Acevedo said his clothing matched that of the man on the surveillance video and that he was in possession of a women’s bike, as well as Weiser’s duffel bag and some of her other belongings.
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According to an arrest affidavit, surveillance video (which was not released to the public) from the College of Liberal Arts show a man on a woman’s bicycle trying to open the doors of a van that was parked in the bay area around 9:20 p.m. Sunday.
The pair later dropped from view.
Troy Gay, assistant police chief at the Austin Police Department, showed surveillance video of the suspect walking with a bike. They say CPS [Child Protective Services] is supposed to be a good place, but it’s not…
After authorities released surveillance footage of Criner at the University of Texas, firefighters and a concerned citizen assisted authorities in catching the suspect who is believed to have killed one of the school’s students, 18-year-old Haruka Weiser.
University police chief David Carter says Meechaiel Criner (mih-kah-EEL’ KRY’-nur) is new to Austin.
Eighteen-year-old victim Haruka Weiser was a dance major from OR with plans to study medicine.
On Monday, Criner was seen lighting a fire in a trash can, and firefighters responded, Acevedo said Friday.
Police have not released details about how Weiser died, although authorities have repeatedly underlined the brutality of her killing. After the fire was put out, Austin police were called to the scene because the male was found to be 17 years old and homeless. He identified the suspect as Meechaiel Criner, a 17-year-old homeless man who was not enrolled as a student. Police Chief Art Acevedo, “We are very certain that the subject we have in custody…is responsible for the death of this handsome young woman”. The body was recovered on April 5 near the campus’s alumni center. Weiser, of Portland, Oregon, was last seen alive on Sunday evening.
The homeless teenager accused of killing a University of Texas freshman claimed to have had a chaotic childhood marked by violence and abuse. “That’s what I thought”, said Mary Wadley, the grandmother and legal guardian of Meechaiel Khalil Criner. Police found him there Thursday and took him into custody without incident.Criner’s arrest was the culmination of nearly a week of joint police investigation across multiple departments and was aided by multiple tips from the community.At the same time, a female looking at her cellphone could be seen walking toward the alumni center, the affidavit says.As she passed, the affidavit says, he produced “what appeared to be a shiny rigid object” and followed her. The suspect isn’t seen on video again for two-plus hours. After seeing the body Tuesday, UT police said they suspected it was a homicide.
University President Greg Fenves has called Weiser’s slaying “horrifying and incomprehensible” and an attack on the entire campus.
She attended Arts and Communications Magnet Academy in Beaverton, and also performed with the Beaverton Dance West Troupe, Portland Ballet and Oregon Symphony.Weisers parents could not be reached for comment Saturday but said in a statement a day earlier that they remain steadfast in our desire to honor Harukas memory through kindness and love. Her body was found in a creek on Tuesday.
University of Texas students take part in a moment of silence during a gathering for fellow student Haruka Weiser on campus, Thursday, April 7, 2016, in Austin, Texas.
Still, UT police were asking students to not walk alone at night and to instead use the SURE walk program.
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2 p.m.: UT Austin President Gregory L. Fenves holds a press conference, flanked by members of the Austin Police Department.
