Austin nonprofit celebrates grand opening of SafeHorns Place to honor murdered UT student

On Thursday, a local nonprofit held the grand opening of SafeHorns Place.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Thursday, a local nonprofit held the grand opening of SafeHorns Place.

The spot is intended as a community space for students to come hang out, take self-defense workshops, learn life-saving techniques and enjoy social events.

The space was created in memory of 18-year-old Haruka Weiser, a University of Texas at Austin student who was murdered on campus in April 2016.

The SafeHorns president said she hoped the new space would help curb crime in West Campus and help students feel safe -- all in Weiser's memory.

SafeHorns Place is located inside the basement of the Congregational Church of Austin on West 23rd Street.

Weiser’s body was found in Waller Creek near the campus’ Alumni Center, and court documents said there were signs of “obvious trauma” to her body and evidence she had been sexually assaulted.

In 2018, Meechaiel Criner was convicted and sentenced to life in prison on a count of capital murder related to Weiser’s death. That sentence was upheld in 2020. Because he was 17 at the time of the crime, he was not eligible for the death penalty.

Surveillance video at the time of the murder linked Criner to the crime, as well as possessions of Weiser’s that Criner had.

After Weiser’s murder, UT launched the ‘Be Safe’ campaign to encourage people to look out for one another and make students aware of safety resources that are available to them, such as rides on campus from UT police.

The university also launched a comprehensive safety study to determine what changes should be made for campus security.

The changes included upgrading lighting systems, pathways and security cameras, increasing police presence and increasing nighttime transportation and emergency call boxes on and off campus.