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Raul Meza, suspected Austin serial killer, to spend the rest of his life in prison

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Published  September 30, 2024 4:14pm CDT
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 7 Austin

Raul Meza pleads guilty to capital murder

Austin suspected serial killer Raul Meza Jr. will spend the rest of his life in prison after accepting a plea deal.

AUSTIN, Texas - A serial killer is set to spend the rest of his life behind bars after pleading guilty to capital murder on Monday afternoon in Travis County Court. Raul Meza Jr. told the court he is responsible for the deaths of Gloria Lofton in 2019 and Jesse Fraga in 2023.

It was an emotional day for the families of Meza’s victims as the man who took their loved ones away from them said out loud in court that he killed them.

Pen to paper, the deal is done.

Almost a year and half after Meza confessed over the phone, he told the court he killed Fraga and Lofton, too.

Raul Meza plea deal

Raul Meza Jr. is scheduled to accept a plea deal in court on Monday, but the victim’s family is against it, saying they want the case to go to trial.

When Judge Kocurek asked Meza if he was sorry, he said, "Sorry is too late. What’s the point in saying sorry if the person is not going to accept it. I’m already admitting my guilt."

"It's obvious he didn't care and that's fine, that's fine with us, but we're not the ones behind bars for the rest of our lives," Gloria Lofton’s daughter, Christina Fultz, said.

On Monday afternoon, Meza pleaded guilty to capital murder and murder for the death of Lofton, who was found strangled in her bedroom in East Austin in 2019, and for the death of the man Meza was living with at the time, Fraga, who was found stabbed in his closet in Pflugerville last year.

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Meza’s rap sheet dates back to 1975 when he shot and wounded a man in a robbery. Then, in 1982, he raped and murdered 8-year-old Kendra Page. As part of a plea deal, Meza was sentenced to 30 years in prison, but was released after serving just 11 years.

"Somebody made a bad decision 40, 41 years ago and let this guy, for whatever reason, manipulate the system and justice was not served," Austin Police Department former Sgt. Bruce Mills said.

Meza told the court he was a gang member and requested to be placed in a more secure place because his life had been threatened in the past. The judge said she would note it, but would not order protective custody for him.

Family members of Raul Meza's victims demand trial

Family members of suspected serial killer Raul Meza’s victims are demanding the Travis County District Attorney take the case to trial.

"He wants to be protected. Protect him for what? We weren't safe for 50 years while he was out doing his crimes. I still don't feel safe and for him to request protection is outlandish," Gloria Lofton’s daughter, Sonia Houston said.

Meza is not going to get out of prison this time. He has received two life sentences. One of the life sentences doesn’t have the possibility of parole, meaning Meza will die in prison.

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"Just the whole idea of him being able to eat three meals a day and breathe air, when our loved ones are 6 feet under, and the pain and suffering he put every one of our family members through, it wasn't just murder, it was torture for each victim, he deserves nothing," Kendra Page’s brother, Kevin Page, said.

Lofton’s daughters said their case isn’t over. They said they still want to find out more information as to how their mother was killed and how it was investigated.