Criner is accused of sexually assaulting and strangling to death freshman dance student Haruka Weiser in April of 2016 but some on the jury panel are confusing Criner with Kendrex J. White, who went on stabbing spree in May of 2017 and killed four.
The Statesman reports the two were the first homicides on the UT campus since the 1966 tower shooting spree by Charles Whitman. Judge David Wahlberg is calling for three jury panels for the Criner trial. Others on the jury panel said media coverage has influenced their thinking and they couldn’t guarantee him a fair trial.