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

[Tbone144]

Who installs a washing machine in their garage? Isn't that unusual?

I'm so sorry, little guy. RIP Troy

I don't think the family was using this washing machine. Perhaps it's a broken washing machine left in the garage bc city dump fees may be costly so it's just sitting there. Temporarily. Maybe. When did the mother arrive home? The dad came home to an unlocked door at midnight and reports him missing at 5:20am.

The timeline that has my heading spinning is this Thursday thing:

The parents reported Koehler missing to Harris County law enforcement around 5:20 a.m. Thursday. Dad had arrived home at midnight. Some time the mother came home from work.
Troy was discovered inside the washing machine the next day, Thursday, at 7:20am.

Pretty common in Houston in my experience, especially in smaller homes. We rented a condo for brief period and washer and dryer were in garage. Had to back car out to get front load doors open. Currently stepson and wife are renting house that has washer and dryer in garage as well. I guess easier to add out there and if something goes sideways it floods garage.

 

[katydid23]

We have a garage that is attached to the side of our house and the laundry room is in the back corner of the garage. There is still room for the cars if we need to pull them in but we rarely do because we have large driveway area.

It is hard for me to believe a 7 yr old would crawl into a top loading washer unless they were desperately hiding from something or someone.

The timeline makes no sense. Hinky meter on red alert....

 

[Springrain]

Yeah, I'm not going to immediately start pointing fingers but my hinky meter is going off, too. I'm suspicious.

 

[dulcinea]

Who installs a washing machine in their garage? Isn't that unusual?

I'm so sorry, little guy. RIP Troy

I don't think the family was using this washing machine. Perhaps it's a broken washing machine left in the garage bc city dump fees may be costly so it's just sitting there. Temporarily. Maybe. When did the mother arrive home? The dad came home to an unlocked door at midnight and reports him missing at 5:20am.

The timeline that has my heading spinning is this Thursday thing:

The parents reported Koehler missing to Harris County law enforcement around 5:20 a.m. Thursday. Dad had arrived home at midnight. Some time the mother came home from work.
Troy was discovered inside the washing machine the next day, Thursday, at 7:20am.

I cannot speak for Texas, but in the area of So Cal I live in, many people have their washer and dryer in the garage, even if they have a nice big house.

 

[Dpdan]

Is it the type of home where there is an internal door into the garage? I wonder if that would usually be locked.

I don't understand the timeline at all.

 

[Kudzuu]

The only thing I can figure is Dad got home at midnight, noticed the door was unlocked but didn't look for the boy just assumed he was in bed. Then mom gets home and they find him missing. I know, who leaves a 7 year old alone. MOO.

 

[MimosaMornings]

I’m have a hard time understanding the timeline and circumstances of his disappearance.
JMO

 

[mickey2942]

Another adopted child, dead.

 

[DeDee]

FEB 2021 it was brutally, record breaking cold temperatures in TX. My daughter's family's flight to DEN was grounded at DFW. Although their luggage arrived in DEN just fine, they did not. They were stuck in a Dallas hotel by the airport for a week of the coldest winter in years with no where to go and no food in sight. Everything was closed, including the interstates.

Texans were told in OCT 2021

Cold weather can cause parts to crack and products to break down. For example, the water in a washing machine that’s kept in a garage may freeze, meaning the washer won’t function properly. If you have any concerns about the performance of your washing machine or other white goods, arrange for them to be looked at and repaired by a local tradesperson before using them again.

Texas Homeowners Should Prepare Their Properties For Winter Now

This little guy's home is about 30 miles N of Houston so they may experience mild winters.

Further research indicates many homes built in TX in the 60's & 70's, and at other times, utilized the garage for the washing machine. If washing machine pipes and rubber hoses installed in the garage freeze, then the water pump in the washing machine freezes, too.

I found images on Pinterest of adorable garage spaces featuring a laundry area although I had never heard of a washing machine being placed inside of a garage before this very case.

Bless you, Troy. I wonder if some type of dangerous positional asphyxia is involved... Like the teenager that got stuck in the family van when reaching for something in the back of it. Was the w/m lid open and he maybe slipped halfway in and got stuck then slipped some more and fell inside?

The time claimed for him to be missing is during the wee morning hours. What was he doing in the garage and near the washing machine at that time?

 

[TGIRecovered]

When I hear of a young child hiding inside of a washing machine in the middle of the night I don’t think of a mischievous type child who is playing around. I think of a poor kid who is scared to death to be inside the house.
In Texas, highs this time of year are 90’s-100’s and the low temp is in the 80s. That garage would be hot and hiding in a washing machine would be even hotter. MOO

 

[Springrain]

I don't think the washer and dryer being in a garage is weird or uncommon. But the fact that a kid would hide (whether playing or not), or somehow be placed into a washing machine in a garage in a very, very hot climate in summer is more questionable than if the washer was inside the house (which would, of course, still be very questionable). I teach kids Troy's age, I'm very familiar with kids in that age range - while I think a lot of kids in that age range could fit into a larger washing machine, I don't think most of them would do that without a reason (ex: hiding in fear). A washing machine is absolutely not a comfortable place to hide (for fun) or play. I mean, it's a washing machine!

I feel he was possibly hiding in the washing machine from something/someone in the house who was scaring him, and then sadly died in a tragic accident. It is also very possible he was murdered and then dumped in the washing machine. I truly don't know how I feel for sure because there are lots of questions and unknown variables in this case. Either way, IMO, it was likely very avoidable and caused by negligence at some level. Horrible, awful tragedy either way - seeing sweet little Troy's face in his pictures makes me so sad for what happened to him.

I am awaiting autopsy results before I make up my mind about this one.

 

[tamsidea]

Not unusual at all. Another reason for having washer & dryer in the garage is that most homes here in Texas don't have basements. My Mom's old house was built in the early 80's and still didn't have a laundry room in the house.

 

[txsleuth70]

Mom was away. And Dad says he was coming home in the wee hours...who was this kiddo with? Home alone? First crime. Going into the washer feet first since it was an older top loader with a center thing would be next to impossible even for a toddler to fit. Was the lid closed? I smell a rat.

 

[txsleuth70]

This whole case is weird. It sounds like he was home alone, dad arrived at midnight and didn’t check on him, mom arrived later. Why would he be hiding if he was home alone? Unless he heard a noise or saw something that scared him. The other option is dad is lying, and something awful happened to him while he was home and mom was at work.

Another thing that is really bugging me, how is a kid able to be adopted by a family with a CPS history? Aren’t CPS issues why he was removed in the first place? Now he’s gone? I’m heartbroken for his family.

It sound like the CPS involvement was AFTER he was adopted. Should have been removed immediately in that case IMO.

 

[Trebor5591]

I don't think the washer and dryer being in a garage is weird or uncommon. But the fact that a kid would hide (whether playing or not), or somehow be placed into a washing machine in a garage in a very, very hot climate in summer is more questionable than if the washer was inside the house (which would, of course, still be very questionable). I teach kids Troy's age, I'm very familiar with kids in that age range - while I think a lot of kids in that age range could fit into a larger washing machine, I don't think most of them would do that without a reason (ex: hiding in fear). A washing machine is absolutely not a comfortable place to hide (for fun) or play. I mean, it's a washing machine!

I feel he was possibly hiding in the washing machine from something/someone in the house who was scaring him, and then sadly died in a tragic accident. It is also very possible he was murdered and then dumped in the washing machine. I truly don't know how I feel for sure because there are lots of questions and unknown variables in this case. Either way, IMO, it was likely very avoidable and caused by negligence at some level. Horrible, awful tragedy either way - seeing sweet little Troy's face in his pictures makes me so sad for what happened to him.

I am awaiting autopsy results before I make up my mind about this one.

My first feeling on this is that it was an accident. But I too will await the autopsy report. And when exactly can the autopsy report be expected in this case?

 

[Springrain]

My first feeling on this is that it was an accident. But I too will await the autopsy report. And when exactly can the autopsy report be expected in this case?

Based off Lt. Minchew's comments in the OP, I worry that we're a while out from seeing the autopsy results... I hope it's able to get done quicker.

 

[mickey2942]

I’m have a hard time understanding the timeline and circumstances of his disappearance.
JMO

1. Troy adopted into home, he was foster child in 2019.
2. Mom working night shift at hospital, Wednesday night.
3. Dad comes home around midnight on Wednesday night/Thursday morning.
4. Report Troy missing at 5:20 am
5. LEO searches neighborhood,
6. Troy found by deputies at 7:00 am ish on Thursday morning, in top loading washing machine located at garage of family.
7. LEO takes parents to Police Station for questions.

Questions,
1. What time did Mom get to work on Wednesday night?
2. Where was Dad on Wednesday night?
3. Who was watching Troy when Mom went to work?
4. Dad came home at midnight, Wednesday/Thursday. Was there anyone else home?
5. What time did Mom get home from work? What time did she leave work?
6. Why didn't Dad report Troy missing if he couldn't find him or see him when he got home at 12:00 am?
7. Why did deputies search the neighborhood before searching the house and garage?

Note: I have a new Samsung top loader without an agitator. There is plenty of room for a child in there. The locking mechanism is engaged once the washer is turned on. In my experience, I don't see how a washer would turn on accidentally, lock and start filling. It takes a sequence of pressing two buttons, "Power" and "Start".

 

[Knox]

I haven't read all the news stories yet. But I'm having difficulty wrapping my head around the mechanics of a a seven year old child dying in a washer. It had to have been a unit without an agitator, he wouldn't fit otherwise.

But if he crawled in by himself. Why wouldn't he be able to get out? If the washer wasn't started the lid wouldn't lock right? Would he have started it then climbed in while it was filling and closed the lid? That doesn't sound likely, that would be scary to a seven year old?

This one is def a case where the forensics will hopefully tell the story. Poor child what an horric way to die.

 

[Shamrock1]

Some newer washers are “smart” - you can schedule a load or start a load remotely from your phone.

 

[aimeea]

I really want to believe this was accidental because the other outcome is just so heinous. If he did get in on his own, and it was late at night, he could have possibly fallen asleep inside, the lid dropped, and he asphyxiated without the machine ever turning on.

Although it seems like a LOT of effort for a sleepy little kid his age to wander out of bed, go out to the garage (even one that's attached to the house), possibly open the lid of the washer, climb on top of it, and drop himself in just for the heck of it. But I look at my own kid, who's 5, and I've seen him wake up in the middle of the night over something silly like "there's a bug in my room!" to being passed back out within moments, not to mention finding him asleep in really odd places like the bathtub, in a closet, or under the bed. Kids do some pretty weird things.