AUSTIN, Texas — Accused serial killer Raul Meza Jr. will spend the rest of his life in prison after accepting a plea deal on Sept. 30.
Meza faced two murder charges for killing Gloria Lofton in 2019 and Jesse Fraga in 2023. He was previously convicted of killing 8-year-old Kendra Page in the 1980s. He served just under 12 years of his sentence for that crime before he was released. Police say he could be linked to up to 10 cold cases, going back 25 years.
At a hearing earlier this month, Meza's attorneys presented a plea deal, asking for life in prison for one murder, plus 20 years for the other. Under that proposed deal, Meza would have been eligible for parole after 40 years, once he had served 30 years for the first murder charge and another 10 for the other.
But Judge Julie Kocurek said she wouldn't accept anything less than life in prison without the possibility of parole – something the family members of Meza's alleged victims considered a partial win.
On Monday, Meza entered a guilty plea of life in prison without the possibility of parole for one murder, then life in prison for the second murder. In both cases, he's waived his right to appeal.
The family members of Meza's alleged victims had previously called for him to get the maximum punishment.
“Our hearts continue to break for the Lofton and Fraga families. We hope this outcome continues to help them with their healing process,” said Travis County District Attorney José Garza on Monday. “As a result of this outcome, Mr. Meza will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole and will never threaten our community again. We are grateful to our prosecutors and law enforcement partners who worked tirelessly on these cases and secured justice for the victim’s families and our community.”
Background on this case
Meza was arrested in May 2023 in connection with the murder of Fraga in Pflugerville and in connection with Lofton's death in Austin in 2019. Authorities have called Meza the "worst of the worst" and a serial killer, saying he could be linked to up to 10 cold cases going back more than two decades.
In June 2023, the KVUE Defenders learned that Austin police believed a lead investigator possibly missed an email notification of a DNA hit linking evidence found at the Lofton crime scene and Meza’s profile in CODIS, a national database of offender DNA. Texas Department of Public Safety officials said that at the time of Lofton’s death, crime lab staff used either a phone call or an email to alert investigators – a process filled with potential pitfalls.
A month later, a number of law enforcement agencies – including the FBI – searched a Pflugerville field in connection with Meza. According to a search warrant obtained by KVUE, the search stemmed from the possible death of a woman in March of 2022 that was previously unreported by law enforcement.
In August 2023, a Travis County grand jury indicted Meza for one count of capital murder and another count of murder in connection with Lofton's death, plus an indictment for murder and another for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in connection with Fraga's death.
In April 2024, the KVUE Defenders uncovered new details on how Austin police mishandled evidence in the Lofton murder investigation, following the APD's closure of an internal investigation into the handling of the DNA lab report that police said linked Meza to Lofton's murder. The investigation also explained why detectives didn't act sooner on that report.
Also in April, Meza's attorneys proposed an initial plea deal for Meza to serve 50 years in prison for the deaths of Lofton and Fraga. Then on Aug. 27, attorneys proposed the plea deal that was denied by Judge Kocurek.
Meza was previously convicted of the murder of 8-year-old Kendra Page in 1982. Under a deal, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison, but he served just under 12 because he had been sentenced under an old state law that required release when time served and “good time” credit equaled the original sentence. That loophole no longer exists in Texas.
