Michigan Father Sentenced To Jail For 16-Year-Old Autistic Son's Drowning

A Michigan father was sentenced to jail on Monday for the drowning of his 16-year-old nonverbal autistic son.

Timothy Koets, a 51-year-old former Grand Rapids Community College assistant professor, has been sentenced to a minimum of two years and a maximum of 15 years in prison. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter after his son Samuel Koets drowned to death in their backyard pool on March 28, 2019.

On the day of the incident, Koets placed Samuel on the back deck of the house with restraints on his arms before leaving for work, reported local news outlet MLive.

Michelle Koets, the boy's mother, was asleep at that time. Samuel reached the ground pool in the backyard which was filled with icy water. Although the pool was covered, Samuel managed to get inside of it.

Koets' 18-year-old daughter later came home and found Samuel inside the pool. She saw him with restraints and yelled for help from her parents but did not get any response. She then left the home.

The investigators found out that Koets had texted his 13-year-old daughter to check on the "freak," referring to Samuel. She texted him a photo of Samuel inside the pool in response, according to court records.

The father then instructed his daughter to yell at Samuel to come back. When she later sent him a photo of Samuel in chest-deep water, he asked her to call her mother. Samuel ended up collapsing and drowning in the freezing water.

The prosecutors told the court that the teen, who reportedly functioned at the level of a 13- to 17-month-old child, was frequently left unattended. Prior to the incident, the law enforcement officials had already responded to the home at least 15 times on reports of Samuel escaping or being left unattended.

The police found that the couple continued to refill their son's prescription medicine even after his death. Koets' wife Michelle was sentenced to 21 days in jail on June 11, 2019, on a misdemeanor charge of obtaining a controlled substance by false representation.

Koets pleaded guilty in December to a single count each of involuntary manslaughter, fourth-degree child abuse and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud.

"Sam had value and the sanction will not restore Sam, but it will recognize that all humans have value and because of the neglect that you committed, a valuable human has lost his life," Judge Jon Hulsing said during the sentencing.