A Texas serial killer is finally off the streets after he called the cops on himself and turned himself in. Raul Meza Jr, 62, was previously convicted of the murder of an 8-year-old girl in 1982, but he’s now been linked to nearly a dozen other murders, KHOU 11 reports.
Meza handed himself into authorities in Pflugerville on May 24, ringing up the police and telling them, “I think you’re looking for me.” It was a shocking moment but a welcome one, as Deputy U.S. Marshall Brandon Filla previously described Meza as “the worst of the worst.”
It’s believed that Meza began committing violent crimes as a teenager in 1975. However, the true extent of his crimes are only just beginning to come to light.
“Here’s a serial killer that justice was not served. It was a travesty of justice,” said Interim Assistant City Manager Bruce Mills, who served as the lead investigator on Meza’s 1982 murder case relating to the death of Kendra Page. “We don’t know how many more people he killed or would have killed.”
Page was abducted by Raul Meza Jr on January 3, 1982 while she was riding her bike near Langford Elementary School. She was sexually assaulted and strangled before being dumped into a trash can at the school. Three days later, Meza turned himself in and received 30 years behind bars as part of a plea bargain. However, he was released after only 11 years for good behavior and time served.
Unfortunately, his crimes continued from there, and he murdered his 66-year-old neighbor Gloria Lofton in her home in 1999, though he was never convicted of that crime. However, he then murdered 80-year-old probation officer Jesse Fraga, at whose home he’d been living for the past two years.
Now that Raul Meza Jr is in custody, he can finally be prevented from killing again. “We have between eight and 10 cases that kind of fit these similar circumstances that we’re looking at. But that could obviously grow,” said Austin Police Detective Katy Conner during a press conference.
Detective Patrick Reed added: “I will let you know that Mr. Meza said he was ready and prepared to kill again, and he was looking forward to it.”
