AUSTIN, Texas — A man suspected of killing multiple people over the course of more than 40 years was arrested by the Austin Police Department, and they're calling him a "serial killer." Raul Meza Jr., 62, confessed to the fatal stabbing of his 80-year-old roommate in Pflugerville and was later connected to the death of other locals.
Three days after investigators found Jesse Fraga dead at his Camp Fire Trail home on May 20, 2023, they began their search for his roommate, Meza, as a person of interest. It was May 24 when Meza phoned APD, implicating himself in the killing of Fraga and further detailing how he did it. Police learned Meza left the scene of the homicide with Fraga’s car.
According to police, Meza made another admission of guilt days later, saying he killed a woman several years back. Police discovered the 2019 strangulation murder of 66-year-old Gloria Lofton was what Meza described to them as it was the “one case that met the parameters.” Later, DNA tied Meza to Lofton’s death.
The U.S. Marshals Service Lone Star Fugitive Task Force narrowed in on Meza’s whereabouts as they gathered he’d be at hotels along I-35. Five days after his murder confessions, Meza was arrested on May 29 on North Lamar Boulevard near Parmer Lane in Austin.
Police said Meza’s violent criminal history goes far back. In 1975, he wounded a man during an armed robbery. Nearly a decade later, in 1982, he raped and murdered 8-year-old Kendra Page, whose body was left in a dumpster outside Langford Elementary School. Meza was sentenced to 30 years in prison as part of a plea deal, but he only served 11 years for “good behavior.”
Meza’s early release came as a shock to then-Austin Assistant Police Chief Bruce Mills, who’s now the interim assistant city manager. Many believed Meza deserved a life sentence for what he did, so for him to just serve 11 years was “unprecedented," according to Mills. Mills said he remembers the case like it was yesterday, referring to it as a “travesty of justice” in Tuesday’s press conference.
In 1994, after Meza violated his parole, he was arrested. And for the next two decades, he stayed in and out of prison and on and off parole.
“We don’t know how many more people he killed or would’ve killed… Somebody made a bad decision 40, 41 years ago and let this guy, for whatever reason, manipulate the system and justice was not served,” Mills stated.
Investigators are going as far back as 1996 and earlier to uncover any other potential murders. “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,” explained Det. Katy Conner with APD.
According to APD’s Det. Patrick Reed, when Meza was captured, he had a bag with him that held very suspicious items. It contained duct tape, zip ties, a firearm and additional rounds of ammunition — which led police to assume that Meza was likely planning to kill again.
Meza verified police’s belief when he told them he was “prepared to kill again and looking forward to it,” Reed shared.
Police said Meza is facing four charges, including capital murder and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He’s now behind bars at the Travis County Jail. Officials are pleased they have taken him off the streets, but they wish it could have happened sooner.
Watch the full APD press conference below: