Former student heads to prison for life for killing University of Arizona professor

PHOENIX — A former University of Arizona graduate student was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of a professor on campus in 2022.

Murad Dervish, 48, was found guilty of first-degree murder after he shot Thomas Meixner, the head of the university's Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, on Oct. 5, 2022. The sentence he received Monday will put him behind bars for the rest of his natural life, plus 14 years, with no parole.

Last month, a jury also found him guilty of a slew of other charges, including one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, one count of burglary, and three counts of endangerment. Dervish was a graduate student who was expelled and prohibited from being on campus.

He was accused of threatening Meixner and other faculty and university staff for more than a year.

Dervish's attorney wanted his client to be found guilty except insane, telling the jury Dervish did not know right from wrong and was psychotic, paranoid, and delusional. The prosecutor from the Pima County Attorney’s Office argued the murder was premeditated and showed threatening emails and evidence that Dervish planned to kill Meixner in the weeks and months before the shooting.

Family, university requested life sentence without parole

During the sentencing, Meisner’s sisters, son, and wife spoke about their experience, and all requested Dervish be sentenced to life in prison without a chance of parole. They spoke about how kind and intelligent Meixner was and how he was generous with his community.

One of his sons, Sean Meixner, spoke before the sentencing was announced about his grief, sadness, and hatred of Dervish, stating his life would never be the same without his father. He spoke about feeling as though he is waiting to die so he can hold his father again and be free of the "agony living in his absence."

“How could a man who devoted his life to God and others be taken from this life in the worst way possible, in pain and fear? Where was God in that?” he said.

Celina Ramirez, representing the university, said Meixner was a passionate, world-renowned scholar, and kind mentor whose leadership resulted in the hydrology department’s high ranking.

She said the shooting has impacted the mental health of students and university staff, noting the challenge it is for many students and employees to return to campus.

“No legal punishment could ever be enough to fully atone for the intense grief and pain the defendant has inflicted upon Dr. Meixner's family, friends, colleagues, students, and the university community,” Ramirez said.

But Meixner’s sisters specifically criticized the university, as well as UA police and the person who sold Dervish the gun he used to kill Meixner.

“The University of Arizona failed my brother,” said Margaret Meixner, one of his sisters. "He loved and trusted the U of A, but that trust was misplaced."

She called the university’s police department incompetent and said the police and the university had her “brother’s blood on their hands.”

University police, according to a letter by university President Robbert Robbins, went to the county attorney’s office twice to net charges against Dervish. The county attorney declined to press charges because of a lack of evidence.

In the months following the shooting, a faculty report found the university knew about the threats and failed to implement an effective risk management system to keep people on campus safe. Another report, compiled by a consultant hired by the university, offered 33 recommendations for improving security.

Since then, the university has implemented numerous safety changes and updated safety communications. Meixner's family settled a lawsuit against the university for $2.5 million for failing to protect Meixner in January.

Dervish apologizes to Meixner's family but says trial was unfair

After Meixner’s family members made their victim’s statements, Dervish addressed the judge over the objection of his attorney.

Dervish said he was pushed to speak because of the repeated mentions of him being a monster. Dervish spoke about how he had been enamored by the weather ever since he was a child and was so happy when he got into the University of Arizona.

“I felt I was in this new and magical place, I was going to study what I always wanted to truly study,” he said, adding that he fought addiction, being homeless, and rejected by the people in his life.

He said his heart broke for “what happened.”

“For them to lose him is just horrible, to his wife I don’t even know what to say,” Dervish said. “Just saying the word sorry sounds dumb and ugly. It doesn’t fit … with what happened.” 

He also said “significant errors” were made during the trial process, primarily by his attorneys. He noted the trial was not granted a change of venue, and claimed the trial was unfair.

“I have yet to have a fair and impartial trial,” he said.

Pima County Superior Court Judge Howard Fell told him that he would have the opportunity for others to review whether the trial was done fairly and impartially.

“Right now, you are going to prison for the rest of your life,” Fell said.

Dervish threatened, harassed staff before the shooting

The prosecutor said on the day of the shooting, Dervish entered the Harshbarger Building at UA shortly before 2 p.m. He chased Meixner down a hallway in the building and into a classroom. Dervish emptied his magazine, in total shooting Meixner 11 times.

After the shooting, Dervish fled the building, police said. According to the complaint, police found Dervish driving on Highway 85 toward Mexico 30 miles south of Gila Bend three hours later.

Documents say Dervish refused to stop, leading police on a chase for two to three miles until his car was successfully stopped.  

Dervish's threatening behavior was well-known among members of the department and law enforcement before the shooting occurred. In the year before the shooting, Dervish reportedly harassed and made threats to staff members working at Harshbarger Building.

Some of the threats were antisemitic in which Dervish wished death to all Jews and accused Meixner of orchestrating a Jewish-led conspiracy against him, despite Meixner being raised Roman Catholic.

Dervish's attorney said his anger towards Meixner stemmed from receiving a bad grade on a test.

Before his expulsion from the university, Dervish had been prohibited from stepping foot on university property. Pictures of Dervish were distributed throughout the department with instructions on how and when to call the police.

Additionally, entry passwords for rooms Dervish previously had access were changed.

After the judge handed down the sentence, the Pima County Attorney's Office released a statement, saying County Attorney Laura Conover will bring red-flag legislation back to the Legislature this year, following the wishes of Meixner's family.

“In honor of the family’s expressed wishes, and under her 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," said her office in a statement.

Those laws, which have the backing of Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes, allow courts to order the seizure of firearms from people who might be a threat to themselves or others.

Former Gov. Doug Ducey proposed a similar law, under a different name, in 2018 after 17 students and staff were killed in a shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school. But the Republican's bill was rejected by the GOP-majority Legislature.

Reach the reporter at sarah.lapidus@gannett.com. The Republic’s coverage of southern Arizona is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. Support Arizona news coverage with a tax-deductible donation at supportjournalism.azcentral.com.