GUILTY TX - Haruka Weiser, 18, found murdered, UT-Austin campus, 3 April 2016 *Arrest*

[Bootsctr]

As a mother of a son who was bullied terribly from 5th grade until 9th grade, I know that a bullied child can become a very aggressive, angry and mad individual. I am by no means making excuses for Criner, but I do come from a place that I know where he could have become an angry, aggressive individual by being bullied!

I will say for the African-American community in my town, they were the most respectful of my child's problems, and he was not bullied by any African-American. God bless them every one! The bullying came from the Caucasian community, and mostly from the most prominent community leaders' children and the preachers' kids. Oh! And the athletes. Because if you don't play football in Texas and you're a male then by all means you should be bullied!! We're in the Bible belt. We have a lot of churches and lots of preachers' kids. Off rant!

This is about Haruka! I am so sorry she is gone. Her loss will be felt for a long time. I don't understand why the roommate didn't come looking for her when Haruka was not back in the dorm room in 20 minutes. I think they could have saved her life! Somebody should have sounded the alarm sooner! JMO :twocents:

 

[Bootsctr]

I don't think any 17 year old really chooses to be homeless.

Well said! I agree. No 17 y/o is going to choose to be homeless. Now he could have been kicked out. I don't know. It's so sad. He probably killed the one person who might have befriended him.

 

[neesaki]

On cbs news they just said his grandmother said he ran away from home last year and that he had been under psychiatric care since he was young. Said that he was a well mannered kid but would snap if you made him angry.

Maybe he asked her for money and she said "no".

 

[i.b.nora]

http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/sources-17-year-old-arrested-in-killing-of-ut-fres/nq2jC/

“Criner was listed as a runaway with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. He has had a history in foster care and Child Protective Services has conservatorship over Criner. He was reported as a runaway to Killeen police on March 24, a Killeen police spokeswoman said.

Criner’s grandmother, Mary Wadley, told the Shreveport, La., news station KSLA Friday that Criner had a history of psychological problems. Wadley said Criner ran away in August.”​

 

[Bootsctr]

Maybe he asked her for money and she said "no".

Maybe. He drew the knife before he went after her. He knew what was going to happen. He could have tried to take her bag and she fought him and Haruka fought very hard. I am imagining her giving a couple of MMA type kicks to him.

 

[perfectingpink]

Maybe he asked her for money and she said "no".

This guy does not strike me as the type to ask. If he wanted to ask for money, I don't think he would have parked his bike before approaching her. He knew what he wanted and he did what he wanted.

 

[Foxfire]

Maybe? Hopefully getting Criner's DNA in the system will provide multiple hits that Austin got the right guy! I don't think it is unusual, however, to have 2 or more rapists/killers working the same city at the same time. Derrick Todd Lee and another guy were killing women at the same time. Only difference is Derrick Todd Lee was targeting home owners, and the other guy (his name escapes me) was targeting hookers. I do believe at one point Baton Rouge PD thought they were looking for 1 guy. Maybe we have a Louisiana local that is more informed than I about Lee and the murders.

<BBM for Focus>

After Lee's arrest, it was discovered that another serial killer; Sean Vincent Gillis, was active in the Baton Rouge area during the same time as Lee's trail of terror..

 

[eileenhawkeye]

How many cases are there of stranger killings where someone is ambushed and attacked and murdered in public? No abduction...murdered right where their paths cross? In this case. It seems like all the crime scenes were very close together.


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[neesaki]

Interview with suspect's grandmother and aunt. Watch the video.

http://keyetv.com/news/local/grandmother-of-ut-murder-suspect-speaks-out

According to aunt and grandmother, if he got angry "he snapped" ... not news to them. And it appears he had no father or father figure in his life at all, and most likely no healthy guidance or discipline either. I bet the grandmother had had enough of him, I can only imagine, that poor woman .... so that's why he left. One does have to wonder though, whatever happened to the old fashioned notion of going and finding a JOB... was that a foreign concept to him?

Whatever the case, this dude was apparently a walking time bomb for several years, with a sense of entitlement and unrestrained anger and rage . He was looking for a victim, a serial killer in the making, IMO.

 

[Bootsctr]

<BBM for Focus>

After Lee's arrest, it was discovered that another serial killer; Sean Vincent Gillis, was active in the Baton Rouge area during the same time as Lee's trail of terror..

Thank you Foxfire! I knew you would know. Also, there was also another killer at large the same time as Ted Bundy in the same area. Of course, Bundy left and did a killing spree across the entire country. Just scary to think about there being more than one monster at a time.

 

[neesaki]

I don't think any 17 year old really chooses to be homeless.

IIRC, that's what LE stated, and left on his own volition, they said he had "ran away", no?

 

[Bootsctr]

Haruka was beautiful and smart! She knew who she wanted to be already at a young age. She was a dancer and she wanted to be a doctor like her father. Remarkable young woman who obviously had a loving and caring father who loved her enough to let her dance; yet, influenced Haruka in such a positive way that she wanted to be like her father. She was someone all young women could admire. I bet Haruka was an amazing friend! I can see she was a talented and beautiful ballerina!

Who among us knew what they wanted to be at 17? Not I. I don't think he could have tolerated working at McDonalds. Not an excuse. He had no one there to guide him. There is no excuse for killing Haruta, and even crazy people know the difference between right and wrong. If Criner is the "one," and I believe he is, he will pay. I like to think for the most part Texas is an extremely victim-friendly state. Haruka will have justice! Two families will be without their child. There are no winners.

 

[StrayKat]

So sad, I frequent the Bass Concert Hall and will always think of her. I was actually in the area this past Saturday and noticed construction with fences and blockades along San Jacinto on the Waller Creek side. A news story earlier interviewed a homeless girl that said he showed up about 2 weeks ago and that he was messed up on K2 all the time.

 

[klily444]

I respectfully disagree with this-I think sexual assault was first in his mind, with robbery being an afterthought, and additional crime of opportunity. He wouldn't have needed a knife or whatever the shiny weapon was, to rob this girl, but he'd need one to rape her.

I agree. I also wonder if he had the van in mind as a place to sexually assault someone, and then saw her and went after her, leaving the van idea behind.

 

[Bootsctr]

K2. Drugs. He needed money for another fix. I wonder if he got on K2 between the time of the article and the time he showed up in Austin. He most definitely looks "different" and "weird".

....."for $43 my friend lost his life. I'd like to spit some beechnut in that dude's eyes." HW, JR.

 

[perfectingpink]

Haruka was beautiful and smart! She knew who she wanted to be already at a young age. She was a dancer and she wanted to be a doctor like her father. Remarkable young woman who obviously had a loving and caring father who loved her enough to let her dance; yet, influenced Haruka in such a positive way that she wanted to be like her father. She was someone all young women could admire. I bet Haruka was an amazing friend! I can see she was a talented and beautiful ballerina!

Who among us knew what they wanted to be at 17? Not I. I don't think he could have tolerated working at McDonalds. Not an excuse. He had no one there to guide him. There is no excuse for killing Haruta, and even crazy people know the difference between right and wrong. If Criner is the "one," and I believe he is, he will pay. I like to think for the most part Texas is an extremely victim-friendly state. Haruka will have justice! Two families will be without their child. There are no winners.

You are right. Before I started closely following cases on Websleuths, I was pretty jaded about how a family contributes to making a killer and placed direct blame on them. I have since learned to be more open minded and compassionate to the bad guy's family. I still believe there are some cases like Jodi Sanderholm's where the immediate family helped create a monster by ignoring and excusing behaviors, but even with that monster's family, they never knew he would kill and they cannot be blamed for what he did to her. No winners only sorrow.

 

[klily444]

The description per the arresting affidavit for Meechaiel Criner:

"As investigators continued the investigation, UTPD detectives began to look at surveillance video along the route that Weiser usually took from Winship Hall to her dorm near 21st Street. While reviewing the surveillance video from the College of Liberal Arts building, they observed a suspicious black male ride up on a red or pink women's bicycle attempting to open the doors of a van parked in the bay area. The black male was dressed in a black jacket (possibly a motorcycle type jacket with shoulder pads and white strips on the sleeves, orange shirt under jacket, grey pants (possibly sweat pants), red or orange athletic shoes with light colored stripe or design on the sides and a large backpack on his back. The suspect appeared to be around 6'0 feet tall, wore glasses and looked as if he were a student."

https://www.scribd.com/doc/307472020/Meechaiel-Criner-arrest-affidavit

Rapists generally wear sweatpants or elastic banded pants over jeans because they are easy to pull down.

ETA: to clarify, I meant "instead of jeans", not over jeans.

 

[perfectingpink]

K2. Drugs. He needed money for another fix. I wonder if he got on K2 between the time of the article and the time he showed up in Austin. He most definitely looks "different" and "weird".

....."for $43 my friend lost his life. I'd like to spit some beechnut in that dude's eyes." HW, JR.

Such a good song. I hope Haruka got her version of beachnut in on this guy and I hope her parents get theirs. I am just so sad for her parents. :cry:

 

[Foxfire]

Thank you Foxfire! I knew you would know. Also, there was also another killer at large the same time as Ted Bundy in the same area. Of course, Bundy left and did a killing spree across the entire country. Just scary to think about there being more than one monster at a time.

Yep Bootsctr, it seems that there is a monster under everyone's bed these days.. Times, they are a changing.. At a symposium 09/02/2005, the FBI BAU-2 redefined serial murderer/killer to the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events. This would indicate that the FBI's prior estimate that there is 2 serial killers active at anytime in the US is obsolete, imo. My greatest concern as it relates to this case is that Criner's motive is likely sexual rage and that he passed the threshold from fantasy to tragic reality around the age of fourteen.. Imo, he likely has taken the lives of other innocent victims in the past. jmo

FBI BAU-2 Definition of Serial Murder
https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder

 

[StrayKat]

He probably got on it while in Austin. It has become somewhat of an epidemic in Austin.