Tyler Roenz and Michelle Roenz (Harris County Sheriff’s Office)
A 19-year-old Texas man will spend several decades behind bars for killing his mother, strangling and beating the 49-year-old woman to death before throwing her corpse in the trunk of her own car and fleeing.
Harris County District Court Judge Hillary Unger on Thursday ordered Tyler Roenz to serve a sentence of 40 years in a state correctional facility for the 2022 murder of Michelle Roenz, authorities announced .
In addition to pleading guilty to his mother’s murder, Tyler Roenz also pleaded guilty to one count of felony tampering with evidence. Unger sentenced him to 20 years on the latter charge, with the two sentences running concurrently, meaning at the same time.
In exchange for pleading to the two felonies, prosecutors dismissed one count of unauthorized use of a vehicle and one count of attempted sexual assault. The alleged sexual assault took place in February 2022 and involved Tyler Roenz allegedly attacking an 18-year-old girl inside of his car while they were in their high school parking lot.