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

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Judge might toss out DNA evidence from trial in Haruka Weiser’s death

The primary dispute over DNA test results in Criner’s case centers on a finding by DPS analysts that it’s 192,000 times more likely that DNA found on Weiser’s thigh belongs to Weiser and Criner than from Weiser and anyone else. State District Judge David Wahlberg said he was inclined to exclude the evidence from the July 9 trial after discovering that a document that might have included written notations by a DPS forensic analyst had gone missing or was never created in the first place.

Wahlberg backed off, though, saying at the pretrial hearing on Tuesday that he’d take more time to consider the matter before ruling. His decision could come down as early as Wednesday when the hearing resumes.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Judge dismisses DNA evidence in Haruka Weiser murder case - The Daily Texan

The DNA evidence was dismissed mainly because of yesterday’s testimony from Jody Koehler, a former DNA section manager for a Department of Public Safety crime laboratory in Austin, Wahlberg said. During her testimony, she could not produce a required portion of the handwritten notes taken during her DNA analysis.

All of the DNA collected from Weiser’s knee and her glasses that was analyzed by the contested DNA software, STRmix, will not be used during Meechaiel Criner’s trial on July 9. Prosecutors planned to use this DNA to tie Criner to the scene of Weiser’s murder.

DNA evidence excluded from trial in death of UT student Haruka Weiser

The lead prosecutor on the case, Guillermo Gonzalez, said he doubts the state will appeal Wahlberg’s ruling, clearing the way for a jury trial that is set to begin July 9.

“In our opinion, we have overwhelming evidence, and I’m going to try him,” Gonzalez said.

 

[mickey2942]

Great, exclude the DNA evidence, just let the guy out free to kill again. Maybe next time he can be caught in the act.

 

[Harmony 2]

Judge in killing of UT student Haruka Weiser limits trial to two weeks

State District Judge David Wahlberg told prosecutors and defense lawyers Monday to prepare to work long hours to keep things moving when the trial begins Monday. The presentation of evidence will begin after two or three days of jury selection.

 

[Harmony 2]

The Statesman said the suspect, Meechaiel Criner, appeared in court July 2 to clear up some remaining legal matters before his trial begins July 9.

Trial in deadly attack of University of Texas freshman to last no longer than 2 weeks

 

[MicheleT]

This is local to me. . . .I'm surprised to see the judge limit the trial. I'm not surprised about the DNA being tossed. Austin has issues with DNA due to the lab's issues.

 

[jellybeanz]

Great, exclude the DNA evidence, just let the guy out free to kill again. Maybe next time he can be caught in the act.

Yup and put pressure on the attorneys by setting a time limit on proceedings. Reminds me of the Judge in charge of the Heather Elvis case just now. Ridiculous!

 

[JerseyGirl]

UT remains shaken by Haruka Weiser’s killing on eve of suspect’s trial

Criner, who turned 20 on June 30, has pleaded not guilty to capital murder in a Travis County state District Court and remains behind bars with bail set at $1 million. His lawyers say police arrested the wrong person and made too much of a video that authorities believe shows Criner following Weiser on the night of her death.

If convicted, Criner faces an automatic life sentence in prison. The death penalty is not on the table because of a state law that shields from execution teenage defendants like Criner, who was 17 at the time of Weiser’s killing.

Jury selection begins Monday. Wide media exposure to the case could taint the views of potential jurors, so it might take lawyers two or three days to work their way through the list before they begin presenting evidence.

 

[YESorNO]

Ryan Autullo‏ @AutulloAAS 10h10 hours ago
Just about ready to go with jury selection in capital murder trial against Meechaiel Criner, accused of killing UT student Haruka Weiser. The defendant, 20, is here in a light green suit, white shirt and tan tie. He has been jailed since April 2016 arrest.


Ryan Autullo‏ @AutulloAAS 10h10 hours ago
Jury being seated now. They've yet to learn what this trial is about, but my guess is some of them recognize defendant Meechaiel Criner from media coverage.


Alyssa Goard‏ @AlyssaMGoard 10h10 hours ago
At the Travis County Courthouse as Meechaiel Criner is tried for the murder of UT student Haruka Weiser. Jury selection starts today, jurors filing into the courtroom now. Judge says no audio can be recorded during trial @KXAN_News


Austin Statesman‏Verified account @statesman 9h9 hours ago
Possible jurors in the capital murder trial of Meechaiel Criner are being seated now. Criner is accused of killing UT student Haruka Weiser. Follow our live coverage of the jury selection here: http://atxne.ws/2m6wlH4?utm_source=SND&utm_medium=Twitter&utm_campaign=statesman …

rudy koski‏Verified account @KoskionFOX7 5h5 hours ago
First day of Jury Selection gets underway in Meechaiel Criner Murder Trial. 3 in the Pool said they confused this case with another UT murder. About a half dozen released so far @fox7austin

(video clip rudy koski on Twitter )

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Meechaiel Criner trial: Prospective jurors mix up UT killings facts

"Highlights

-A man told the judge he answered a questionnaire while thinking he was being considered for a different case.

-Due to the case’s vast exposure, Judge David Wahlberg has arranged for three jury panels this week.

Attorneys trying to find jurors whose opinions have not been influenced by media exposure in the death of University of Texas student Haruka Weiser encountered an unexpected twist Monday: Several candidates said they had confused the case with an unrelated killing on the Austin campus.

Foster care runaway Meechaiel Criner, who was 17 when he was arrested, is on trial for capital murder in connection with Weiser’s April 2016 strangulation and sexual assault. Former UT student Kendrex White was charged with murder 13 months later after police say he went on a stabbing spree on campus, killing one person and injuring three others...."

Meechaiel Criner trial: Prospective jurors mix up UT killings facts
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[YESorNO]

Timeline: Haruka Weiser murder case

July 9, 2018

"The following timeline is the series of events leading up to the trial of Meechaiel Criner, according to his arrest affidavit and reporting from KXAN, KVUE, the Austin American-Statesman and The Daily Texan...."

Timeline: Haruka Weiser murder case - The Daily Texan
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[YESorNO]

Daily Texan Podcast‏ @TexanPodcast 5h5 hours ago
While you wait on the Texan to get from the printing press to your hands, check out the latest @thedailytexan podcast. @meganmenchaca13 comes on to explain what to expect in the upcoming Meechaiel Criner trial. Listen:

Texan Summer Summary: Previewing the Meechaiel Criner Trial
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[YESorNO]

Jury selection begins in Haruka Weiser murder trial

Jul 09, 2018

"...When arguments could start

At a status hearing last week, the judge in the case said he hopes to have a jury seated by Wednesday of this week and opening statements might start that day or Thursday. Jurors can expect to work long days so the trial can wrap up before another on the court docket. The trial is expected to last a week and a half, but will be several days shorter than originally expected because of the Judge's decision to throw out certain DNA evidence in the case.

Parties involved

Representing Meechaiel Criner are attorney's Ariel Payan, Darla Davis, and Jeremy Slaughter. Representing the state are attorneys Guillermo Gonzalez, Rickey Jones, and VIctoria Winkeler.

Judge David Wahlberg is presiding over this case and emphasized to potential jurors Monday that this has been a "high publicity case." He urged prospective jurors to not discuss the case with anyone and to not read or watch any coverage about this case...."

Jury selection begins in Haruka Weiser murder trial
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Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 12h12 hours ago
There have been multiple questions from the jury pool about if mental illness will play a role in the trial. The prosection is redirecting all of these questions. They said all relevant information about the case will be discussed during the trial.
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[Harmony 2]

Trial begins in 2016 murder of UT student from Portland

COMPLETE COVERAGE: DEATH OF UT STUDENT HARUKA WEISER

Capital murder trial for Meechaiel Criner

Criner has pleaded not guilty to the capital murder charge. If jurors find him guilty he faces an automatic life sentence.

 

[mickey2942]

If I was picked for jury duty in this case, I literally could not put my bias against MC. He is guilty.

If this guy goes free, no one is safe. He will kill again.

 

[YESorNO]

Alyssa Goard‏ @AlyssaMGoard 2h2 hours ago
The second day of jury selection for Meechaiel Criner's capital murder trial starts today. He's charged with killing UT Student Haruka Weise

Austin Statesman‏Verified account @statesman 1h1 hour ago
The capital murder trial of Meechaiel Criner, accused of killing UT student Haruka Weiser, continues today. Follow live here: https://atxne.ws/2u8aPG6

Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 2h2 hours ago
THREAD: Nine jurors were selected yesterday for the trial of Meechaiel Criner, indicted in connection to the capital murder of Haruka Weiser.

Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 2h2 hours ago
Similar to yesterday, the judge is expected to bring in a pool of 70+ people and narrow them down to three jurors and several alternates.

Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 2h2 hours ago
Looks like today is going to be running a little late, so while you're waiting, check out this week's edition of the @TexanPodcast, where I talk about everything that's happened so far with the trial.

Texan Summer Summary: Previewing the Meechaiel Criner Trial
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[YESorNO]

Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 59m59 minutes ago
They have just finished seating and swearing in the jury. Nearly every seat in this courtroom is filled, with their placard numbers going up till 79.


Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 46m46 minutes ago
Not a lot is probably going to happen for the next hour or so, as the judge is giving a thorough explanation of the rules of being on a jury to the pool. There's a reason they don't include jury selection in Law and Order episodes.
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[YESorNO]

Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 3h3 hours ago
The judge just finished his "lecture" to the jury pool. Now, the prosecution will be talking to the pool about the role of pre-trial publicity on their opinions and the concept of innocent until proven guilty.


Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 3h3 hours ago
Surprisingly not a lot of questions from the prosecution to the jurors or vice versa about these concepts. This portion of jury selection took about an hour yesterday. Today, it only took about 10 minutes. Now, the defense is discussing the media coverage of the case.


Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 3h3 hours ago
Defense is done with their discussion with the jury pool about the trial. The main subject of their presentation was the influence of bias on one's ability to be a juror. Now, the judge is about to begin questioning the pool about their responses to the jury questionnaire.


Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 2h2 hours ago
Yesterday, 30 people were excused almost entirely because they didn't believe they could overcome their opinion that Criner was already guilty. Today is a little more varied. One person has been dismissed because of a felony conviction. Another because of a job interview.
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[YESorNO]

Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 2h2 hours ago
There were three jurors yesterday who mixed up the on-campus death of Haruka Weiser with the stabbing of Harrison Brown on their questionnaire. During questioning just now, a fourth person said they had also mixed the two deaths up.


Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 1h1 hour ago
After questions about their jury questionnaire, 21 people were excused today. Another 5 were excused before today began. The judge also said he is planning to dismiss the third jury expected to come in tomorrow. The rest of the jurors for the trial will be chosen today.


Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 52m52 minutes ago
We have broken for lunch until 2PM. There are 53 potential jurors remaning. The attorneys must agree on 3 for the jury and 2 alternates. The judge has said that jury selection today will probably go until 6PM. For context, it went until about 8PM yesterday.
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[YESorNO]

Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 2h2 hours ago
We're back in court. The prosecution is now questioning the panel at random about trial procedures. Yesterday, there were lots of questions from the pool about mental illness. Today, there is a lot discussion about their opinions towards defendants who choose not to testify.


Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 2h2 hours ago
ALSO, one more juror was just dismissed after coming in 15 minutes late from lunch break. She said her Uber driver couldn't get back in time.


Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 2h2 hours ago
The prosecution is now debriefing the jury pool about the various charges in the indictment, which include capital murder, aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, and robbery.


Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 1h1 hour ago
For a capital murder conviction, the prosecution must prove each of the things on this list. If they don’t, the jury can also be instructed to consider some of the “lesser offenses” mentioned in my previous tweet.

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[YESorNO]

Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 1h1 hour ago
Multiple prospective jurors admitting now that they will be unable to follow the law because of the mandatory sentence in this case, which is life with the possibility of parole in 40 years. One person just said he couldn't imagine any scenario in which he would vote guilty.



Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 1h1 hour ago
One person just said she could not come to a verdict because she did not know enough about the law and does not want to look at any graphic images presented to her. When the prosecution asked how many people agreed with her statements, about five people raised their hands.



Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 1h1 hour ago
One juror just said he was excited to serve on a jury because he believes people of color don't get a fair shot in the court system. But he said, because of his knowledge of things like jury nullification, he now believes he could not be a fair and partial juror.



Megan Menchaca‏ @meganmenchaca13 57m57 minutes ago
Despite this person's knowledge of jury nullification, the judge is strongly urging this person to reconsider their decision because the judge wants the jury to be a fair and diverse representation of the community.
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