A suspected serial killer previously convicted of another murder could be facing life in prison for allegedly killing two more people.
Raul Mesa Jr., 63, is currently charged with murdering Gloria Lofton in 2019 and Jesse Fraga in 2023. Mesa was previously convicted of murdering 8-year-old Kendra Paige in 1982.
Authorities are asking for the public's help in identifying a Texas serial killer suspect after DNA testing linked him to two of the murders.
He appeared in court on Tuesday, Aug. 27, to discuss a possible plea deal with Travis County Judge Julie Kocurek that would see him receive life in prison for one murder count and 20 years in prison for the other.
The plea agreement means Mesa will be eligible for parole in 40 years, at age 103.
“Mr. Mesa wants this ordeal to end, not only for himself, but for the entire community,” argued Russell Hunt, the attorney for Raul Mesa Jr.
Raul Mesa, 63, is suspected of killing at least two people, but police said he has been linked to at least 10 murders in Texas. (Austin Police Department)
Judge Julie Kocurek did not accept the defense's argument, saying she would not accept any sentence other than life in prison without the possibility of parole.
When the plea deal was not accepted, Mesa glared at the prosecutor until Judge Kocurek ordered him to stop.
Tracy, the surviving sister of murder victim Kendra Paige, told FOX 7 Austin, “Hearing that today was such a relief, such a weight off my shoulders. I wish this had been done when they did this to my sister, then these families wouldn't be here today.”
The body was found in the same Austin lake where other bodies have been found in recent months.
Mesa was sentenced to 30 years for the murder of Tracy Paige, but served only 11 years before being eligible for parole.
“He has expressed to us as much remorse as he can,” Mesa's defense attorney, Russell Hunt, told FOX7.
Defendant Raul Mesa Jr., 63, was summoned to court Tuesday morning to argue a plea deal, but it was rejected. (KTBC)
In response, Tracy Page told FOX 7 Austin that Mesa “was never remorseful.”
Gloria Lofton was 66 when she was killed, and Jesse Fraga was 80. Fraga was a former probation officer who had provided Mesa with a place to stay.
In 1982, Raul Mesa raped and murdered 8-year-old Kendra Paige and dumped her body behind Langford Elementary School in southeast Austin, FOX 7 reported. (FOX 7 Austin)
Mesa may be linked to more than 10 unsolved murders in the Austin, Texas area.
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Mesa's attorneys do not plan to go to trial in the murder cases of Gloria Lofton and Jesse Fraga, and instead plan to continue arguing for a plea deal.
Mesa is scheduled to appear in court again on September 30 for a rehearing before Judge Kocurek.
Austin is a city on edge. The murder rate has been steadily increasing since 2019. At least five bodies were found in Austin's Lady Bird Lake last year, and Austin police are asking for the public's help in another case that they believe may involve a serial killer.
