A Texas man convicted of killing a little girl was released early from prison in the 1990s for good behavior. He went on to murder at least two more people.
On Monday, Raul Meza Jr., 63, pleaded guilty to killing 65-year-old Gloria Lofton in 2019, and his 82-year-old roommate Jesse Fraga in 2023.
“I am pleading guilty, because I am guilty,” Meza said in court. He refused to address the victims’ families, stating that he did not feel the need to apologize to someone who wouldn’t accept his apology.
Meza served a decade in prison for the 1982 murder of 8-year-old Kendra Page. When police arrested him in May 2023 for the murders of Fraga and Lofton, investigators believed he could be linked to up to 10 additional cold case murders.
But on Monday, officials told KXAN that cold case investigators used DNA to rule out eight cases that took place between 1979 and 2021.
Meza’s plea means he is not eligible for parole, nor is he able to file an appeal on the case. But he will avoid the death penalty, over the objections of the victims’ family members who wanted him to go to trial.