University Of Texas-Austin Homicide Victim Was Sexually Abused, Strangled: Police Sources

AUSTIN, TX -- The University of Texas-Austin student found dead on campus last week may have been sexually abused before her dying of strangulation, the Austin American-Statesman reported late Tuesday citing law enforcement officials involved in the case.

Forensic examiners are said to have collected DNA samples from the body of 18-year-old Haruka Weiser, whose body was found last Tuesday along a stretch of Waller Creek running through campus. Police are awaiting official results and will likely file additional charges against Meechaiel Criner, 17, who’s been charged with her murder.

Criner is currently behind bars at Travis County Jail on a $1 million bail. In a joint report with KVUE-TV, the Statesman reports investigators will likely submit DNA from the crime scene into law enforcement databases to discern any potential matches to other crimes elsewhere in Texas.

The revelations mark the first time details are known as to the manner in which Weiser died. Austin Police Department Chief Art Acevedo has declined to reveal how the young woman from Portland, Ore. died at previous press conferences.