Austin residents talk about the possibility of a serial killer on Rainey Street
Austin residents talk to Fox News Digital about the possibility of a serial killer on Rainey Street as well as the odds of it being a series of accidents.
A fifth man has been found dead in Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas, in the past six months, according to police in the Texas capital.
His identity was not immediately available.
"This case is still under investigation," a department spokesman told Fox News Digital Wednesday. "No further details are available at this time."
Four other men have turned up dead in the lake, which is actually a portion of the Colorado River running through downtown Austin, according to authorities. They have repeatedly downplayed speculation that a serial killer may be behind the deaths.
AUSTIN HAS ITS FIRST KNOWN SERIAL KILLER IN 138 YEARS, BUT QUESTIONS REMAIN ON RAINEY STREET DEATHS
A hike and bike trail along Lady Bird Lake is feet from the end of Rainey Street on Sunday, April 2, 2023, in downtown Austin, Texas. (Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman/USA TODAY NETWORK)
"If there was any immediate public safety concerns, we would release that information, right," Austin police Sgt. Lee Knouse told FOX 7 Austin Tuesday evening, adding that none of the deaths have been linked to one another.
However, even as the city is increasing safety measures in the area of Lady Bird Lake and along the popular nightlife on Rainey Street, police have reiterated that they have not seen signs of a serial killer, or even foul play.
Then, it turned out the city did have an active serial killer, according to prosecutors – but he had nothing to do with the bodies in the water.
The downtown strip in Austin, Texas, is home to some of the city's nightlife, and several recent drownings in the city involved men who were last seen there. (Matteo Cina/Fox News Digital)
Raul Meza Jr. shot a man in 1975, killed a girl in 1982 and allegedly confessed to two new murders earlier this month as Texas police continue to eye him in other cold cases.
The U.S. Marshals arrested the 62-year-old ex-con in connection with the May murder of his former roommate, an 80-year-old retired probation officer named Jesse Fraga, and in the 2019 murder of 66-year-old Gloria Lofton.
On May 20, he allegedly strangled Fraga with a belt, stabbed him and severed his spine – prompting a manhunt that ended with the suspect apparently calling police and turning himself in.
Raul Meza Jr., 66, in a mug shot released by Austin police after his arrest in connection with two murders in the greater Austin, Texas, area stretching back to 2019. Detectives are also looking at him in connection with eight to 10 additional unsolved slayings. (Austin Police Department)
"I think you are looking for me," Meza said in a May 24 phone call, according to the Marshals.
BODIES STACK UP IN TEXAS CITY AMID FEARS OF SERIAL KILLER, RUMORS OF ‘ROOFIE’ ATTACKS
"I can't say that this guy did anything at Lady Bird Lake, and I can't even say for sure there is a serial killer at Lady Bird Lake – but what it looks like to me is that there are suspicious deaths at Lady Bird Lake," criminal profiler John Kelly said after Meza's arrest.
A sign warns of poor lighting conditions at night on a hike and bike trail along Lady Bird Lake that passes the end of Rainey Street on Sunday, April 2, 2023, in downtown Austin, Texas. (Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman/USA TODAY NETWORK)
The Lady Bird Lake deaths have involved men in or around their 30s who had been drinking on Rainey Street and were later found dead in the water. However, police have said they do not suspect foul play in any of them.
Police found Jason John, 30, dead in Lady Bird Lake in February, a week after he was last seen on Rainey Street, which has a popular row of bars near the water. According to an autopsy report obtained by Fox News Digital, a "transient bystander" witnessed him stumble into the water.
Read the autopsy of Jason John (Mobile users go here)
The bystander called 911, but John's remains were not recovered until eight days later. The toxicology report found alcohol in his system and his death was ruled an accidental drowning.
John's autopsy is the first of the deaths there this year to have been made public.
Clifton Axtell, 40, was identified as the man found dead in the same stretch of water on March 5. Jonathan Honey, 33, was found on April 1, a day after he was last seen at a food truck on Rainey Street. John Christopher Hays-Clark, 30, was also discovered in April, washed up near a dam about two miles down river from where the others were found.
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Authorities have increased safety measures around Rainey Street and the Lady Bird Lake waterfront, adding fencing, lighting and increasing patrols to prevent people from slipping into the river. However, some have questioned whether "roofies" or other incapacitating drugs have been used in connection with the deaths.
"If it turns out that we believe there's a serial killer at Lady Bird Lake, then what are the odds we have two serial killers in the same city?" Kelly, the criminal profiler, asked.
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