Jury Deliberates In Man’s Trial In Texas Student’s Slaying
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The jury has ended its first day of deliberations in the capital murder trial of a 20-year-old man accused in the slaying of a University of Texas student on campus in 2016.
The jury began deliberations Thursday in the trial of Meechaiel Criner, who was a 17-year-old foster care runaway at the time of the killing. He faces a sentence of life in prison if convicted.
Haruka Weiser, an 18-year-old dance major from Portland, Oregon, was walking to her dormitory after a rehearsal when she was strangled and sexually assaulted.
Criner took the stand and denied killing her. He said the night Weiser was killed he'd gone to a hospital to charge his cellphone and tablet and then slept in a vacant building.
Prosecutors say eyeglasses found at the crime scene match glasses worn by Criner.