Murad Dervish (left) and Thomas Meixner. (Image of Dervish via University of Arizona Police; image of Meixner via University of Arizona)
A jury took less than three hours to convict a University of Arizona graduate student for the murder of a hydrology professor. Murad Dervish, 48, was found guilty of first-degree murder and other charges in the death of Thomas Meixner, the Pima County Attorney’s Office said.
According to police in Tucson, Arizona, Dervish showed up at the University of Arizona’s John W. Harshbarger Building on Oct. 5, 2022. Someone called the cops on him because he was not supposed to be there.
The school had expelled him and banned him from campus months earlier. Staff received an email in February 2022, featuring his picture and a warning about him.
The incident on Oct. 5 allegedly escalated to Dervish shooting and killing Meixner of the Department of Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences.
Dervish also hurt another person with bullet fragments, officers said. He fled the scene, later leading officers on a chase down Highway 85 until law enforcement stopped him with a PIT maneuver, according to investigators.
Meixner was pronounced dead at a hospital. Dervish had shot him four times with a 9 mm handgun. There were 11 shell casings in the office where he was shot, officers said.
“The impact of this case has left a lingering effect on the U of A campus community, the Tucson community, and those who were there when the crime occurred,” the attorney’s office said in a statement. “[W]e are glad to see that justice is served in this case
Defense attorney Leo Masursky told jurors during his closing argument that his client was having a psychotic episode at the time of the shooting.
“Murad Dervish lost his mind on Oct. 5, 2022,” Masursky said, according to The Associated Press. “He had severe mental health issues. He did not know right from wrong.”
But Pima County prosecutor Mark Hotchkiss said Dervish planned the shooting because he had bought a 9 mm handgun about a month prior to the incident.
“He is not guilty but insane. He’s just guilty,” Hotchkiss said, per the AP.
When cops arrested Dervish for murder, he allegedly voiced hope that Meixner was “OK.” But police interview footage shows the suspect with a jocular, even proud demeanor as law enforcement tried to get him to confess. He refused to talk to them without a lawyer, but the camera continued to roll as investigators stepped out.
“Well, at least I fulfilled my mission,” he said, alone in the room.
“I hope he’s OK,” Dervish told police during his arrest, according to documents obtained by local CBS affiliate KOLD. “Probably wishful thinking.”
Another alleged comment made the motive pretty clear.
“I just felt so disrespected by that whole department,” he allegedly said. Dervish was seeking a master’s in atmospheric sciences.
Dervish simply said “OK,” when an officer told him about charging him with first-degree murder, as seen on video newly reported by local news outlets.
“You look surprised by that,” the officer said.
Dervish pretty much stonewalled the police.
“We have quite a bit of evidence, and I think you know what that evidence is,” the officer said.
“Well, it’s a shame we can’t talk,” Dervish said. “We seem like we have a lot in common. Going to U of A, living in San Diego.”
The officer told Dervish they found a gun in his car.
“I’m sure you would like to hear it,” the defendant said.
He told police they will hear his story in court.
Dervish’s father said his son had a lengthy history of violence, including attacking him with a crowbar, according to The Arizona Daily Star. The defendant also once tried to strangle his own mother with a scarf, the father reportedly said.
The school has mourned Meixner.
University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins described him as “an international force in his field of hydrology and atmospheric sciences and a kind and warm man, had a tremendous impact on his department and the students he mentored,” according to an online memorial.
“Tom was a wonderful person, whose larger-than-life approach to being and doing inspired those around him and elevated the community. The world is different without him,” said Carmala Garzione, dean of the College of Science, said in the tribute. “As a cancer survivor, Tom shared with me that he chose to live life to the fullest and focus on things that are valuable to him and beneficial to the people around him. In the face of challenges, he always provided a positive and forward-moving approach.”
Alberto Luperon contributed to this report
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