An off-duty Georgetown police officer drove 17-year-old Meechaiel Criner from Williamson County to Austin in his personal car to seek medical treatment about 10 days before police say he killed a University of Texas student.
Georgetown officials said the officer was trying to help Criner, who was suffering with blisters on his feet, and dropped him off at a Central Austin hospital.
The revelation adds to the narrative of Criner's activities in the days before he is accused of killing 18-year-old Haruka Weiser.
The officer was not acting in his capacity as a Georgetown police officer, the department said, and broke no department policies.
Criner was reported missing March 24 to police in Killeen, where he was living in a foster home, but the officer encountered him at least a day earlier.
Criner remains in the Travis County Jail charged with Weiser's murder.