AUSTIN, Texas – Austin Police have obtained new information linking Raul Meza Jr. to a cold-case homicide from 2018. Detectives filed a search warrant to access Meza’s Google account in hopes of uncovering more details about the murders he is connected to and any other cold case homicides. The affidavit states that an Austin Police detective identified a cold case homicide in 2018 that matches Meza’s methods.
In May, Meza was arrested and confessed to the murder of Jesse Fraga, 80. He also admitted to killing his former neighbor, Gloria Lofton, 65, in 2019. The investigation suggests that Meza may be linked to as many as ten cold cases. Meza’s criminal history dates back almost 50 years and includes convictions of aggravated robbery and murder.
Notable from Meza’s past, in 1975, Meza and three others were involved in the robbery of an Austin convenience store, during which the manager was shot. Then, less than ten years later while still on parole for aggravated robbery, Meza was accused of raping and murdering 8-year-old Kendra Page. He was convicted and sentenced but served only a fraction of his sentence.
When Meza confessed to killing Fraga in May, he also confessed to a double homicide in San Antonio years prior. He has a lengthy criminal history, having previously been convicted of robbery as a teenager. Meza, now 63, is facing significant charges, and further investigation aims to connect him to additional cold case homicides.