TX - Elizabeth Barraza, 29, murdered setting up garage sale, Harris Co, Jan 2019 #4

[fridaybaker]

What is so frustrating is that we have no idea what, if anything, was on the "paper", or even if there was such a thing. Perhaps it was just a blank piece of paper to draw Liz's attention, to give the killer time to draw and aim the gun.

And: I'm warming up to the idea that this could have been a hired hit, especially if Liz were the one who angered/tangled with the one mentioned by S. If this were the case, I can easily see a friend(s) of this person being the hit man/men.

Liz's father said that Liz didn't deal with dangerous people, didn't lead a dangerous life, etc. Yet, her husband came up with a person he thought might desire to and be capable of murdering her. Think of that...

 

[Erutan]

What is so frustrating is that we have no idea what, if anything, was on the "paper", or even if there was such a thing. Perhaps it was just a blank piece of paper to draw Liz's attention, to give the killer time to draw and aim the gun.

And: I'm warming up to the idea that this could have been a hired hit, especially if Liz were the one who angered/tangled with the one mentioned by S. If this were the case, I can easily see a friend(s) of this person being the hit man/men.

Liz's father said that Liz didn't deal with dangerous people, didn't lead a dangerous life, etc. Yet, her husband came up with a person he thought might desire to and be capable of murdering her. Think of that...

This case seems solvable.
So frustrating !
I think it was someone connected to a person known to the family.
Sad that it's taking so long for justice !
Imo.

 

[KindMind1ofA]

Was the confrontation between Liz, herself, and the “other person”?

And, thanks for your help here. I’ve never figured out how to access the PZ piece.

Yes and sorry I'm being so obtuse here too! just trying to not toss accusations around while still digging into the case There was a person in Sergio's circle who Liz had a personal confrontation with. Any dangerousness of this person or their ties to 'dangerous people' are pure conjecture on my part at this point - but there are some plausible avenues. I'm trying to pursue these avenues but really limited tools available - will shout if I learn anything interesting!

As for the Paula Zahn special, I found it while searching a popular video site.

 

[KindMind1ofA]

I'm not saying this is what happened, just an example of some crazy random thing that could happen if someone gets mad or enraged at a person for some nutty thing and acts out that rage. There are a myriad of possibilities in this case-- I think we all feel frustrated that the police seem no closer to solving this case than they did four long years ago. I am not sure that the police have any idea who did this, but I certainly hope they know more than we think they know.

The thing that draws me away from road rage type of incidents is that the killer seems to have known Sergio's schedule... So for road rage or random/yard sale targeting - this person would seemingly have needed to monitor their activity the prior day to hope to pull something like this off... Maybe LE is aware of such activity but I imagine/hope all videos in the neighborhood have been watched and rewatched of at least the week leading up to the crime.

 

[KindMind1ofA]

What is so frustrating is that we have no idea what, if anything, was on the "paper", or even if there was such a thing. Perhaps it was just a blank piece of paper to draw Liz's attention, to give the killer time to draw and aim the gun.

And: I'm warming up to the idea that this could have been a hired hit, especially if Liz were the one who angered/tangled with the one mentioned by S. If this were the case, I can easily see a friend(s) of this person being the hit man/men.

Liz's father said that Liz didn't deal with dangerous people, didn't lead a dangerous life, etc. Yet, her husband came up with a person he thought might desire to and be capable of murdering her. Think of that...

This is exactly where my mind is at too.

 

[KindMind1ofA]

Being that it is so unique, you would think that it would be VERY high-risk to keep the car after the murder.

The quandary I'd have is that eliminating the vehicle might cause more suspicion than continuing to use it... This came up as a point in the Moscow case ; there were those calling the murderer out in forums for not getting rid of the car - but the reality is that getting rid of the car itself might draw attention... "Hey Bob! What happened to your Nissan?"

Like with so many details, it's probably a case by case basis on whether dumping the car or keeping it is the 'right' move. At least shortly after the crime, anyone integrated into society and living in vicinity of the crime might be best off continuing to drive the vehicle. A recluse or someone who lives far from the crime might be best off dumping it. But in either case, now that it's been so long, I'd assume whoever would have done this has long since safely separated themselves from the vehicle.

 

[ilovewings]

The thing that draws me away from road rage type of incidents is that the killer seems to have known Sergio's schedule... So for road rage or random/yard sale targeting - this person would seemingly have needed to monitor their activity the prior day to hope to pull something like this off... Maybe LE is aware of such activity but I imagine/hope all videos in the neighborhood have been watched and rewatched of at least the week leading up to the crime.

You make a good point. It must have been somebody who knew Sergio's schedule- but it was said on this particular day he left unusually early for a flooring job ( I believe it was flooring)- so normally he would not have left home that early----perhaps it was some type of stalker---Just thinking out loud

 

[KindMind1ofA]

You make a good point. It must have been somebody who knew Sergio's schedule- but it was said on this particular day he left unusually early for a flooring job ( I believe it was flooring)- so normally he would not have left home that early----perhaps it was some type of stalker---Just thinking out loud

Right - and it's possible someone got lucky on arrival time too, but it sure doesn't seem like it.. this point about him leaving earlier than usual actually reinforces another theory we're wrestling with, that this may have been orchestrated by someone who *really* *really* knew Sergios schedule.

 

[Cedars]

Very much agree with this. I’ve often wondered about road rage in this case but have been hesitant to post it because to most of us it’s beyond comprehension that someone would hunt down and lie in wait to kill a driver who cut them off in traffic, etc. Then again, killing a person who cuts you off in traffic in any case is beyond comprehension to most of us.

Recently read about a road rage where the offended party followed the other home and rammed the car repeatedly with his own. I'm sure there's worse stories out there.

However, I think someone in the grip of 'fresh' rage, is, like in that case, overwhelmed by their powerful emotion. When they can't control it, they express it in very obvious ways, ranging from swearing, threatening, or violence. But they can't "think". Strong emotion is incompatible with thinking straight.

To me, this shooter is very controlled. I don't see this person as someone who is acting rashly.

They appear to have patiently waited until Sergio left, but not dilly-dallied, trying to decide whether to act or not.

They certainly hit the jackpot that Liz just happened to be having a garage sale. What would they have done, otherwise?

They drove past her, turned around, and fairly carefully parked, rather than stopping in the middle of the road, close to her.

They appear to approach in a non-threatening manner. They paused to speak before shooting, but didn't shout, wave their arms, etc. When they did shoot, it was controlled, aiming very carefully, especially that last shot.

Is it just good luck they appear to have escaped detection from cameras, phone sweeps, an exhaustive search of her phone, exhaustive interviews with friends and family? (Wouldn't she have mentioned a road rage incident to Sergio, which could then, possibly, have been found by police tracing camera footage or asking for witnesses of her drive home?)

This just seems to me as a well-laid plot, they made no mistakes, it's the answer to the question 'how to kill someone and not get caught'.

If this was motivately by rage, then I think it was left to simmer.

JMO

 

[arielilane]

I'm curious the time it would take to drive from the Barraza's home to Starbucks, get coffee, and drive back to the Barraza's house? imo.

 

[Quiet Time]

I'm thinking, and jmo, that may be the piece of paper had an address on it.
Like 'Hey, can you tell me where this address is?'


That would give the shooter ample time to draw his weapon, aim and fire.

 

[Cedars]

I'm thinking, and jmo, that may be the piece of paper had an address on it.
Like 'Hey, can you tell me where this address is?'


That would give the shooter ample time to draw his weapon, aim and fire.

Good point - or, the conversation was to confirm who she was...

 

[KindMind1ofA]

I'm curious the time it would take to drive from the Barraza's home to Starbucks, get coffee, and drive back to the Barraza's house? imo.

Assuming she drove to the nearest Starbucks, it's only 3 minutes away - per Google, that location is not very busy at 6am on a Friday, and average stay is 10 minutes - which would include busier times and presumably some number of people staying to drink their coffee rather than getting it to go... So I think we can assume Liz could casually have been there and back in 15 minutes

 

[KindMind1ofA]

I was just reading some excellent older posts by @JnRyan and @Cryptic about the curious murder weapon and wanted to revive that a bit and add one more thought;

First on the .380 round LE references; evidently this is a pretty rare bullet for a revolver. It would be surprising if a casual gun purchaser / enraged driver / co-worker / etc.. would stumble on this combination of .380 and revolver as their weapon of choice. Another aspect is that usually revolvers have a bit of kick (although evidently a .380 round is very low recoil compared to other rounds, which may be why it would be used for this type of attack). Anyway, someone who isn't familiar with shooting and tries to fire several shots in a row will find that the barrel will drift upwards with each shot as they fail to account for the recoil. So even at close range a wholly inexperienced shooter may not hit with their second or third shot when trying to fire in rapid succession as in Liz's attack.

All of this is to say, there are probably good reasons LE has described this as a "hit". It's likely not a first time shooter - it's likely not a casual gun owner - it's someone who staked out the target, knew the schedules, avoided the cameras, came in disguise (probably), engaged the victim calmly, had good control of their weapon, killed her for certain, and left behind no physical evidence.

 

[AppleTreeGreen]

The thing that draws me away from road rage type of incidents is that the killer seems to have known Sergio's schedule... So for road rage or random/yard sale targeting - this person would seemingly have needed to monitor their activity the prior day to hope to pull something like this off... Maybe LE is aware of such activity but I imagine/hope all videos in the neighborhood have been watched and rewatched of at least the week leading up to the crime.

This may be off or just an idea but I wonder if the fact that the person who did this or orchestrated it waited until S left because they care about him and didn’t want him to witness the murder of his beloved wife or getting harmed? S wouldn’t have to play any role in what happened but maybe someone who cares about him, even as a friend or buddy, did this but isn’t high on the suspect list or is even someone his social circle or community would consider violent or dangerous.

 

[KindMind1ofA]

This may be off or just an idea but I wonder if the fact that the person who did this or orchestrated it waited until S left because they care about him and didn’t want him to witness the murder of his beloved wife or getting harmed? S wouldn’t have to play any role in what happened but maybe someone who cares about him

I've had this same thought.. that waiting for Sergio to leave wasn't necessarily to make the hit go easier so much as to protect Sergio from it (physically and/or emotionally). (moo)

 

[fridaybaker]

I was just reading some excellent older posts by @JnRyan and @Cryptic about the curious murder weapon and wanted to revive that a bit and add one more thought;

First on the .380 round LE references; evidently this is a pretty rare bullet for a revolver. It would be surprising if a casual gun purchaser / enraged driver / co-worker / etc.. would stumble on this combination of .380 and revolver as their weapon of choice. Another aspect is that usually revolvers have a bit of kick (although evidently a .380 round is very low recoil compared to other rounds, which may be why it would be used for this type of attack). Anyway, someone who isn't familiar with shooting and tries to fire several shots in a row will find that the barrel will drift upwards with each shot as they fail to account for the recoil. So even at close range a wholly inexperienced shooter may not hit with their second or third shot when trying to fire in rapid succession as in Liz's attack.

All of this is to say, there are probably good reasons LE has described this as a "hit". It's likely not a first time shooter - it's likely not a casual gun owner - it's someone who staked out the target, knew the schedules, avoided the cameras, came in disguise (probably), engaged the victim calmly, had good control of their weapon, killed her for certain, and left behind no physical evidence.

Wow, you are going to solve this!

Great thoughts. Here is a question. Apparently, there was a shot that missed Liz. Does anyone remember which shot this was thought to be? First? Last? Just wondering if that fits with this scenario.

 

[KindMind1ofA]

Apparently, there was a shot that missed Liz. Does anyone remember which shot this was thought to be? First?

So interestingly there is some dispute about whether there was a missed shot. Earlier I understood that the first shot missed - the stoner video (iirc) had shown in the ring cam footage that the first bullet hit the house and you could see a puff of debris on impact. And this was corroborated by a report that Liz had three gunshot wounds. However, later reports indicate that this wasn't true and Liz did have four gunshot wounds .. and the impact on the house shown in the stoner video was due to one of the bullets exiting Liz's body (I believe this was neck/upper chest). I currently believe this later interpretation is true.

I am in no way a gun expert by the way; those who are please feel free to correct me, I won't be offended

 

[Ajs1004]

From Whokilledlizbarraza.com

“The first shot was a through and through the side of her neck, and ended up striking the house after hitting Liz.The next two rounds were in her chest as observed by her parents on a portable x-ray device. The final shot was in her face and was the shot that caused her death.”

 

[KindMind1ofA]

From Whokilledlizbarraza.com

“The first shot was a through and through the side of her neck, and ended up striking the house after hitting Liz.The next two rounds were in her chest as observed by her parents on a portable x-ray device. The final shot was in her face and was the shot that caused her death.”

Thank you!! Couldn't recall where I'd read that.