SPRING, TX - Nearly three years after a seven-year-old boy was found dead inside a washing machine, his adoptive father, Jermaine Thomas, has finally been sentenced.
On Wednesday, July 30th, Thomas was sentenced by a judge to 50 years in prison for the murder of the young boy, ABC10 reported. Thomas' wife, Tiffany Thomas, was charged with injury to a child under 15 by injury. An additional charge of injury to a child by omission was previously made against her, but dismissed.
Her bond has been set at $300,000. She pleaded guilty, and her sentencing is scheduled for September 10th, People reported. She is trying to be placed on community supervision. The couple is believed to have adopted the boy in 2019.
The young boy, who was seven at the time of his death, was discovered on July 28, 2022, at his family's home on Rosegate Drive in the Birnam Wood subdivision in Spring. The boy, Troy Koehler, was reported missing after Thomas claimed he returned home just before midnight and found his front door unlocked.
Upon arriving on the scene, deputies later found Troy's fully clothed but lifeless boy inside the washing machine. An autopsy showed that Troy had suffered both new and old injuries before his death, which was ruled a homicide by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services also confirmed that CPS had a previous history with the family. Court documents show that Troy was threatened with being put inside an oven after he allegedly ate some of Tiffany's oatmeal cream pies. Prosecutors said text messages revealed Jermaine was also upset after allegedly discovering that Troy had eaten his doughnut sticks.
"I need to get the [locks]. I'm going to end up killing him," he allegedly wrote in a text message. Troy would have been entering fifth grade this year.
"Now, we will never know what he could have become," Troy's former first-grade teacher, Sheryl Reed, said in court. "His future, his dreams, his life were stolen by someone who was supposed to love, protect, and nurture him."
Reed said that Troy was an enthusiastic student who loved reading and helping others. "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," Reed told the court.
"He was the son I never had. I loved that boy and wanted to see him succeed," Reed said. Her victim impact statement was described as one that "will forever stay with those who heard it" in court.
During her statement, she said she made eye contact with Thomas. "He didn't have tears," she said. "He did give me some eye contact. He knows what he did. He didn't get away with it."
When asked why she chose to speak, Reed said she wanted people to know Troy's life mattered. "He wasn't just a seven-year-old boy found in a washing machine," she said. "I wanted to speak for Troy and advocate for him." She said she hopes to start a foundation in Troy's name to advocate for children facing abuse and neglect.
On Wednesday, July 30th, Thomas was sentenced by a judge to 50 years in prison for the murder of the young boy, ABC10 reported. Thomas' wife, Tiffany Thomas, was charged with injury to a child under 15 by injury. An additional charge of injury to a child by omission was previously made against her, but dismissed.
Her bond has been set at $300,000. She pleaded guilty, and her sentencing is scheduled for September 10th, People reported. She is trying to be placed on community supervision. The couple is believed to have adopted the boy in 2019.
The young boy, who was seven at the time of his death, was discovered on July 28, 2022, at his family's home on Rosegate Drive in the Birnam Wood subdivision in Spring. The boy, Troy Koehler, was reported missing after Thomas claimed he returned home just before midnight and found his front door unlocked.
Upon arriving on the scene, deputies later found Troy's fully clothed but lifeless boy inside the washing machine. An autopsy showed that Troy had suffered both new and old injuries before his death, which was ruled a homicide by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services also confirmed that CPS had a previous history with the family. Court documents show that Troy was threatened with being put inside an oven after he allegedly ate some of Tiffany's oatmeal cream pies. Prosecutors said text messages revealed Jermaine was also upset after allegedly discovering that Troy had eaten his doughnut sticks.
"I need to get the [locks]. I'm going to end up killing him," he allegedly wrote in a text message. Troy would have been entering fifth grade this year.
"Now, we will never know what he could have become," Troy's former first-grade teacher, Sheryl Reed, said in court. "His future, his dreams, his life were stolen by someone who was supposed to love, protect, and nurture him."
Reed said that Troy was an enthusiastic student who loved reading and helping others. "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," Reed told the court.
"He was the son I never had. I loved that boy and wanted to see him succeed," Reed said. Her victim impact statement was described as one that "will forever stay with those who heard it" in court.
During her statement, she said she made eye contact with Thomas. "He didn't have tears," she said. "He did give me some eye contact. He knows what he did. He didn't get away with it."
When asked why she chose to speak, Reed said she wanted people to know Troy's life mattered. "He wasn't just a seven-year-old boy found in a washing machine," she said. "I wanted to speak for Troy and advocate for him." She said she hopes to start a foundation in Troy's name to advocate for children facing abuse and neglect.
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Comments
2025-08-03T21:41-0400 | Comment by: Iyad
A heart breaking story. With Jesus boy you have a better life. Memory eternal. ☦️
2025-08-07T11:15-0400 | Comment by: Laurence
50 years of the taxpayers supporting this murderer? He should get the death penalty for killing an innocent child. Keeping him in prison is going to cost millions.