AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) – Early last week, 18-year-old University of Texas Fine Arts major Haruka Weiser never made it back to her dorm after leaving class. Police found her body Tuesday morning on campus along Waller Creek.
Thursday, officers arrested her accused killer, 17-year-old Meechaiel Criner. We do not know when he’ll be appearing in court as there are no pre-trial hearings on the calendar.
Two weeks before he was booked into the Travis County Jail on a murder charge, students and a faculty member tell KXAN Meechaiel Criner disappeared from the halls of Ellison High School in Killeen.
It is the policy for CPS to notify local police anytime a child goes missing. His grandmother, Mary Wadley who lives in Texarkana, says she had not heard from him in nearly a year.
“Until they dig into it and see what is what it is, it’s still hard for me to believe that he did that,” says Wadley.
Police say surveillance video puts Criner in the right place at the right time. He was also found to have Haruka Weiser’s personal belongings in his possession. But Criner’s sister, a second year law student says her brother is innocent.
“I am greatly, deeply sorry that this happened. I’m deeply sorry but I assure you that my brother Meechaiel Criner did not do this,” said his sister, who chose not to be named for fear of retaliation. Criner is the youngest of five siblings born to a drug addicted mother who committed suicide.
Growing up they bounced between their grandmother’s house and various foster homes. Criner’s family says he has a mental illness, and has been getting psychiatric help since he was a young child.
While Criner’s family questions whether or not Austin police have the right guy, they also have questions for child protective services.
“All I know is CPS was supposed to have had him because they said he wasn’t 18 yet,” said Wadley.
“How would you possibly let a 17-year-old mentally-issued child out of your system for that long of a time?” said his sister.
This case comes at a time with Child Protective Services is under fire from the federal government.
Last December Federal District Judge Janice Jack gave a stern warning to CPS. She says they must fix the system now because the current one violates the individual rights of children in the system.
Last session, state lawmakers pumped more than $100 million dollars more into a strategy meant to improve child safety and neglect. The funding strategy is called Protect Children Through an Integrated Service Delivery System and its goal is specifically to reduce child abuse and neglect and mitigate their effects.
