News

Actions

Report: Killeen man found guilty of capital murder in death of UT student

Posted at 10:50 AM, Jun 20, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-20 15:21:22-04

A man has been found guilty in the death of a UT student. 

Meechaiel Criner was found guilty of capital murder in the death of first-year dance student Haruka Weiser, according to the Austin American Statesman. 

Just last month, Texas state district Judge David Wahlberg announced his decision to exclude most of the DNA evidence tying a Killeen man to the 2016 attack of Haruka Weiser, a first-year dance student at UT Austin.

The Austin American Statesmen said the evidence shows the forensic analyst who looked into a DNA sample found on Weiser's right thigh used a flawed technique. The analyst previously testified the DNA sample showed it is 192,000 times more likely the DNA belongs to Weiser and defendant Meechaiel Criner than from Weiser and anyone else.

A DNA sample taken from Weiser's glasses was also excluded.

Wahlberg said he was concerned the analyst failed to produce a document that might have revealed additional information about the sample, the Statesmen said.

Criner, who was 17 years old at the time, has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Weiser.

According to the arrest affidavit, Criner was seen following a woman matching Weiser's description as she left her dance class on April 3. Her body was found on April 5, 2016, in a creek near the campus alumni center and football stadium. 

Her death was the first on UT's campus since 1966, when Charles Whitman shot several people from atop the school's clock tower, killing 16. The following year, freshman Harrison Brown was killed when he and three other people were stabbed on campus.

In March 2016, Criner was reported as a runaway to the Killeen Police Department when he was in the custody of Child Protective Services.

During an interview in 2016, Criner's family said CPS is partly to blame.

"All I know is CPS was supposed to have him, because they said he wasn't 18 yet," said Mary Wadley, Criner's grandmother.

According to CPS, the organization has up to 24 hours to report a child who is missing, but after that, they leave the case in the hands of local law enforcement.

Killeen police say they didn't release any public alerts on Criner because he was considered to be a runaway and didn't meet certain state-issued requirements from DPS.

Copyright 2018 KXXV. All rights reserved.