Meza’s lawyers proposed two deals on Tuesday that would have allowed the accused serial killer to be eligible for parole after 40 years.
The judge overseeing the case of serial killer accused Raul Meza Jr. said during a hearing at the Travis County Courthouse on Tuesday that she would not accept a plea deal unless it included a life sentence without parole.
Meza’s lawyers proposed two plea deals Tuesday for the two murders he is accused of in the county. One deal called for life in prison, the other for 20 years. They would have allowed Meza, 63, to be eligible for parole in 40 years, when he was over 100.
“It’s either life or it has to go to trial,” said state District Judge Julie Kocurek.
Following Kocurek’s announcement, there was jubilation among the families of those presumably killed by Meza.
If no agreement can be reached by the next hearing, scheduled for sometime in October, both sides would have to begin preparing for a trial, Kocurek said.
Russell Hunt Jr., one of Meza’s defense attorneys, told reporters he does not expect the case to go to trial and that a settlement could be reached in the next two weeks.
Meza was present in the courtroom on Tuesday and at one point drew the ire of Kocurek, who told him to “stop staring at the prosecutor.” Meza, who was not handcuffed, told the court he was “very grateful” to his lawyers.
Hunt told reporters that Meza was “remorseful,” but did not elaborate on what Meza said to express his remorse.
Tuesday’s hearing comes nearly four months after Meza’s attorneys offered two 50-year plea deals for the two murders he is accused of in Travis County. Those two plea deals would have allowed Meza, 63, to serve both sentences consecutively.
Meza is charged with capital crimes in connection with the 2019 murder of 65-year-old Gloria Lofton in Austin and the 2023 murder of 80-year-old Jesse Fraga in Pflugerville.
The most notorious case involving Meza was the conviction for the 1982 murder of 8-year-old Kendra Page outside an Austin elementary school. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison and released after 11 years. Meza was sent back to prison in 1994 for violating parole and was released in 2002. Meza was on parole until 2016.
Police have previously accused Meza of being a serial killer who may have been involved in as many as 10 other murders. Police executed a search warrant for Meza’s Google account in an attempt to link him to a possible unsolved 2018 murder case, as well as two others in San Antonio that Meza said he committed in 2018 and 2019.
Representatives from each of the families sat in the jury box on Tuesday to hear what was discussed.
Family members told reporters they were pleased with Kocurek’s announcement on Tuesday, and many also said they did not believe he was remorseful.
“We are obviously dealing with someone who is very violent and psychotic and doesn’t care about anything,” said Christina Fultz, Lofton’s daughter.
