Meechaiel Criner, a homeless 17-year-old, has been charged with first degree murder, Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said at a Friday press conference.
Acevedo said police got a report of a trash fire on Monday, which they determined Criner started. After surveillance video related to Haruka's murder surfaced, a woman called authorities saying the person in the video resembled the person allegedly connected to the trash fire – Criner.
After the trash fire, authorities initially took Criner to Life Works, a local homeless shelter.
He said authorities have in their possession a duffel bag and other possessions they believe to be Haruka's. He said Criner was initially detained for tampering with evidence.
Acevedo did not know Criner's alleged motive, saying at the press conference, "I have no clue what the motive is."
He said that authorities will proceed cautiously in releasing details of the investigation, saying, "Our number one responsibility is to a family who lost a daughter. There are only two people that know definitely what happened - the suspect and the victim. we would be remiss if we started talking specifics of investigation."
Acevedo said "homelessness is not a crime," and added, "We will focus on behavior and not socioeconomic standing."
Acevedo said that Austin was "an extremely safe city," and that the campus was safe, saying there hadn't been a homicide on campus since 1966. That year, Charles Joseph Whitman killed 16 people and wounded 32 when he began shooting people inside the university's tower.
According to Acevedo, Haruka's mother told him before the press conference started to tell his colleagues and everyone at the University of Texas "to take care of themselves and go home and hug your children."
Acevedo added: "No one should have to bury a child, especially a girl like Haruka with such a beautiful spirit," he said.
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