Former AU student sentenced to life for professor's murder, victim's family calls for gun reform

Murad Dervish, who killed University of Arizona professor Thomas Meixner on campus in 2022, was sentenced to life in prison Monday afternoon. In May, a jury unanimously found the former graduate student guilty of six counts, including first-degree murder.

Against the advice of his lawyers, Dervish shared his feelings about his actions, showing little emotion or remorse.

“I did everything I could think of to make sure this didn’t happen,” Dervish said.

Dervish was enrolled in the Atmospheric Sciences graduate program beginning in fall 2021. After an aggressive confrontation with members of the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences regarding a test score obtained by Dervish and months of harassment, Dervish was ultimately fired as a graduate teaching assistant and banned from campus. Meixner was one of the victims who received threats from Dervish.

The former student requested a new trial, claiming his lawyers made “significant errors.” One example of an error, Dervish said, was the denial of a change of venue.

“This is a very serious crime that has received widespread media coverage,” he said. “It’s completely different from 99.999% of crimes.”

Dervish claimed media reports said he had committed the murder, which he believed would have influenced the jury, who were asked not to watch the news during the trial.

“There is no murder until a trial has taken place. Before a trial takes place, there are only allegations and accusations… It was absolutely slanderous and gratuitous.

There was no indication during or after the trial that there were any such problems with the jury.

When the trial began in May, one of the prosecutors made clear that it was not a question of whether he did it or not.

“This is not a question of whether or not the defendant was the one who pulled the trigger and shot Professor Meixner,” prosecutor Hayley Weigold said in May. “It’s about the intentional killing of Professor Meixner and the distinction between good and evil.”

Dervish will also be sentenced to an additional 14 years in prison for his other charges, including aggravated assault, burglary, possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited possessor and endangerment. The sentences will be served consecutively.

His lawyer asked for a guilty verdict, unless insanity, on the second-degree murder charges. However, after two hours of deliberation, the jury did not believe Dervish was insane, finding him guilty of first-degree murder. Throughout the trial, there was conflicting expert testimony as to whether Dervish suffered from a number of mental illnesses, including autism and schizoaffective disorder.

Meixner's family, including his sons Sean and Brendan, his sisters Anne, Joan and Margaret and his widow, Kathleen, made statements to Judge Howard Fell, all asking for life without parole.

However, Sean shared that if it were him, Dervish would get the death penalty.

“My father wouldn’t want Murad Dervish killed,” Sean said. “He was against it, but I was against it because it’s not what my father would have wanted. It's about what he deserves and what Mr. Dervish deserves, and Murad Dervish doesn't deserve anything good that this life has to offer.

Since the shooting, Sean said he feels like he was robbed of a life where his father would watch him grow up and eventually start a family of his own.

“My world has not been and will never be the same since October 5th. I learned that there is a significant difference between wanting to live and just not wanting to die,” Sean said. “Often I feel like I'm waiting to die just so I can hold my father again and free myself from the agony of living in his absence.”

Others, like some of Tom's sisters, used their statements to call for stricter gun regulations and better accountability from the university.

The role of the AU, the red flag laws

Tom's sister, Margaret Meixner, said UA failed her brother.

“He loved and trusted the University of Alberta, but that trust was misplaced,” Margaret said. “The University of Alberta Police Service was incompetent in the way they handled this very serious situation and arrogant in failing to acknowledge their role in this tragedy. The University of Alberta, and particularly its police department, has my brother's blood on its hands.

She claims the UA is only now making changes to its security measures because of a lawsuit filed by Tom's widow, Kathleen. In January, the UA and the Arizona Board of Regents reached a $2.5 million settlement with Tom's family after two reports showed the UA had a fractured risk management system that led to the death of the professor.

During Monday's sentencing, Celina Ramirez, UA vice president for initiatives and policy, said “the loss of Thomas Meixner has had an immense and immeasurable impact on the University of Arizona.”

“The department and entire university community continue to mourn the loss of this incredible and inspiring person,” Ramirez said during sentencing. “The trauma experienced by those who knew Dr. Meixner, and by the entire community, cannot be overstated… No legal sanction can ever be sufficient to fully atone for the intense grief and pain that the defendant inflicted to the family and friends of Dr. Meixner. , colleagues, students and university community.

“Everyone seems to think this won’t happen to me or my family,” Margaret said. “It’s really only a matter of time before it hits you.” We must all demand better gun regulations that reward and support responsible gun ownership and prevent criminals and murderers from obtaining these deadly weapons.

Tom's widow Kathleen now wants more comprehensive gun reform in Arizona.

“My family deserved better, and the next family deserves better,” she said. “We need a red flag law now. »

Kathleen called for better training for employees of UAPD, the Tucson Police Department, the Pima County Prosecutor's Office and the police bureau. She also implored gun owners who intend to sell guns to ask buyers questions and insist on background checks.

Live like Tom

In an interview with AZPM after the sentencing, Kathleen detailed many of the memories she shared with Tom throughout his life.

She said some of the things on Tom's bucket list included: riding your bike on the way home to visit your son's job, talking with your neighbors, singing wacky original songs, going out and dancing, participating to service activities at church, at work. , and in the community and much more.

In the year and a half since his murder, many colleagues, former students, family members and friends around the world have recalled Tom's impact on their lives. It wasn't a question of whether he was loved, but rather how he found the time to do it all. Kathleen says her secret was to take naps anytime and anywhere.

“I really think his experience as a four-time cancer survivor has created in him a life philosophy that I'm going to enjoy this day in the most joyful way possible,” she said. “It’s living like you don’t know how much time you have left.”

She, along with the rest of her family, finds Tom in the daily motions of life, including as recently as this season's first monsoon which occurred just days before sentencing. Tom was best known for devoting his life to trying to save the world's most precious resource: water.

“Thank you Tom for this profound reminder that you are with us because the night he died, we had a huge, incredible storm that night.”

During church the Sunday before Monday's sentencing, Kathleen said the reading was about Jesus calming the storm.

“We just want some peace and quiet. We want to know he's safe and I want to know my kids are going to be okay. »

As Kathleen moves forward into this next stage of her life taking on advocacy roles she never expected, she finds herself doing her best to “live like Tom.” She notably recalled a statement he made to a colleague on the day of his death as members of the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences community mourned the death of a student earlier in the day.

“Irma asked him how Tom was behaving as he went to help officiate. Tom's response was, “Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do.” But you do it because you need to be strong for the people around you who you care about. These words typify who Tom was: a man of compassion and action to support others.

“If I could do or say something that would prevent someone else from going through what we went through, I’m all for it,” Kathleen said. “If I could do or say anything to improve Tom's department and help it thrive, I'm all for it.”

For those who want to commemorate Tom's memory, Kathleen says the best way is to connect with the community.

“That's where we learn new perspectives, and that's how he considered different perspectives in his life, whether academic or political, in different ways…Tom's life was improved by it, and I think he improved other lives because of it too. »