Raul Meza Jr. was born on October 14, 1960, in Travis County, Texas. His childhood was marked by family instability, by the time he was 15, he had multiple stepfathers and several half-siblings. He began using drugs at the age of eight, and his first arrest came in 1973 for shoplifting and burglary. In 1974, he was accused of arson.

His early adult years followed a pattern of escalating violence and crime. On December 31, 1975, at age 15, Meza robbed a convenience store on South Congress Avenue in Austin, shooting clerk Derly Ramirez, who survived. Convicted and sentenced to 20 years, he was paroled in February 1981 after serving less than six years.

A psychological evaluation in 1982 described him as having little expectation for himself in life and predicted a high likelihood of chronic criminal behavior or self-destructive tendencies.

On January 3, 1982, just months after his parole, Meza sexually assaulted and strangled eight-year-old Kendra Page. She was last seen riding her bicycle near Langford Elementary School in Austin. Her body, naked and bruised, was discovered in a dumpster at the school. Three days later, Meza walked into the Austin Police Department and confessed. In a plea agreement to avoid the death penalty, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

He served only 11 years, being paroled in 1993 for good behavior. Upon release, Meza held a news conference claiming he had reformed and would never harm anyone again. Public outrage followed his relocation attempts, and in 1994, he was returned to prison for violating parole. He remained incarcerated until 2002.

On May 9, 2019, 65-year-old Gloria Lofton was found dead in her home in Austin. The scene showed signs of blood and a used condom, but the autopsy initially ruled her death accidental and alcohol-related. In 2020, a sexual assault kit from the autopsy linked DNA to Meza, yet no action was taken by authorities. Only after his 2023 confession was her death reclassified as homicide by strangulation.

Investigators later learned of a note allegedly written by Lofton granting Meza authority to act on her behalf in an inheritance matter, a claim complicated by the fact that she had no known nephew, despite Meza’s claims.

Eighty-year-old former probation officer Jesse Fraga befriended Meza after his 1993 release, offering him housing and religious fellowship. In 2021, Meza moved into the Fraga home. Fraga’s wife and son died from COVID-19 soon after. Meza agreed to move out by May 12, 2023, but within days, Fraga was dead.

On May 20, police found Fraga’s body hidden in a bathroom closet, with large amounts of blood throughout the home. Security footage showed Meza driving Fraga’s truck the day after the killing. Inside Meza’s own car were a hammer, hatchet, duct tape, and gloves, suggesting premeditation.

On May 26, 2023, Meza called police, confessing to the murders of Lofton and Fraga, and claiming involvement in a San Antonio double homicide. He was arrested on May 29 while carrying items often associated with abduction or assault. He told investigators he was “ready and prepared to kill again.”

In September 2024, Meza pleaded guilty to both murders, receiving a life sentence without parole. Authorities believe he may be linked to as many as ten additional homicides, as well as several sexual assaults after his supervised release ended in 2016.