TUCSON, Ariz. — A former University of Arizona graduate student convicted of fatally shooting a hydrology professor on campus months after he was expelled will spend the rest of his natural life in prison.
A Pima County Superior Court jury last month found Murad Dervish guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Thomas Meixner, who was shot 11 times near his office on Oct. 5, 2022.
Dervish, 48, was also convicted on five other felony counts, including aggravated assault for a bullet that grazed a building manager. Dervish was sentenced to 14 years in prison for those crimes.
"The man who took my husband's life will spend the rest of his life in prison - but that doesn't bring Tom back," a statement from Thomas Meixner's wife, Kathleen Meixner, said. "This sentence does not prevent the next tragedy when absolutely nothing has changed in society that allowed a man with a violent history to have a gun in the first place. My family deserved better, and the next family deserves better. We need a Red Flag law now."
You can read Kathleen Meixner's full, four-page statement here.
"This tragic case has had a traumatic impact on the victims and our community as a whole," a statement from the Pima County Attorney's Office said. "In honor of the family’s expressed wishes, and under her desire for a safer community, County Attorney Conover will bring her red flag legislation back to the legislature again next year, and for as long as it takes, to bring home common-sense gun safety reforms for a safer and healthier community."
Jurors deliberated for less than three hours on May 21 before reaching their verdicts against Dervish.
Dervish’s attorney said his client was in the midst of a psychotic episode at the time of the shooting and urged jurors to consider a lesser charge of second-degree murder that could have meant confinement in a psychiatric hospital, rather than a prison cell.
But prosecutors said evidence showed Dervish planned Meixner’s killing and bought a 9 mm handgun a month before using it in the shooting.
Meixner, 52, headed the university’s Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences. Dervish was in the master’s degree program in atmospheric sciences.
Authorities said Dervish was banned from the school in January 2022 and later expelled for ongoing issues with professors after he received a bad grade.
According to a criminal complaint, a flyer with a photograph of Dervish was then circulated to university staff in February 2022 with instructions to call 911 if Dervish ever entered the John W. Harshbarger Building, where Meixner worked.
The complaint also said Dervish was barred from school property and was the subject of several reports of harassment and threats to staff members working at Harshbarger.
Witnesses testified that Dervish was wearing a surgical mask and baseball cap as a disguise when he showed up outside Meixner’s office and shot the professor.
Dervish fled the scene but was arrested three hours later after Arizona state troopers stopped his car on a highway more than 120 miles (190 kilometers) northwest of Tucson.
Authorities said a loaded handgun was found in the vehicle, and the ammunition was consistent with the shell casings found at the shooting scene.
During Monday's sentencing hearing, Judge Howard Fell acknowledged that Dervish can appeal his conviction, but stated he's now going away for good.
“You're going to have the opportunity for some other men and women decide whether or not the trial was done fairly and impartially and if they decide that, you’ll have another trial. But for now, you are going to prison for the rest of your life," Fell said.
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