A Texas teen pleaded guilty to killing his mother in 2022 and was sentenced this week to 40 years in prison.
Tyler Roenz, now 19, also pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and was sentenced to 20 years, to run concurrently with the murder sentence, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said. Two other felonies were dismissed as part of the plea deal.
“This is an awful tragedy for this family,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. “It was important that this defendant took responsibility for what he did, and now he will spend decades in prison for his actions.”
Roenz and his mother, 49-year-old Michelle Roenz, were reported missing by a family member on October 13, 2022, along with Michelle Reonz’s Mazda 3, as CrimeOnline reported. Shortly after receiving a notice about the vehicle, a Nebraska State trooper saw the car on Interstate 80 near Grand Isle. He tried to initiate a traffic stop, but Tyler Roenz, driving the car, took off.
Roenz led troopers on a high speed chase for about 9 miles before he crashed into back of a semi-truck.
The Harris County DA’s office said that Roenz killed his mother on the morning of October 13, put her body in the trunk of the family car, and headed north. Investigators used license plate readers to track the vehicle through Oklahoma and Kansas before the Nebraska trooper found the vehicle.
A medical examiner in Nebraska said that Michelle Roenz died from blunt force trauma to the head and strangulation.
The DA’s office said that the younger Roenz must serve at least 20 years of his sentence before he is eligible for parole and cannot appeal the sentences or the convictions.
