Accused Austin 'serial killer' trial: Defense proposes plea deal for Raul Meza
AUSTIN, Texas - The defense attorney for accused ‘serial killer’ Raul Meza, Jr. is proposing a plea deal for the murders of Gloria Lofton in 2019 and Jesse Fraga in 2023.
The deal would be for a 50-year sentence for each murder, or 100 years total.
Meza was indicted by a grand jury in August 2023 on charges of capital murder, murder and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
According to the indictment documents, the grand jury ruled that Meza strangled Lofton on May 9, 2019, while attempting to commit aggravated sexual assault.
The grand jury also ruled that Meza stabbed and strangled Fraga on May 20, 2023. They also ruled he drove Fraga's car that same day without consent.
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Last year, Meza allegedly confessed to Lofton and Fraga's murders over the phone to Austin police. Meza was arrested in north Austin on May 29, five days later.
Meza was previously convicted of murder over 40 years ago for the rape and death of 8-year-old Kendra Page in south Austin. As a part of a plea deal, Meza was sentenced to 30 years in prison, but was released on parole in 1993 after serving 11 years.
He was arrested on a parole violation in 1994, and spent the next 20 years in and out of prison.
"If my mom's case had been handled correctly, Mr. Fraga would have been here. If Kendra's case had been handled correctly, my mom would have still been here," Lofton's daughter Sonia Houston said.
Family members of Lofton, Fraga and Page are frustrated with how the investigations have been handled since the beginning.
"They brought him in, and it kept me from not wanting to go up there and just choke on myself because of what he did to all these people and all these families that have to go through this," Page's sister Tracy Page said. "And it's so aggravating, and we need to find out who keeps dropping the ball. It's just too much for us."
Police described Meza as a "serial killer" upon his arrest in May.
This comes as Meza is being investigated for a possible connection to cold cases in Austin and San Antonio.
APD Chief Robin Henderson made a statement about APD's handling of DNA in the Raul Meza case:
"The Austin Police Department is deeply sorry about the oversight related to the DNA Lab Report in the Raul Meza case. We realize the impacts this has on the case itself, community and most importantly the victims and their families. As soon as the error was brought to our attention, we addressed it as quickly as we could to identify how it happened and implemented policies to avoid incidents like this from reoccurring. Since this occurrence, the Austin Police Department has added redundancies into the notification process to ensure this does not happen again.
"State law prohibits the Chief from formally disciplining any officers for acts that occur more than 180 days prior to the time that discipline could be issued. Due to this reason, the officer did not receive formal discipline.
"We realize an apology can not take back the oversight that took place, but our department has committed to putting in place practices that provide accountability and rebuilding of trust with our community."