AUSTIN, Texas — Many fear it: to go unseen, to die with your story untold – especially when the unjust goes unsaid or undisclosed. For 65-year-old Gloria Lofton, the truth about her death four years ago is finally unraveling.
"A lot of people dropped the ball, but when is it going to stop? " asked Sonia Houston, Gloria Lofton's daughter. "When is it going to end?"
Houston wants to know why Austin police mishandled her mother's case.
"It's just not making sense to me," Houston said.
The Austin Police Department is wondering the same thing.
On Wednesday, the department launched an administrative review to determine why investigators possibly ignored key evidence in the Lofton case.
According to court documents, in 2019, Lofton was found dead in her East Austin home, partially unclothed and with a strangulation mark across her neck. But her death was labeled undetermined.
Houston and her sister, Christina Fultz, said their mother's home was clearly a crime scene.
"When I'm walking down the hall, and I'm seeing my mom's blood spatter – make it make sense," Houston said. "When I'm seeing her glasses upside down – make it make sense."
Lofton's daughters said they have video of a used condom bagged for evidence but left behind by officers. In 2020, Lofton's rape kit results revealed that Raul Meza Jr's DNA matched – information that was revealed in court documents earlier this week, following Meza's confession to murdering Lofton.
"Again, 2020, why am I hearing about it in 2023?" Houston asked. "Why wasn't I aware or privy to the fact that there was even a rape kit done?"
Houston said Meza lived at a halfway house next door to Lofton on Sara Drive.
She said she can't help but think affluence and race played a role in how her mother's case was handled.
"Had the right money, number point, race, demographic, whatever you want to call it been right, would it have been handled then?" Houston asked.
Houston said her mom taught her to set the standard and always try to see the good in a bad situation.
"So, a sorry is a sorry. But at the end of the day, had I not provided pictures to you, there wouldn't have even been a face to her name," she said.
So the good: her mom is finally being seen, her story told and the truth is being unveiled.
"So since my mom can't, I will be her voice," Houston said. "Keep him where he needs to be [after] the pain that he has caused. Let the Lord have his will, and I'll leave it at that."
Meza is being held on more than $3 million bond for the four charges he is currently facing. But police may charge him with more crimes as they investigate.
Lofton's daughters said they are exploring possible legal action over how their mother's case was handled.