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A Texas teenager has admitted to strangling his mom before driving to Nebraska with her body in the trunk of his car.
Tyler Roenz, 19, will spend decades behind prison after pleading guilty this week to killing his mother, 49-year-old Michelle Roenz, while the two were at home on the morning of October 13, 2022.
He was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the murder, and another 20 years for tampering with evidence, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced. Two other felonies were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Police said Roenz, who was 17 at the time of the murder, killed his mom, then put her body in the trunk of the family car, a black Mazda, and fled north to Nebraska. Roenz’s dad later showed up at the house and called authorities after finding blood and a human tooth in the garage, court documents obtained by ABC13 stated.
The father then followed a trail of blood into the master bedroom, where he reportedly discovered four more human teeth in a pool of blood.
Law enforcement tracked the teenager down in Nebraska after a state highway patrol trooper spotted his car, leading to a brief high-speed chase. After traveling for roughly nine miles at speeds over 110 mph, the Mazda rear-ended a semi-truck and careened off the road, slamming into a tree near Aurora, Nebraska. Roenz was seriously injured in the crash and taken to a hospital.
Officers found his mother’s body in the trunk of his car, and a medical examiner in Nebraska ultimately determined that Michelle Roenz died from blunt-force trauma to the head and strangulation.
A motive for the killing has not been shared by authorities.
According to her obituary, Michelle loved caring for animals, enjoyed photography and had completed several half marathons. Her obituary states she was married to her husband for 23 years and shared a daughter with him in addition to Tyler.
“This is an awful tragedy for this family,” 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.”
