TX - Troy Khoeler, 7, found dead inside washing machine, Spring, July 2022 *arrests*

[Allabouttrial]

Troy’s foster mother declined to speak to reporters. Ok, but once the foster child has been, adopted, isn't she a mother? She's not a foster parent any longer. So, it should read "Troy's mother declined to speak to reporters"?

I wonder if she is cooperating with investigators.

In the video on the news page linked in your post, a next-door neighbor is interviewed who says the Khoeler family had moved into the neighborhood about 3 weeks earlier. They are renting the home. Also, the reporter states that CPS has history with this family but would not elaborate, at this time."

Parents of 7-year-old Spring boy found dead in washing machine released after questioning

Yeah bad reporting or maybe they just wanted it to sound a certain way. I imagine more eyebrows are raised, rightly or wrongly, when the words 'foster parent's' are mentioned in these sad cases.

 

[Allabouttrial]

agree, once adoption was finalized, she was no longer his foster mother. Poor reporting. words matter. at least to me. This snip below doesn't make much sense in light of the report they've only lived there less than a month? While the neighbor who said they just moved in three weeks ago has never seen Troy?

A neighbor, who's lived on the street for more than 40 years, said he'd often seen Troy playing in the neighborhood.
Parents of 7-year-old Spring boy found dead in washing machine released after questioning

The interview may have been edited in such a way that they left out the neighbour's opinion that the temps. have been in the 100s and it's not very pleasant to be out in such weather...Maybe.

 

[Teche]

I don't think it'll be long before LE solves this sad case.

 

[RememberingRyan]

I also just want to note that reports that the family had CPS involvement may not have any relevance - CPS is involved in placing foster children and processing foster parent trainings. There is a difference between CPS having a history with a foster family and CPS having reports or investigations related to abuse/neglect.

 

[mickey2942]

I just reviewed the pictures of the washing machine, I couldn't make out the manufacturer, but it looks exactly like my Samsung washer.

The lid is super lightweight, easy to open. So, even if a child hid in there, he could pop open the lid, unless it was locked, which only happens when you turn on the power and start buttons.

I suppose, in a dark garage, if a child was in the washer, hiding, and you threw in a blanket and soap pod, hit power and start, you could cover a child, not noticing he was in there....a lot of variables there. Not out of scope, but personally, I don't see it.

 

[tlcya]

I also just want to note that reports that the family had CPS involvement may not have any relevance - CPS is involved in placing foster children and processing foster parent trainings. There is a difference between CPS having a history with a foster family and CPS having reports or investigations related to abuse/neglect.

Yes, I wondered that. CPS is always "involved" with foster parents but not necessarily in a negative way that would indicate they were involved as investigating allegations. Could just be slant, could indicate a history of concerns. More info will be needed on that to decide what, if anything, "involvement" means.

I doubt we will wait too long before LE gives us an indication if they suspect foul paly and from what direction.

 

[CharlestonGal]

I'm trying to make sense of this part:

"Investigators discovered Koehler dead and fully clothed in a top-load washing machine in the garage around 7:20 a.m. on Thursday."

That indicates to me the child was not dressed for bed. If he were in pajamas would it not be described that way? ie, discovered dead dressed in pajamas? If the child was found fully clothed in regular clothes does that mean no one put him to bed?

Missing 7-year-old Texas child found dead inside washing machine

The parents were detained for further interrogation.

www.mysanantonio.com

 

[RememberingRyan]

I'm trying to make sense of this part:

"Investigators discovered Koehler dead and fully clothed in a top-load washing machine in the garage around 7:20 a.m. on Thursday."

That indicates to me the child was not dressed for bed. If he were in pajamas would it not be described that way? ie, discovered dead dressed in pajamas? If the child was found fully clothed in regular clothes does that mean no one put him to bed?

Missing 7-year-old Texas child found dead inside washing machine

The parents were detained for further interrogation.

www.mysanantonio.com

I don't think it means he had to have been wearing daytime clothes as opposed to pajamas (not that all kids wear pajamas anyway - I know plenty of people who's kids fall asleep in whatever they wore that day pretty often) - it means he wasn't nude. A deceased person being found unclothed can be considered an indication of sexual abuse or neglect and is often noted for those reasons, imo.

 

[tlcya]

Jermaine Thomas was seen moments after he was dropped off by a Harris County Pct. 4 Constable deputy after he was questioned. He told KPRC 2′s, Brandon Walker, that he came home after work looking for his wife and found the door was already unlocked.

“Since that…. I came home…just like I’m about to walk in the door right now,” he said. “I don’t have my keys, but I put my key in the door and the door opened. Anything else after that I don’t know.”

I haven't seen the BBM portion before now. Where is Mr. Thomas employed, what are his hours, etc. Because in the video clips I have seen of Jermaine speaking to KPRC he made no mention of coming home "from work" just that he came home and went to put his key in the lock only to find the door was already unlocked.

I am interested to know if Mr. Thomas indeed told reporters he was returning to the home from work and expected to find his wife there. Because other reports claim she worked an overnight shift at the hospital and that when she arrived home in the early morning hours she discovered Troy missing and that she was still in her work uniform when officers arrived.

Timeline is messy, too much unknown at this point that should be easy to answer.

Was JT at work? If so Where? What are his hours?
What are mom's hours? What time did she arrive home?
Who was home with Troy if anyone prior to JT's arrival at quarter to midnight?
Who else resides in this home if anyone?
When was the last time someone saw Troy alive aside from his parents?
Why do we not have these answer after this long - this happened on Thursday of last week. I am surprised we haven't had some journalist digging all this up already.

 

[RememberingRyan]

“Since that…. I came home…just like I’m about to walk in the door right now,” he said. “I don’t have my keys, but I put my key in the door and the door opened. Anything else after that I don’t know.”


As to the bolded above, what does that mean? He 'didnt have his key' but he put his 'key in the door...'

That quote was from a video interview. What I personally *think* he's saying is "I don't have my key with me right now so I can't show you (to the person interviewing him) right now - but last night when I got home I put my key in the door (like I normally would) and it opened. I can't tell you what happened after that because I'm not sure (maybe because he hadn't actually realized the door was already unlocked because he didn't check before he put his key in and so he didn't check on the child and isn't sure what happened after he went to bed himself)". I don't think he meant he didn't have his key when he unlocked it. That would not make sense so we have to take the liberty of presuming that it's just poorly worded and draw conclusions according to what would make sense.

 

[FrankieT]

“Since that…. I came home…just like I’m about to walk in the door right now,” he said. “I don’t have my keys, but I put my key in the door and the door opened. Anything else after that I don’t know.”


As to the bolded above, what does that mean? He 'didnt have his key' but he put his 'key in the door...'

When you watch the interview it makes sense, he was acting out like he was putting the keys in the door, but he didn't have his keys in his hand as he was talking. It confused me too until I watched it.

 

[katydid23]

That quote was from a video interview. What I personally *think* he's saying is "I don't have my key with me right now so I can't show you (to the person interviewing him) right now - but last night when I got home I put my key in the door (like I normally would) and it opened. I can't tell you what happened after that because I'm not sure (maybe because he hadn't actually realized the door was already unlocked because he didn't check before he put his key in and so he didn't check on the child and isn't sure what happened after he went to bed himself)". I don't think he meant he didn't have his key when he unlocked it. That would not make sense so we have to take the liberty of presuming that it's just poorly worded and draw conclusions according to what would make sense.

Thank you, I was looking only at the quote, not remembering it was a video of a demonstration.

But I guess my 2 biggest questions are why was a 7 yr old all alone so late at night...

And why didn't Dad check his room at midnight?

 

[CharlestonGal]

I don't think it means he had to have been wearing daytime clothes as opposed to pajamas (not that all kids wear pajamas anyway - I know plenty of people who's kids fall asleep in whatever they wore that day pretty often) - it means he wasn't nude. A deceased person being found unclothed can be considered an indication of sexual abuse or neglect and is often noted for those reasons, imo.

I just found the initial LE tweet when the child went missing. He was last seen wearing "a blue shirt & pants". So I suppose he was dressed when his parents last saw him. I do concede it's possible his parents never dressed him for bed and let him do whatever.

I guess I need more information about the usual household habits. If he usually went to bed in a shirt and pants it wouldn't mean much. If he usually was dressed for bed but found dead in his day clothes it could mean a lot. It could mean something happened before his usual bedtime. IMO

https://twitter.com/x/status/1552616805813846017

 

[Springrain]

I don't find the tweet specific enough to know if it was his normal daytime blue shirt and pants or blue shirt and pants PJs. JMO. This is relevant info so I hope it is clarified.

 

[FlossyMay]

If the door was unlocked and he used a key, wouldn't it lock the door?

 

[bombardier]

If the door was unlocked and he used a key, wouldn't it lock the door?

When my door's already unlocked and I turn the key left (as if to unlock), the key turns but it does not re-lock. I believe most doors will only lock if you turn the key a certain direction.

 

[DeDee]

Troy's father, Jermaine Thomas, told KHOU-TV that he noticed his front door was unlocked shortly after midnight on Thursday morning.

"I came home, I was fixin' to walk in the door," he told the station. "I put my keys to the door handle and then it just opened," he said. "Anything else after that, I don't know."

The Sheriff's Office says that they are continuing to investigate the case, and that they haven't ruled out any scenarios that resulted in Troy's death. Authorities refused to comment on whether they're investigating a possible home invasion.

Unanswered Questions Surround the Death of 7-Year-Old Texas Boy Found Dead in Family's Washing Machine

 

[vls12345]

Troy's father, Jermaine Thomas, told KHOU-TV that he noticed his front door was unlocked shortly after midnight on Thursday morning.

"I came home, I was fixin' to walk in the door," he told the station. "I put my keys to the door handle and then it just opened," he said. "Anything else after that, I don't know."

The Sheriff's Office says that they are continuing to investigate the case, and that they haven't ruled out any scenarios that resulted in Troy's death. Authorities refused to comment on whether they're investigating a possible home invasion.

Unanswered Questions Surround the Death of 7-Year-Old Texas Boy Found Dead in Family's Washing Machine

Thanks for this article. It covers a lot of the questions that have been asked here on WS.

 

[Allabouttrial]

When my door's already unlocked and I turn the key left (as if to unlock), the key turns but it does not re-lock. I believe most doors will only lock if you turn the key a certain direction.

Totally irrelevant but just curious. Your door unlocks if you turn your key counter-clockwise?

ETA: Changed from anti to counter-clockwise .

 

[vls12345]

Totally irrelevant but just curious. Your door unlocks if you turn your key anti-clockwise?

It might be tied to which side of the door (left or right) has the doorknob. If the right, turn clockwise to lock. If the left, turn counter-clockwise to lock. This is assuming that a bolt of some sort goes into the door frame as the keyhole is turned.

MOO.