greenleaf Lake Drive. KPRC 2 Reporter Corley Peel spoke with Kanuch’s parents.
“All the memories that we have of him are very special, but we won’t have any more. And I think that’s the saddest thing I could think of,” said Kanuch’s mother, Celene Miller.
Kanuch’s parents woke up to a call from a homicide detective with the Harris County Sheriffs Office around 4 a.m. They rushed to Kanuch’s home. By the time they arrived, he had already passed away at the hospital.
“The detective says there’s been a medical emergency. Austin has passed,” Harold Miller, Kanuch’s stepfather, recalled.
Celene Miller said she let out a loud scream before falling to the ground.
Initially, investigators said deputies responded to the home for a family violence call, but the investigation turned into a homicide when Kanuch passed. Kanuch’s wife and nearly one year old baby were in the home at the time of the attack. His wife was cleared of any wrongdoing, according to his parents. Detectives obtained surveillance video of a suspicious man on a mountain bike who is believed to be a person of interest.
Celene Miller explained, “They rode in and approached the house, went around the back of the house, and had forced entry to the house. And then that’s when they hurt Austin.”
She noted that the surveillance video also showed that the mountain biker came from a neighborhood to the west of Kanuch’s neighborhood. To this day, it remains unclear who killed Kanuch and why.
“What makes it hard is not even beginning to fathom any kind of a motive,” Harold Miller said.
Celene Miller expressed her desire for justice, stating, “I just want people to know that he was special. And he deserved better! Even if we don’t find justice in my lifetime, I know that when that person meets their maker, there will be justice there. Justice will be served.”
Crime Stoppers is offering an up to $5,000 reward for any information that can lead to an arrest. To report a tip, contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477 or the Harris County Sheriffs Office at 281) 564-5988.