In response to the guilty verdict in the Murad Dervish trial in the murder of Thomas Meixner, the Pima County Attorney’s Office has released the following statement:
Today after less than three hours of deliberation, a Pima County jury found Murad Dervish guilty on all charges, including first-degree murder in the death of Hydrology Professor Thomas Meixner. On October 5, 2022, our community was shaken by the tragic pre-meditated murder of Professor Thomas Meixner, after Dervish entered the University of Arizona campus and committed this horrific crime. 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.
After months of hard work, and preparation, by Pima County Prosecutors Mark Hotchkiss and Hayley Weigold, PCAO paralegals and staff, PCAO Detectives who helped secure out of and our Victim Services Division who immediately responded to provide counseling to faculty, staff, and students after the shooting, we are glad to see that justice is served in this case. Our teams will continue to work with victims who are still in need of assistance given the devastating impacts of Dr. Meixner’s murder.
With this guilty verdict, our community can continue to heal, but the work is not nearly done. In honor of the family’s expressed wishes, and under her own 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.
Sentencing is set for June 24, 2024.
Media Contact: Shawndrea Thomas
Director of Communications
Pima County Attorney’s Office
(520) 724-5738 (Office)
(520) 310-4720 (Mobile)
Shawndrea.Thomas@pcao.pima.gov
