Arizona grad student accused of killing professor in 2022 had planned the crime, prosecutor says

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A defense attorney says a former University of Arizona graduate student accused of killing a professor on campus two years ago was undergoing a psychotic episode at the time. But a prosecutor said in closing trial arguments Monday that the crime was premeditated and that Murad Dervish had planned the killing of Thomas Meixner, who was fatally shot near his office on Oct. 5, 2022. Dervish faces felony charges including first-degree murder in Meixner’s death. Jurors are to begin deliberating Tuesday morning in Pima County Superior Court. Defense attorney Leo Masursky told jurors that the killing wasn’t premeditated.