Raul Meza Jr., a Texas man, has been arrested for two murders and is suspected of being a serial killer.
The Austin Police Department received a phone call from Meza on May 24, during which he confessed to killing his 80-year-old roommate, Jesse Fraga. Meza also implicated himself in the unsolved 2019 strangulation killing of 66-year-old Gloria Lofton in Austin.
Police say that DNA from the crime scene matches Meza's. Meza reportedly knew details about both murders that police had not disclosed. Following a five-day manhunt, Meza was arrested on Tuesday. Police found a backpack containing zip ties, a flashlight, duct tape, and a .22 caliber pistol with extra rounds in his possession. Meza was charged with capital murder and is being held on $1 million bond, according to court records.
The Austin Police Department is investigating whether Meza could have been involved in several other homicides in 1996. "Right now, we have between eight and 10 cases that kind of fit the similar circumstances that we're looking at, but that could obviously grow," said Austin Police DetKaty Conner at a press conference.
Meza pleaded guilty to the sexual assault and strangulation slaying of an 8-year-old girl in the 1980s. In 1982, Meza pleaded guilty to raping and murdering Kendra Page. The girl's body was discovered behind an Austin elementary school. At the time of the girl's murder, Meza was on parole for robbing a convenience store and shooting a man, leaving him with permanent injuries, according to police. Meza was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his crimes. However, Meza was released after only serving 11 years.
After being released on parole for the girl's killing, Meza moved to several Texas cities, but residents protested his presence. He was forced to move from El Paso, San Antonio, Wichita Falls, Mineral Wells, and Sweetwater. After moving to rural Uvalde County, west of San Antonio, to live with his grandparents, he was jailed again after his family said he had verbally abused them.
Meza held a news conference after being boycotted to proclaim that he had changed his violent ways. "There's nothing I can do to change my past," Meza told reporters. "I can only tell you that in my heart, I know that I will not willfully bring harm to anyone again."
Bruce Mills, who investigated Page's murder in 1982 and is now Austin's interim assistant city manager, recalled the horrific case. "I remember it like it was yesterday," Mills said of the 1982 murder investigation.
"We were shocked, disappointed with no real explanation as to why this case didn't go to trial. We never got solid answers to that." Mills said of Meza, "Here's a serial killer that justice was not served. It was a travesty of justice." He added, "Commits capital murder, pleads to murder, is released 11 years later, and has killed how many people? We don't know."
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