7-year-old boy found dead in washing machine, parents docked
The adoptive parents of a Texas boy whose body was found inside a washing machine have been arrested in connection to his death, authorities said.
Jemaine Thomas, 42, was charged with capital murder in connection to the July death of his son, Troy Khoeler, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced Tuesday night, Nov. 15.
Thomas’ wife, Tiffany, 35, was charged with injury to a child by omission.
The couple first reported Troy, 7, missing from their Spring home in the early hours of July 28.
A search of the residence later that morning led to the discovery of the child’s body in a top-loading washing machine in the garage.
An autopsy subsequently revealed that Troy, a former foster child adopted by the Thomases in 2019, had been “beaten, suffocated and possibly drowned,” the Sun Herald reported.
Blood evidence was also allegedly found throughout the home, including in the washing machine.
“The autopsy revealed that Troy suffered new and previous injuries,” Gonzalez said. “May he Rest in Peace.”
Court documents filed Tuesday, Nov. 15, allege that the couple threatened to put Troy in the oven after he confessed to eating some of Tiffany’s oatmeal cream pie, KPRC reported.
Prosecutors also claim that text messages between the couple reveal that Jemaine was furious that the child ate his doughnut sticks, writing, “I need to get the [locks]. I’m going to end up kill[ing] him.”
Records show that both Jemaine and Tiffany remain in Harris County Jail on bonds of $2 million and $150,000, respectively.
