Troy Koehler death: Adoptive father sentenced for murder of 7-year-old Spring boy

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Troy Koehler

SPRING, Texas - A man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for the murder of his 7-year-old adopted son, Troy Koehler, who was found dead in a washing machine after being reported missing in 2022.

According to court records, Jemaine Thomas pleaded guilty on Wednesday and was sentenced.

Records show that Tiffany Thomas, the boy’s adoptive mother, was charged with injury to a child.

Boy found dead after being reported missing

The backstory:

On July 28, 2022, deputies with the Harris County Sheriff's Office were called out to the 4400 block of Rosegate Drive in reference to Troy being missing.

According to court documents, deputies spoke with Jemaine and Tiffany who said they hadn't seen Troy since the night before they contacted authorities. 

The deputies searched the home and neighborhood for Troy for over an hour, including the use of drone aircraft and canine assets.

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Around 7:10 a.m., the deputies returned inside the home and conducted another search. 

That's when, according to the documents, a deputy who was searching the area of the garage and utility room, stated he looked through the lid of the top-loading washing machine and saw Troy's body in the bottom of the wash tub. 

The deputy stated that he yelled out to other deputies and tried to see if Troy was still breathing. 

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While doing so, according to court documents, the deputy was pushed out of the way by Jemaine, who then reached into the washing machine and pulled the child out of the washer.

Deputies told Jemaine to place Troy on the floor and CPR was immediately begun by other deputies while Jemaine and Tiffany were removed and detained. 

While at the scene, one deputy who went into the home to help Troy, stated he observed Troy's clothing to be damp, and he noted the odor of urine coming from the body. Troy's pants were also found to be pulled down to his knees, exposing his underwear and the presence of bruises to his upper legs. 

While processing the scene, authorities determined that the washing machine had likely not run through a wash cycle with Troy inside.

Troy's body was taken to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, where it was determined that Troy had suffered new and previous injuries. His death was ruled a homicide.

Court documents reveal CPS investigations

Dig deeper:

Court documents stated that during the investigation it was learned that two prior CPS investigations were initiated by school personnel, alerting authorities to suspicious injuries on Troy. The investigations, which both occurred in 2022, were related to physical abuse, which included blackened eyes and facial bruising. 

Upon review of cellular information, court documents revealed investigators found a chat thread between the parents' cellular telephones in which both parents expressed deep contempt for Troy.