A Texas boy who strangled his mother to death and drove to Nebraska with her body in the trunk of his family car has agreed to a plea agreement, according to authorities.
Tyler Roenz, 17, pled guilty to murder in the death of his 49-year-old mother Michelle Roenz in 2022, according to a press statement issued on June 28 by Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.
Tyler, now 19, was sentenced to 40 years in jail and must serve at least half of that sentence before being eligible for parole, according to Ogg.
Tyler killed his mother on October 13, 2022, when they were at home, according to investigators. He then placed her body in the trunk of the family’s black Mazda and headed north. A cousin who came at the house after Tyler left phoned local authorities because they suspected foul play and thought the mother and son were missing.
According to court documents acquired by ABC-13, Tyler’s father got concerned after discovering blood and a human tooth in the garage of his Humble, Texas, home. His father then followed a blood trail into the master bedroom, where he allegedly discovered four more human teeth in a pool of blood, according to the records.
Authorities declared Tyler and Michelle missing before discovering payments on Michelle’s credit card from Oklahoma and Kansas, according to ABC-13.
According to the announcement, investigators used license plate readers to track Tyler down as he drove across Oklahoma and Kansas. A day after the murder, he was apprehended in Nebraska by a state highway patrol trooper who saw the automobile.
Michelle’s body was later discovered in the trunk of the automobile, according to officials. According to the announcement, a medical examiner in Nebraska ruled that she died of blunt-force trauma to the head and strangling.
Authorities have not revealed the motivation for the killing.
According to her obituary, Michelle enjoyed animal care, and photography, and had run multiple half-marathons. Her obituary adds that she was married to her husband for 23 years and had a daughter with him in addition to her son Tyler.
Tyler also pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and received a 20-year sentence, according to the announcement. The sentences will run consecutively, while two other felonies were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
“This is an awful tragedy for this family,” Ogg said in a statement. “This defendant needed to take responsibility for what he did, and now he will spend decades in prison for his actions.”