I wrote something up to help introduce people to the case and to synthesize various information.
On January 25, 2019, Bob and Rosemary Nuelle arrive at their daughter’s home where police tape already blocks the street. Their daughter, Elizabeth “Liz” Barraza had stayed home from work to have a garage sale. They received a call from Liz’s home alarm provider. The alarm was triggered, and the provider could not reach Liz. At the house they see the heavy police presence, and their hearts drop to their stomachs. They don’t know what happened, but in their guts, they know today will be the worst day of their lives. Law enforcement tells them that their daughter was life flighted to Memorial Hermann. Life flighted? What could have possibly happened during a garage sale to require a life flight? They never imagined that in the early morning hours before the sale officially started, a cold-blooded killer executed their daughter only moments after her husband, Sergio Barraza, left for work.
The Murder.
The murder was caught on a neighbor’s CCTV camera.The video shows an individual approaching Liz, who stands in her driveway. The two briefly stand facing each other talking before three shots are fired at Liz in rapid succession. Liz collapses to the ground. The shooter then stands over Liz and shoots her a final time before running to a Nissan Fronter Pro4X. The killer then races away in the direction from which the shooter had come.
Police reveal that, inexplicably, the Nissan Frontier turns around at the front of the neighborhood and drives back past the Barraza home. A risky maneuver for someone who just committed murder in a quiet suburban neighborhood.
Many believe the shooter’s gait to be feminine. The shooter’s garb is unusual too. The shooter is wearing what looks like a dress or long coat. The shooter wears boots that stop just below the knees. When the killer bends over to shoot Liz one last time, the shooter’s long hair or wig is visible. The lighting and quality of the video is poor so little about the killer can be identified with certainty.
Another video released by law enforcement, footage from the Barrazas’ doorbell camera, provides audio of Liz’s interaction with her killer. (
). In the video, we hear Liz greet her killer with a loud “good morning.” Moments later, gunshots and Liz screams. Then the murderer races away. Many have amplified the audio and claim to hear a wide range of dialogue between Liz’s “good morning” and the truck racing away.
The Garage Sale.
The garage sale is not well advertised. Elizabeth and Sergio Barraza tell only a few people about the sale. The timeline provided by Liz’s parents indicates signs for the garage sale were first put out the night before the murder.
www.whokilledlizbarraza.com. The signs said the garage sale would take place on Friday and Saturday. Early reports indicate the signs were put out that morning, but that’s apparently an error.
Tomball woman murdered while setting up for garage sale was raising money for wedding anniversary trip. All sources agree that very few people knew about the sale: a few co-workers, close friends, family members, and whoever saw the signs during the short time they were up.
The purpose of the garage sale is to make extra money to buy souvenirs during the Barraza’s five-year wedding anniversary trip to Universal Studios and Disney. They plan to depart on their trip that Sunday, January 27th. Some say the garage sale was an annual event, but Liz’s parents say that is inaccurate.
Episode 139 Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Barraza Part 1 of 2 — AbJack Entertainment.
The Locations.
Liz is murdered at her home, located at 8623 Cedar Walk Drive, Tomball, Texas. Sergio leaves home at 6:48 am to go to Lowes where he will commence his workday. He works for his dad’s flooring company.
A camera captures the killer’s truck entering the school’s parking lot at 6:47:50 am. Ten seconds later, at 6:48 am, the truck is seen leaving the parking lot to conceal on a street. The school had cameras, but they were not functional.
Point A – Goddard School;
Point B – Barraza Home
The Goddard School is located at 8522 Princeton Place Dr, Tomball, TX 77375, which is 350 yards away from the Barraza home. The Lowes where Sergio Barraza’s workday is to commence is located at 20902 Kuykendahl Rd, Spring, TX 77379.
Point A – Barraza Home;
Point B – Lowe’s; (P) – Goddard School
On his way to work, Sergio passes the Goddard school.
The Timeline.
Liz’s family provides a detailed and helpful timeline of events surrounding Liz’s murder.
According to the timeline, Sergio and Liz place signs about the garage sale in the neighborhood on Thursday evening.
At around 2 am, in the early morning hours of Friday, January 25th, the killer’s Nissan truck is recorded passing the Barraza home. This, among other evidence, strongly suggests the murder was premeditated.
That morning, a little after 6 am, Liz goes to purchase Starbucks coffee. After the murder, law enforcement inspects a Starbucks cup with a receipt on it. The time on the receipt is 6:07 am.
A camera records the Nissan truck pulling into the Goddard parking lot at 6:47:50 am. Sergio leaves for work at 6:48:00 am. At the same time, 6:48:00 am, the killer leaves the parking lot to conceal on another street. Presumably, the truck then went to the nearby Rosevale Ct. cul-de-sacs or Oconee drive.
Sgt. Ritchie indicated on a Paula Zahn episode that the killer must have recognized Sergio’s van leaving for work.
Liz’s father remarks on how quickly the killer arrived at the home after Sergio left. He also suggests the killer might have been behind Sergio at one point. (
Houston unsolved murder approaches 5-year anniversary).
Three minutes and forty seconds after leaving the Goddard parking lot, the truck comes back into view of a camera. During the interim time, the truck concealed on an unidentified street. What the killer did during that time is unclear. The school and Liz’s home are less than a minute’s drive apart.
Another camera captures the killer doing a three-point turn near the Barraza home at 6:52:12 am. This is four minutes and 12 seconds after leaving Goddard school.
Between 06:52:20 am and 06:52:50 am, Liz says good morning to her killer, they interact momentarily before the killer fires four bullets into Liz. At 06:53:10 am the killer runs back to the truck and flees.
According to the website timeline, at 6:53:49 am a neighbor calls 911. At 6:54:47 am, the neighbor witnesses the killer’s truck return. The Barraza’s doorbell captures the truck pass their home at 6:55:08 a.m.
Less than four minutes after the truck returned to and passed the Barraza home, law enforcement officers arrive on the scene.
Law enforcement officers enter the Barraza home to clear the scene. In the process, they trigger the Barrazas’ home alarm system, which Sergio had presciently advised Liz to set in case something happened during the garage sale. After the alarm is triggered, the alarm company calls Liz’s parents. When the company calls, they tell Liz’s parents that the alarm was triggered, and the company could not reach Liz. Liz’s parents immediately leave to check on their daughter.
Around this time, Sergio begins talking to law enforcement through his doorbell system. He asks if Liz is okay, but law enforcement only instructs him to return home.
At 7:36:33 am, Liz’s parents arrive. They are obviously distraught and ask about their daughter’s condition. At 7:38:31 am, Sergio arrives home and is detained by law enforcement for questioning. The arrival of Liz’s parents and her husband Sergio is captured on law enforcement dashcam video. (
). The video shows approximately thirty minutes of Sergio’s initial reaction and statements to law enforcement.
Sergio mentions a dispute between Liz and other members in the 501st Legion, a charity group of which Liz and Sergio are members. Sergio even identifies a specific person in the 501st, but also says he does not think that person or anyone else in the group is responsible.
The next day, at 1:40 pm, Liz is pronounced dead. As an organ donor, parts of her continue living in others.
The Suspects and Motives.
SERGIO BARRAZA
The online, true crime community largely believes Sergio Barraza has some culpability for Liz’s murder. It’s widely agreed that Sergio could not have pulled the trigger, but most online believe Sergio must have some responsibility for the murder. Speculation as to the motive for having his wife murdered ranges widely.
One possible incentive for Sergio to have his wife killed was a $250,000 life insurance policy, with a provision that caused the policy to double under certain circumstances, including murder. Apparently, Sergio has not collected the policy either by choice or because the insurer will not permit him to collect the policy until he is ruled out as a suspect. Either way, Sergio stood to gain, potentially, up to $500,000 from Liz’s murder.
Some speculate that Sergio had a love interest aside from Liz. There is zero evidence, however, that he was ever unfaithful or had an admirer while married to Liz. Sergio did begin dating approximately a year and half after his wife’s murder and ultimately remarried, but there is no evidence the relationship commenced before Liz’s murder.
Others have speculated that Sergio wanted out of the marriage for some unknown reason and decided murder was a better exit than divorce. By all accounts, however, Sergio and Liz had a thriving and loving marriage.
Other than the life insurance policy, all other reasons suggested for why Sergio might have had Liz murdered are based on speculation for which there is no evidence, at least currently. Statistically, the husband is the most likely culprit, so he’ll likely be tainted with suspicion unless someone else is proven responsible and his involvement is ruled out.
A MEMBER OR MEMBERS OF 501ST LEGION
People online, and Sergio initially, suggest one or more members of the 501st Legion might be responsible for Liz’s murder. Liz and Sergio were members of a Houston chapter of the 501st Legion, which is a Star Wars fan group that, among other things, engages in charity. For example, members might appear in costume at a hospital for a child after undergoing surgery. In dashcam footage, Sergio is heard mentioning there was an election in the 501st that was causing friction between Liz and some of the members. Later in the video, Sergio identifies a specific woman in the group. In the video, Sergio says he does not think the woman or anyone else in 501st is responsible, however. Not much is specifically known about the dispute or why someone in 501st might want Liz dead, but it remains a theory online.
Although Sergio was the first to suggest that the murder was connected to the 501st Legion, in more recent interviews he has not accused anyone in 501st and instead accused his father.
SERGIO BARRAZA’S DAD
Sergio suggested his dad killed Liz or had her killed. Liz had recently complained to Sergio’s father that one of Sergio’s paychecks bounced. Sergio’s dad was allegedly suffering financial difficulties, possibly related to multiple affairs he was having. Sergio theorized his dad learned of the insurance policy on Liz’s life and decided to murder Liz to put Sergio in a financial position to assist dad with his financial woes, with the added benefit that Liz would no longer complain about his hot checks.
EX-LOVE OR CURRENT LOVE INTEREST
Some have suggested that a former love interest of Liz might have committed the murder. At the time of the crime, Liz and Sergio had been married for nearly five years, but love knows no limits and its possible one of Liz’s former partners executed her based on some long-lasting obsession.
Others have speculated a former love interest of Sergio might have committed the murder. Yet another theory is Sergio was having an affair and the lover, with or without Sergio’s involvement, committed or arranged the murder.
INSANE PERSON OR RANDOM MURDER
Based on the lack of progress in the case despite promising evidence, some wonder if the murder was committed by a mad person who had no meaningful connection to Liz. Maybe it was someone who hated garage sale signs or just wanted to kill for the thrill. This theory’s problem is the murder appears to have been planned by someone connected to Liz. At a minimum, the killer apparently knew what vehicle Sergio was driving. The killer also seemed to know approximately when Sergio would leave, hence parking at Goddard until Sergio left the house. The planning of the murder makes a random killing unlikely.
MISTAKEN IDENTITY
Others have speculated the killer had a target, but mistakenly killed Liz instead of the intended target. This theory suffers from the same problems as the random murder theory. Additionally, the killer talked to Liz before the murder and saw her up close. The killer should have had enough information to positively identify Liz before murdering her.
GANG INITIATION; ORGAN HARVESTING; OTHER THEORIES
If you spend enough time following the case, you’ll come across almost any theory imaginable. Even before the Texas Anti-Gang Unit recently joined the case, some speculated the murder was some sort of gang initiation. However, as with other theories this requires ignoring the evidence that the killer was close enough to Liz to know of the garage sale and what Sergio drove.
Others have speculated that the murder was a very complicated and high-risk way to obtain organs since Liz was an organ donor. This and other theories don’t merit further comment.
The Investigation.
The Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s office initially responded to the scene. They were responsible for securing the crime scene and Precinct 4 Constables were the first to talk with Sergio. They also gathered much of the surveillance footage, most of which has not been publicly released.
The morning of the murder, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office took over the investigation. When the lead detective, Detective Ritchie, viewed the neighbor’s CCTV footage, he confidently thought the murder would be solved that day. Unfortunately, five years later it is unclear if we are any closer to having an answer to the question of who murdered Liz. A recent news report indicates law enforcement is still chasing leads and has created a task force to help with the case.
In an episode of On The Case With Paula Zahn, law enforcement confirmed it investigated Sergio, the entire local chapter of 501st, and Sergio’s dad. Apparently, no conclusive evidence was found as a result of these investigations.
The future.
It has been five years since Liz was gunned down in her own driveway. Although nobody has been publicly charged, many feel an arrest is imminent.
The reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Liz’s murder is $50,000.00.
If you have a tip, please call the Crime Stoppers of Houston Tip Line. All calls are completely anonymous. Only tips and calls directly to Crime Stoppers are anonymous and eligible for a cash reward. (713) 222-TIPS.
