Town file
Atascocita, Texas
Atascocita, Texas (Harris County, Texas) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 425, "Strange Morals & Stranger Sexual Needs" (21 September 2023). In 1994 Farah Fratta was shot dead in the garage of her home in Atascocita, Texas, a suburb north-east of Houston in Harris County.
- Town
- Atascocita
- County
- Harris County
- State
- Texas
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 425
- Approximate location
- 29.978, -95.195
Episode 425 / 21 September 2023 / 177 min / full
Strange Morals & Stranger Sexual Needs
"Atascocita, Texas, outside Houston in southeastern Texas, in Harris County" about 0:05:54
The case: Murder of Farah Fratta (November 9, 1994). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2023
- Population
- 84,222
- Median age
- 33
- Median household income
- $82,361
- Two-bedroom rent
- $1,700 a month
- Cost of living
- 100.5
- Religious
- 60.5%
- Property crime
- right about average
- Violent crime
- ▼ about half
History, in brief
- The name derives from the Atascocito military outpost and the road built by the Spanish in 1756. about 0:07:36
- The road ran from Spanish Louisiana through this area to San Antonio. about 0:08:38
- It was a major route for migrants moving to Texas in the 1820s and 1830s. about 0:08:51
- The name changed from Atascocito to Atascocita, from masculine to feminine, for unknown reasons. about 0:08:51
- Housing and commercial construction did not begin until the 1970s; the area was previously the middle of nowhere outside Houston. about 0:09:06
- In the 1990s it had 15 neighbourhoods and was one of the fastest-growing developments in the greater Houston area. about 0:09:26
- US News and World Report named it one of the best places to retire, citing Lake Houston boating and fishing and numerous golf courses. about 0:09:40
- In 2009 the Gadberry Group named Atascocita one of the nine most notable high-growth areas in the United States. about 0:12:58
- The population doubled between 2000 and 2020. about 0:13:08
The reviews read out
5 stars
"Family members live there and the reviewer loves visiting; astonished how close the doctor's office, grocery market and bank are."about 0:13:20
3 stars
"The neighbourhood was safe and family friendly but has become more dangerous; a next-door neighbour was shot in his driveway by a man trying to steal his car."about 0:14:20
2 stars
"Does not feel safe because of people who yell at each other through car windows."about 0:15:05
2 stars
"The area seemed nice with new buildings and stores, but the people are not friendly; the reviewer saw people screaming angrily out of cars at each other at the grocery store."about 0:15:42
2 stars
"Lives in a trailer park where people do not care for their homes or yards; no street lights or sidewalks and many surrounding neighbourhoods are government housing."about 0:16:15
2 stars
"Feels unsafe because of gang violence and drug use; a convict escaped the jail next to the reviewer's house and some neighbourhoods are too scary to drive by."about 0:16:52
3 stars
"Haven't been anywhere else, so how would I know the difference?"about 0:17:25
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Humble, Texas4.2 miles
- Nassau Bay, Texas31 miles
- Magnolia, Texas37 miles
- Lake Charles, Louisiana120 miles
- Iowa, Louisiana132 miles
- Lake Arthur, Louisiana151 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.