Humble teenager who murdered her mother in 2022, putting her body in a trunk and leading troopers on a chase in Nebraska, sentenced to 40 years

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — The humble teenager who murdered his mother and drove across the country with her body in a trunk less than two years ago will spend the next 40 years in prison.

Tyler Roenz, now 19 and 17 at the time of the murder, accepted a plea deal in Harris County.

Video above is from previous report: 18-year-old to face trial in 2024 for mother's murder if he doesn't accept plea deal: judge

Authorities say Tyler killed his mother, Michelle Roenz, 49, while the two were at home on October 13, 2022. He then put her body in the trunk of the family car, a black Mazda, and drove away. is directed towards the north.

After noticing their car was missing, Tyler's father told investigators that his wife and son were missing. He also found a human tooth and blood in their humble home.

A CLEAR alert sparked a frantic search for the mother and son, and detectives say they found suspicious charges on Michelle's credit card from Oklahoma and Kansas.

ORIGINAL REPORT: Body of missing Humble mother was in car involved in chase with son driving, source tells ABC13

Shortly after, law enforcement was able to locate Tyler using license plate readers as he drove through Oklahoma and Kansas.

A day after the murder, Tyler was arrested in Nebraska after leading troopers on a chase and crashing his car.

Michelle's body was found stuffed in the trunk of the car and an autopsy report revealed she had been strangled and beaten.

Tyler was hospitalized following the accident and eventually released and extradited to Texas.

He also pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence in exchange for a 20-year prison sentence, which he will serve concurrently. Two other felonies were dismissed as part of the plea deal.

Tyler must serve at least half of his sentence before being eligible for parole and cannot appeal his convictions or prison sentences.

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