Austin serial killer Raul Meza facing new charge after CSAM found on his phone

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin serial killer Raul Meza is facing a new felony charge after child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, was found on his phone.

Meza is currently spending life in prison without parole after pleading guilty in 2024 to capital murder in the 2019 death of Gloria Lofton and murder in the 2023 death of Jesse Frage.

The Latest:

The Austin Police Department says that on June 24, its Child Exploitation Unit's detectives charged Meza with one count of third-degree felony possession of child pornography.

The charge comes from a review of a cellphone seized in a separate criminal investigation by the Pflugerville Police Department in 2023. 

A court-authorized forensic examination of the phone uncovered multiple images that met Texas's legal definition of CSAM, APD says.

Further investigation and review by CEU detectives led to enough probable cause to charge Meza.

Sister of murder victim speaks out

What they're saying:

"It makes me sick to my stomach that he's been out there, didn't serve the full amount of time for my sister's thing. Would he have served his full sentence and everything, probably none of this would have happened," Kendra Page’s sister, Tracy Page, said.

Meza is the man who raped and killed Tracy Page’s 8-year-old sister, Kendra Page, in 1982. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison as part of a plea deal but was released on parole after serving just 11 years.

"I told them, I told them, I told them, that he's not a good person," Tracy Page said.

For Tracy Page, she said the new allegation reinforces what her family has believed for years.

"More and more stuff is coming up. It proves that my dad and my mom were right all along on how sick this man was," she said.

Sex crimes prosecutor on new charge

While Meza is already serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, sex crimes prosecutor Daniel Betts said there is still value in pursuing the case.

"You never know what's going to happen on appeal on the other cases and a defendant who has life without the possibility of parole has nothing but time and typically there are a lot of appeals that they will generate. Generally, they're not successful, but you never know and this provides an added measure of insurance," Betts said.

Betts said an additional conviction could help ensure Meza spends the rest of his life in prison.

"This is a good nail in that coffin to make sure that he stays gone," Betts said.

What's next:

It is likely Meza will eventually come back to Travis County for a trial on this new charge.

The backstory:

Meza’s rap sheet dates back to 1975 when he shot and wounded a man in a robbery. 

He was arrested on a parole violation in 1994, and spent the next 20 years in and out of prison.

In May 2023, Meza called the Austin Police Department and admitted to killing Gloria Lofton in 2019 and killing his roommate Jesse Fraga in 2023. He was arrested in north Austin five days after he confessed to the murders over the phone to Austin police.

Austin police also said at the time he gave details about a double murder he is believed to have committed in San Antonio. However, agencies later said they couldn’t find any to match the timeline Meza gave for potential murders committed there.

Investigators have previously said Meza may be responsible for a dozen murders, but last August, APD said they were no longer investigating Meza in connection with any cold cases.

Crime and Public SafetyAustinTexas