Teen who killed mother and put her body in trunk sentenced

Lina Portman5 days ago

0 2 minutes read

Tyler Roenz and Michelle Roenz (Harris County Sheriff's Office)

A 19-year-old Texas man will spend decades behind bars for killing his mother, strangling and beating the 49-year-old woman to death before dumping her body in the trunk of his own car and fleeing.

Harris County District Court Judge Hillary Unger on Thursday ordered Tyler Roenz to serve a 40-year sentence in a state correctional facility for the 2022 murder of Michelle Roenz, authorities said.

In addition to pleading guilty to his mother's murder, Roenz also pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with evidence. Unger sentenced him to 20 years in prison for the latter count, with both sentences to run concurrently, meaning at the same time.

In exchange for admitting both counts, prosecutors dismissed one count of unauthorized use of a vehicle and one count of attempted sexual assault. The alleged sexual assault took place in February 2022 and involved Tyler Roenz allegedly assaulting an 18-year-old girl inside his car while they were in their high school parking lot.

“This is a terrible tragedy for this family,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement after the sentencing hearing. “It was important that this defendant take responsibility for what he did, and now he will spend decades in prison for his actions.”

The investigation into Roenz began on October 13, 2022, when Tyler Roenz, then 17, and his 49-year-old mother were both reported missing by the teen's father. This report was filed after the father came home and found someone's tooth in the family's garage, as well as a trail of blood leading to the master bedroom. Inside the main chamber was a large pool of blood, along with four additional teeth.

The husband also reported his wife's black Mazda missing. Based on license plate readers and a series of credit card purchases at gas stations in Michelle Roenz's name, authorities tracked Tyler Roenz as he drove through Oklahoma and Kansas until the black Mazda was finally spotted in Nebraska.

Texas authorities notified Nebraska State Police that the car was believed to be traveling in the Cornhusker State and was linked to a recent homicide. About 15 minutes after that alert, state troopers said they saw the car and attempted to stop it, leading to a brief high-speed chase.

After traveling about 9 miles at speeds in excess of 110 mph, the Mazda struck the rear of a tractor-trailer and left the road, crashing into a tree near Aurora, Nebraska.

Tyler Roenz was seriously injured in the crash and taken to hospital. His mother's body was found in the trunk of the car he was driving.

Tyler Roenz was detained in Nebraska and later extradited to Texas.

A Nebraska medical examiner determined the manner of Michelle Roenz's death was a homicide and the cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma, authorities said.

Tyler Roenz must serve at least 20 years of his 40-year sentence before being eligible for parole, the prosecutor's office said.