Victim’s family: APD admits to ‘error’ in DNA handling of 2019 murder case tied to ‘serial killer’ Raul Meza
The Austin Police Department has closed its internal investigation into the handling of a DNA in a murder case involving Raul Meza, a man who investigators have called a potential “serial kil… The Austin Police Department (APD) has admitted to an error in the handling of DNA in a 2019 murder case involving Raul Meza, a potential serial killer. The family of Gloria Lofton, who was killed in 2019, received a call from the police claiming an error was made regarding the communication of a DNA hit during the investigation. Meza was previously convicted in the 1982 murder of 8-year-old Kendra Page. The internal investigation into Meza's involvement in Lofton's murder is now closed and policy changes have been made. The medical examiner's report stated that while the cause of death was ruled "undetermined," it may represent evidence of strangulation.
Publicados : um mês atrás por Brianna Hollis no General
AUSTIN (KXAN) — In a phone conversation with family members of Gloria Lofton, a woman killed in 2019, the Austin Police Department (APD) said an “error was made” regarding the communication of a DNA hit during the investigation, according to the family members who received the call.
When police arrested Raul Meza in the death of 80-year-old Pflugerville man Jesse Fraga about four years after Lofton died, investigators said Meza also implicated himself in Lofton’s murder. Meza was also previously convicted in the 1982 murder of 8-year-old Kendra Page.
The Austin Police Department has closed its internal investigation into the handling of DNA in a murder case involving Meza, a man who investigators have called a potential “serial killer.”
Meza’s arrest affidavit stated that in 2020, a DNA profile obtained from a sexual assault kit for Lofton’s matched Meza’s DNA, but police did not arrest Meza at that time, which was roughly four years before Fraga was killed.
Lofton’s family told KXAN Thursday the APD staff member they spoke with said that internal investigation is closed and policy changes have been made. They also said those changes are related to adjustments made with how staff in the DNA lab communicates with APD investigators.
Former Police Chief Joseph Chacon, who held the role at the time of Meza’s arrest, launched the internal investigation last year to address what he called “potential investigative lapses,” an APD spokesperson previously told KXAN.
KXAN reached out to APD Thursday morning for additional information on the outcome of this internal investigation and will update this story when we get a response.
According to the police department’s most recent General Orders, when Forensics gets a DNA hit on a case – it’s supposed to notify investigators involved with said case.
If the case has been closed, investigators should then re-open it and follow up.
If the case is still open, supervisors are directed to make sure investigators have the updated information.
Investigators originally said Meza may be linked to several area cold cases. So far, police have told us they have not made any surefire connections yet.
Meza’s next court appearance is set for April 11.
According to Meza’s arrest affidavit for Lofton’s murder, police found her dead in her home on Sara Drive in east Austin on May 9, 2019.
The final medical examiner’s report ruled Lofton’s cause of death “undetermined.”
“It is possible that these findings might represent evidence of strangulation,” according to the medical examiner’s narrative quoted in the affidavit. “Although there was severe natural disease identified, the circumstances, witness accounts, and findings at autopsy are concerning for potential inflicted trauma. Findings indicative of strangulation, such as external or internal neck trauma, may not be present in all cases of strangulation.”
Last week, Meza, while a person of interest in Fraga’s death, called the police because he knew authorities were looking for him. During that call, he also told police “I got out in 2016… I ended up murdering a lady soon afterward… it was on Sara Drive,” the affidavit reads.
After that call, police discovered Lofton’s 2019 death on Sara Drive. Police moved forward with the arrest warrant following the combined factors of Meza’s confession.
Tópicos: Crime, Murder