Man guilty of capital murder in campus slaying of UT student Haruka Weiser

Meechaiel Criner gets automatic life sentence

SAN ANTONIO – The man accused in the slaying of a University of Texas student on campus in 2016 has been found guilty of capital murder.

Meechaiel Criner, now 20, was a 17-year-old foster care runaway when he killed the student, Haruka Weiser, an 18-year-old dance major from Portland, Oregon, investigators said.

Investigators said Weiser was walking to her dormitory after a rehearsal when she was strangled and sexually assaulted.

During testimony, Criner denied killing her. He said the night Weiser was killed he'd gone to a hospital to charge his cellphone and tablet and then slept in a vacant building.

Prosecutors said eyeglasses found at the crime scene match glasses worn by Criner.

The Austin Statesman reports that he automatically will receive a life sentence. He will be eligible for parole in 40 years. He will be 60.