Trial begins for ex-University of Arizona grad student accused of fatally shooting professor in 2022

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The trial has begun for a former University of Arizona graduate student accused of fatally shooting a professor in 2022 after he was banned from campus because of harassment complaints. A jury was seated Tuesday in Pima County Superior Court. Murad Dervish has been charged with seven felony charges including first-degree murder in the death of Thomas Meixner, who was shot several times inside a building in October 2022. Meixner headed the university’s Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences and was an expert on desert water issues. Dervish had been a graduate student in the hydrology program before he was expelled.