Meechaiel Criner Indicted on Capital Murder Charges

AUSTIN -- Meechaiel Criner, the 17-year-old suspect in the murder of Haruka Weiser – the University of Texas at Austin student found murdered in April – was indicted Friday on capital murder charges.

Texas Penal Code’s Definition of Capital Murder:

Sec. 19.03. CAPITAL MURDER. (a) A person commits an offense if the person commits murder as defined under Section 19.02(b)(1) and:

(1) the person murders a peace officer or fireman who is acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty and who the person knows is a peace officer or fireman;

(2) the person intentionally commits the murder in the course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary, robbery, aggravated sexual assault, arson, obstruction or retaliation, or terroristic threat under Section 22.07(a)(1), (3), (4), (5), or (6);

(3) the person commits the murder for remuneration or the promise of remuneration or employs another to commit the murder for remuneration or the promise of remuneration;

(4) the person commits the murder while escaping or attempting to escape from a penal institution;

(5) the person, while incarcerated in a penal institution, murders another:

(A) who is employed in the operation of the penal institution; or

(B) with the intent to establish, maintain, or participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination;

(6) the person:

(A) while incarcerated for an offense under this section or Section 19.02, murders another; or

(B) while serving a sentence of life imprisonment or a term of 99 years for an offense under Section 20.04, 22.021, or 29.03, murders another;

(7) the person murders more than one person:

(A) during the same criminal transaction; or

(B) during different criminal transactions but the murders are committed pursuant to the same scheme or course of conduct;

(8) the person murders an individual under 10 years of age; or

(9) the person murders another person in retaliation for or on account of the service or status of the other person as a judge or justice of the supreme court, the court of criminal appeals, a court of appeals, a district court, a criminal district court, a constitutional county court, a statutory county court, a justice court, or a municipal court.

(b) An offense under this section is a capital felony.

(c) If the jury or, when authorized by law, the judge does not find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of an offense under this section, he may be convicted of murder or of any other lesser included offense.

Timeline of Haruka Weiser’s Murder:

Officials found Weiser’s body on April 5th on the UT campus near Waller Creek by the Alumni Center. Weiser’s roommates reported Haruka missing after not returning from dance rehearsal.

Criner’s arrest came less than 24 hours after police asked for help from the public on April 8th. Criner was booked at the Travis County Jail, with a bond set at $1 million.

At a briefing, Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said the homeless teen had Haruka's duffel bag with him when he was taken into custody at LifeWorks -- transitional apartment-based living for the homeless -- and may have tried burning her belongings earlier that week.

Haruka Weiser: Dedicated Student with Passion for Dance

Haruka, originally from Portland Oregon, was described as a dedicated dancer and UT “immediately began recruiting her to come to UT from her home in Portland,” according to a statement released in April, after first seeing Weiser perform at the National High School Dance Festival.

-- Statement From UT Austin President Gregory L. Fenves: --

"As our campus continues to mourn the loss of Haruka Weiser, I deeply appreciate the tireless work of law enforcement and the district attorney's office to investigate and prosecute this crime. University police continue to coordinate closely with Austin police and the Travis County district attorney on this case."