Texas investigators believe a convicted serial killer, who is serving a life sentence, could be potentially connected to more unsolved cases in Austin.
Raúl Meza Jr., was convicted of killing Jesse Fraga and Gloria Lofton in September 2024.
In March 2023, Meza called the Austin Police Department and turned himself in, Fox 7 Austin first reported.
“This time was a little different than any other time I’ve answered the phone. The caller said, ‘My name is Raul Meza and I think they’re looking for me,’” Austin Police Homicide Unit Detective Patrick Reed described to Fox 7.
During the 14-minute call, Detective Reed said Meza revealed a lot of information before hanging up the phone.
“He was giving dates and places, so we were trying to corroborate the dates, places and names that he would provide and try to narrow down the chronology,” Detective Reed said.
During the call, Meza also admitted to Reed that he killed the man he lived with in Pflugerville, Jesse Fraga. He went on to say that he also killed a woman who lived on Sara Drive in 2019.
Investigators then put together a case for the murder of Gloria Lofton and Jesse Fraga. An arrest warrant was issued for Meza and police located him at a bus stop in north Austin, where he was taken for questioning. Detective Reed described the conversation to Fox 7 as “unique.”
“Someone like Mr. Meza has been incarcerated, he’s been through the system quite a bit, he’s been interviewed by the police probably countless times, more than most, so he’s very in tune with the situation he was in, so that he was not taken by surprise or apparently concerned in any way,” Detective Reed said.
Meza had previously been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of 8-year-old Kendra Page in 1982, but was released on parole after serving only 11 years of the sentence.
Last month, Meza pleaded guilty to the murders of Lofton and Fraga and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.Fox 7 reported.
“I think that phrase highlights the work that was done as much as it can highlight what it means to the community for someone like him to be incarcerated for life without parole,” Detective Reed said.
However, Detective Reed told Fox 7 the job was far from over.
“We are still working to corroborate some of the things he said in the phone call,” Detective Reed said.
The detective indicated that so far, Meza has been eliminated from any connection with eight unsolved cases in Austin.
“We still have four cases where we are still waiting for DNA testing results to determine if we have any link to him or not“Detective Reed said.
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