TUCSON, ARIZONA: An expelled graduate student of the University of Arizona who is suspected to have murdered a professor, made a chilling confession after authorities walked out of the interrogation, a newly surfaced video showed.
When police apprehended Murad Dervish last year, he allegedly voiced concern for Professor Thomas Meixner. However, shockingly, things took an unexpected turn as the footage showed the suspect with a proud demeanor while law enforcement tried hard to make him confess. He refused to talk to them in the absence of a lawyer, but little did Murad know that camera was still rolling after the investigators stepped out.
Who is Murad Dervish?
On October 5 last year, Murad showed up at the University of Arizona’s John W. Harshbarger Building, as per the cops in Tucson, Arizona. Someone called the cops on him because he was not supposed to be there. The suspect was banned several months earlier from the campus and was even expelled from the institution. In February 2022, staff got an email that featured his picture along with a warning.
The incident on October 5 allegedly escalated to such an extent that the 47-year-old man fatally shot Thomas Meixner of the Department of Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences. Officers said that he also injured another person with bullet fragments. Murad escaped the crime scene, later leading officers in a chase down Highway 85 until law enforcement stopped him with a PIT maneuver.
The professor tragically was declared dead at a hospital. Meixner was shot four times with a 9 mm handgun. There were 11 shell casings in the office where he was shot, officers said.
'Well, at least I fulfilled my mission'
“Well, at least I fulfilled my mission,” Murad can be heard saying the video with a sinister smile after the authorities stepped out. “I hope he’s okay,” Dervish told police initially during his arrest, according to documents obtained by KOLD. “Probably wishful thinking.”
The accused also made another remark which evidently made his motive quite clear. “I just felt so disrespected by that whole department,” he allegedly said. According to the reports of 3TV/CBS5, when an officer told him about charging him with first-degree murder, Murad simply said “okay". “You look surprised by that,” the officer said. “We have quite a bit of evidence, and I think you know what that evidence is,” the officer added.
“Well, it’s a shame we can’t talk,” Dervish said before adding “We seem like we have a lot in common. Going to U of A, living in San Diego.” The officer then informed the accused that they found a firearm in his car. “I’m sure you would like to hear it,” Murad said. He told police they will hear his story in court.
Murad had a history of violence
The defendant faces a count each of first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His father said that Murad had a lengthy history of violence, including attacking him with a crowbar, according to The Arizona Daily Star. He also once tried to strangle his own mother with a scarf, the father reportedly said.
