Nearly three years after 7-year-old Troy Koehler was found dead inside a washing machine at his home, his adoptive father has been sentenced for his murder.
According to a press release from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and court records reviewed by PEOPLE, Jemaine Thomas, 45, received a 50-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to killing the child.
During the court proceedings, Troy’s former first-grade teacher, Sheryl Reed, delivered a heartfelt victim impact statement.
“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader. That was always Troy,” she said. “He loved reading. If he finished early, he’d head straight to our class library. Then he’d go right back to share those stories with classmates… always lifting others up with the joy he carried.”
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Court records reviewed by PEOPLE also show that Troy’s adoptive mother, Tiffany Thomas, 38, faces charges of injury to a child under 15. She pleaded guilty, and her sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 10. Her bond is set at $300,000. A separate charge of injury to a child by omission was filed against her but has since been dismissed.
As previously reported by PEOPLE, Jemaine and Tiffany adopted Troy in 2019.
Troy’s tragic death unfolded on July 28, 2022, when his parents initially filed a missing persons report. Upon arriving at the home, deputies conducted a brief interview with the parents, Lt. Robert Minchew of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit said during a prior press conference.
“Things that they observed led them to search the house thoroughly at that point,” Minchew said. “They found a deceased 7-year-old child in the washing machine in the garage.” Troy, still clothed, was discovered inside the top-loading machine at 7:20 a.m.
Court documents reviewed by KPRC 2 Houston revealed troubling allegations, including threats made toward Troy. After he reportedly ate some of Tiffany’s oatmeal cream pies, he was allegedly threatened with being placed inside an oven. Text messages showed Jemaine was also enraged after claiming Troy had eaten his doughnut sticks.
“I need to get the [locks]. I’m going to end up kill[ing] him,” he allegedly texted, according to KPRC 2 Houston.
In November 2022, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez shared on X that an autopsy revealed Troy suffered both recent and older injuries. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide.
According to KPRC 2 Houston, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services later confirmed that Child Protective Services had a prior history with the family.
