HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A woman has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for her involvement after her 7-year-old adoptive son was found dead in a washing machine in their Spring area home back in 2022, according to court records.
ABC13 has covered the extensive case since the news first broke on July 28, three years ago.
According to officials, little Troy Koehler was reported missing by his mother, Tiffany Thomas, after she returned home from work at 5 a.m. in the 400 block of Rosegate in the Birnamwood subdivision. Officers arrived and interviewed the child’s parents, 38-year-old Thomas and her husband, 45-year-old Jemaine Thomas.
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Hours after the missing persons report was submitted and interviews, investigators searched the home, leading officers to make a gruesome discovery. The child’s body was found just before 8 a.m. inside a top-load washer in the garage.
An autopsy determined that Troy had been beaten, suffocated, and possibly drowned, allegedly by his father.
Both Tiffany and Jermaine were taken into custody and appeared in court the next day. Four months later, the parents were charged with the boy’s death after court records revealed graphic text messages detailing how Jemaine said he was going to kill the 7-year-old.
The text thread between them reportedly began after Tiffany said she was upset the child hadn’t confessed to allegedly stealing her snacks.
Prosecutors said Tiffany contributed to “chronic abuse” of Troy Koehler, 7, by not protecting him from Jemaine Thomas, the boy’s father, and/or mistreating and hurting him as well.
Texas Child Protective Services confirmed to Eyewitness News that Troy was a foster child who was adopted by the family in 2019. CPS investigated the family twice for physical abuse before the boy’s murder. Records reveal the school alerted officials after noticing facial bruises.
Jemaine was charged with capital murder and had his bond set at $2 million. Tiffany’s bond was set at $150,000, but was raised a year later to $300,000 following a charge of injury to a child by omission.
During the trial, Troy’s first-grade teacher delivered a victim impact statement on behalf of the little boy.
SEE ALSO: ‘He mattered to me’: Teacher speaks out after adoptive father sentenced in 7-year-old’s murder
“It was my privilege to have him in my class,” Reed told ABC13. “He was special to me, and he mattered to me.”
Three years later, Jemaine pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 50 years in prison in the summer of 2025. Two months later, Tiffany pleaded guilty and was sentenced.
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