Raul Meza Jr. Pleads Guilty to the Murders of Gloria Lofton and Jesse Fraga and Is Sentenced to Life
Released in 1993 after serving 11 years for killing 8-year-old Kendra Page, Meza took a deal that avoided a death penalty trial, over the objections of the victims' families.
Published
Raul Meza Jr. stood in a Travis County courtroom on Monday, September 30, 2024, and pleaded guilty to two killings in the Austin area, taking a deal that will keep him in prison for the rest of his life and spare him a capital trial. He was 63. Four decades earlier he had admitted killing an 8-year-old girl, and his release after 11 years had set off protests across Texas.
He pleaded guilty to the capital murder of Gloria Elizabeth Lofton, 65, killed in 2019 in the course of an aggravated sexual assault, and was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. He also pleaded guilty to murdering Jesse Fraga, 80, his roommate, who was killed in 2023, and received a second life sentence. As part of the agreement he waived his right to appeal both convictions, and prosecutors moved to dismiss a separate charge of unauthorized use of a vehicle.
The families had not wanted a deal. They had asked District Attorney José Garza to take Meza to trial and seek the death penalty, and Lofton's daughter, Sonia Houston, told the court so in a statement she read aloud. "A lifetime in jail will not be equal to the pain," she said, speaking of what the families had been through. "By accepting this plea, we are giving Raul exactly what he wants."
Garza defended the outcome. "Our hearts continue to break for the Lofton and Fraga families. We hope this outcome continues to help them with their healing process," he said. "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."
The case that first made Meza's name was the 1982 murder of Kendra Page, 8, who authorities said had been sexually assaulted and strangled. He admitted the killing in a plea agreement and was sentenced to 30 years, but laws at the time gave him credit for good behavior, and he walked out in 1993 after serving 11. Picketers met him nearly everywhere he went and drove him out of six cities, sometimes with threats of violence. "In my heart, I know that I will not willfully bring harm to anyone," he told reporters at a news conference that August.
Thirty years later, in May 2023, Austin police said, Meza called them himself. He confessed to killing Fraga, police said, and implicated himself in the sexual assault and killing of Lofton four years before.
Sources
- Travis County District Attorney's Office Secures Convictions in Raul Meza's Capital Murder and Murder Cases, Travis County District Attorney's Office
- Convicted murderer released in the '90s agrees to life sentence on 2 new murder charges, The Associated Press via KVIA