AUSTIN, Texas – Jury deliberations resumed Friday morning in the murder trial of University of Texas student Haruka Weiser.
The suspect, Meechaiel Criner, testified in his own defense Wednesday. His attorneys wanted the jury to hear about Criner's struggles, directly from him.
State prosecutors said bad luck is not to blame here as Criner told the jury “It doesn’t look good for me...I just came here to tell my story."
Defense attorney Ariel Payan commented on Criner addressing the jury: “You turn to them and say, ‘Doesn’t look so good for me.' How stupid do you have to be to say that?"
On April 3, 2016, a surveillance camera captured a man on a red bike following someone wearing all black along Waller Creek.
“He was watching, following girls, he saw that path as something much different. It was dark and isolated,” said state prosecutor Victoria Winkeler.
Prosecutors said the suspect’s clothes and Weiser’s property were found in places Criner was staying. They think the black glasses and orange bandana collected look just like the ones in a picture of the defendant.
“That bandana just happens to be next to the same jacket that the killer had on. It just happens to be next to the young girl's clothes,” said Gonzalez.
However, the defense said the evidence is circumstantial. They claim the glasses don't match Criner's. Additionally, all of the evidence around the crime scene wasn't tested.
Defense attorneys also reminded the jury that there was no blood on Criner’s clothes and nobody definitively identified him as the man in that video.
Whether the state has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Criner killed Weiser, the jury will decide. If Criner is convicted of capital murder, he faces a life sentence since he was 17 at the time of the slaying.
CONTINUING COVERAGE:
Criner takes the stand, says he did not kill Haruka Weiser
DNA evidence tossed out in slaying of UT student Haruka Weiser
Jury selection begins for slaying of UT student
Trial begins for slaying of UT student
Day 1 for trial of man accused of slaying UT student
Day 2: Witnesses testify about evidence surrounding UT student slaying