After more than 3 months in custody in Nebraska, a Texas teen is back in his home state to face charges of killing his mother.
Records from the Harris County jail in Houston shows 18-year-old Tyler Roenz was booked into one of its facilities last Wednesday, not long after Nebraska authorities finally received an extradition warrant from Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
Texas authorities say his mother, Michelle Roenz, died from strangulation and blunt force trauma. Her body was found in the back of an SUV he crashed in Nebraska trying to evade authorities in October.
Tyler Roenz is charged with murder, unauthorized use of a vehicle, tampering with evidence-human corpse and attempted sexual assault.
Roenz’s father reported in October that his son and wife were both missing. A forensic investigation of the family home in the Houston area indicated Michelle Roenz had been killed there.
The Nebraska State Patrol was notified the teenager might be in Nebraska and troopers a short time later spotted the Texas vehicle on Interstate 80 near Wood River.
When they attempted to stop it, the driver – who turned out to be Roenz – took off instead. He eventually crashed near Alda and troopers found his mother’s body in the trunk.