Overview

• Jermaine Thomas received a 50-year prison term on July 30, 2025, for the murder of his seven-year-old adoptive son, Troy Koehler.
• The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences ruled Troy’s death a homicide after an autopsy revealed both fresh and healed injuries consistent with ongoing abuse.
• The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services confirmed that Child Protective Services had previously intervened with the family before the boy’s death.
• Tiffany Thomas has been charged with injury to a child by omission and is pursuing community supervision.
• Troy’s former first-grade teacher delivered an emotional victim impact statement and community advocates announced plans for a foundation to aid abused and neglected children.