TX - Elizabeth Barraza, 29, murdered setting up garage sale, Harris County, Jan 2019 #2

[Ajs1004]

I agree. The suspect's vehicle could have been parked nearby at a local business either waiting for SB to leave, OR it was stashed there with whatever was needed already inside and ready. I'm just thinking that a GSR test would have been a quick way to eliminate SB as the shooter. MOO

I've also been wondering about the timing of SB getting back to their home. What time was the 911 call? Where was SB when he was told to come home, and how long did it take him to get back home?

I don’t know what time the 911 call was but it was from a neighbor who contacted SB immediately. I don’t know if they contacted via text or actual call. It took him 20 minutes to get back home even though the shooting took place 4 minutes after he left. But knowing the area where he lives, it’s not surprising that it took him so long to get back. If he was traveling on FM 1960 then that’s common. It’s a difficult road to find a place to turn around on.

 

[Wowno17]

This case makes me think she was killed by someone over a perceived slight.

Like Austin Harrouff who killed someone because she touched his arm and so had apparently sexually assaulted him, he killed his victim after years of obsessing over this apparent assault.

Makes me think maybe EB offended someone in some way and they killed her in revenge.

MOO

 

[MeadowMuffin]

This case makes me think she was killed by someone over a perceived slight.

Like Austin Harrouff who killed someone because she touched his arm and so had apparently sexually assaulted him, he killed his victim after years of obsessing over this apparent assault.

Makes me think maybe EB offended someone in some way and they killed her in revenge.

MOO

Yes, this is what I think occurred as well. And makes investigating the case that much more difficult. IMO.

 

[Lhughessk]

Regarding the warrant that is referenced in numerous news articles as far back as August...

I submitted a Public Information Act request to HCSO for any and all warrants in this case. Yesterday I received a response that they did not locate any information responsive to the request.

Bull! The articles have direct quotes from their homicide detective Michael Richie referencing that warrant! And now, since they ONLY take these requests by snail mail, I have to submit another request citing the news articles and the detective’s quotes. And maybe I’ll hear back in another month.

 

[Ajs1004]

Regarding the warrant that is referenced in numerous news articles as far back as August...

I submitted a Public Information Act request to HCSO for any and all warrants in this case. Yesterday I received a response that they did not locate any information responsive to the request.

Bull! The articles have direct quotes from their homicide detective Michael Richie referencing that warrant! And now, since they ONLY take these requests by snail mail, I have to submit another request citing the news articles and the detective’s quotes. And maybe I’ll hear back in another month.

Maybe their sheriffs office isn’t handling it anymore? What about the Texas rangers?

 

[sl222]

IMO it was planned, a hit, and it was not a case of mistaken identity. IMO the police know the who and at least some of the why, but they don't have evidence. As far as I know it's still the Harris County Sheriff's case and I hope the Texas Rangers are also still on it. Everything has been completely "off" from the start. So was the Amanda Blackburn case. This one even more in some ways. But that's just my opinion and speculation based on pure observation of everything that has been out there for the public to see. I don't know what to make of either case when you get down to it. I think there must be more clues out there but there hasn't been the resources to track everything down. JMO.

 

[Lhughessk]

Maybe their sheriffs office isn’t handling it anymore? What about the Texas rangers?

I talked to the detective Michael Richie. I didn’t get the impression that it had been turned over to another agency. And remember, this warrant was issued a long time ago - last August if not earlier.

 

[hey_GARY]

I talked to the detective Michael Richie. I didn’t get the impression that it had been turned over to another agency. And remember, this warrant was issued a long time ago - last August if not earlier.

Anything else of interest that you can tell us after speaking with the detective? Are they any closer to solving it? Probably can’t say too much since they’ve kept this case under wraps the whole time.

 

[moslym3]

It's on cases like these that I wonder if we just need the help of some supercomputers. There are likely so many trucks registered in TX and nearby states that match the description of the truck on the film that a team of humans can't possibly comb through looking for standouts. There are also way too many cell phones pinging towers all morning in the neighborhood for humans to comb through that.

But if you just look at what's going on with COVID-19 now - and how cell phone companies are using their network data to show how americans are beginning to move out of their homes out into the community (see a recent example here) they are using big data, supercomputing, data science to do some amazing work.

I wish we could get a few data scientists and a bit of computer horsepower on taking those millions of data points and isolating a group of cell phones/auto registrations that stand out for further investigation. Do you guys suspect this stuff is happening? Would they partner with federal agencies or private industry to request this type of study?

 

[j_in_c]

It's on cases like these that I wonder if we just need the help of some supercomputers. There are likely so many trucks registered in TX and nearby states that match the description of the truck on the film that a team of humans can't possibly comb through looking for standouts. There are also way too many cell phones pinging towers all morning in the neighborhood for humans to comb through that.

But if you just look at what's going on with COVID-19 now - and how cell phone companies are using their network data to show how americans are beginning to move out of their homes out into the community (see a recent example here) they are using big data, supercomputing, data science to do some amazing work.

I wish we could get a few data scientists and a bit of computer horsepower on taking those millions of data points and isolating a group of cell phones/auto registrations that stand out for further investigation. Do you guys suspect this stuff is happening? Would they partner with federal agencies or private industry to request this type of study?

Analyzing big data for anonymous trends (like cell phones moving more or less compared to prior month) is very, very different than being allowed to access a large pool of data with personal identifiers attached. LE has some capabilities with the controversial "stingray" technology to access some cell phone/tower information, but I don't see how data scientists can apply their skills to solving this crime.

 

[Lhughessk]

Analyzing big data for anonymous trends (like cell phones moving more or less compared to prior month) is very, very different than being allowed to access a large pool of data with personal identifiers attached. LE has some capabilities with the controversial "stingray" technology to access some cell phone/tower information, but I don't see how data scientists can apply their skills to solving this crime.

I still think and hope that this case will be solved using geofencing. This guy was in the neighborhood the night before as well as the morning of. If he had a phone with him at all, then it’s likely the data is out there. They just need to isolate the device IDs that were traveling in and out of that neighborhood in those time frames. Then they can request subscriber data for the selected device IDs.

 

[Ajs1004]

I talked to the detective Michael Richie. I didn’t get the impression that it had been turned over to another agency. And remember, this warrant was issued a long time ago - last August if not earlier.

any updates?

 

[Lhughessk]

any updates?

I complained to the AG’s office about HCSO failing to produce the warrant. The AG sent HCSO a letter notifying them of the complaint and giving them 10 days to respond. It will be interesting to see if they double down on the “we don’t have anything” or if they produce it this time.

 

[Ajs1004]

I complained to the AG’s office about HCSO failing to produce the warrant. The AG sent HCSO a letter notifying them of the complaint and giving them 10 days to respond. It will be interesting to see if they double down on the “we don’t have anything” or if they produce it this time.

Wow, interesting development! When did they send the letter giving them 10 days to respond?

 

[Lhughessk]

Wow, interesting development! When did they send the letter giving them 10 days to respond?

Im not sure when they sent it. I know I received my copy on June 1.

 

[Betty P]

Im not sure when they sent it. I know I received my copy on June 1.

Thanks for doing this! The response from local LE has been discouraging. They really need to get to work on this case.

 

[hey_GARY]

Im not sure when they sent it. I know I received my copy on June 1.

Any update on this?

 

[LadyL]

can't believe this still hasn't been solved
very odd

 

[Mind your biscuits]

can't believe this still hasn't been solved
very odd

I know, such a brutal execution, no hesitation. I so want justice for her, it's long overdue. Moo.

 

[Cryptic]

but I don't see how data scientists can apply their skills to solving this crime.

Data scientists and their work can appear in strange places as they use a lot of sophisticated statistics in conjunction with pulling in data that may not be readily connected.

Sometimes, the results can be counterintuitive and surprisingly effective. For example, during WWII British data scientists analyzed the sorties and returns of German U boats into the Atlantic and the efforts of allied aircraft to find and attack them.

A lot of information was put into the statistical analysis, including: crew rest times, weather, day verse night, repair times, speed of U boats, French resistance info on German quirks, rate of crew promotion and replacements, threat spotting abilities, response time, crew exhaustion rate. They then added the same for allied aircraft.

Anyways....

The data scientists came up with a recommended air patrol pattern that was counter intuitive to centuries of military practice. Counter intuitive changes were also made to attack techniques. The changes paid off "yugely" as the number of spottings and successful attacks soared.

In more modern times, the government has experimented with "game theory" ala A Beautiful Mind (in contrast to the movie, the guy also had a reputation for bullying, jerk like behavior) and a lot of financial companies use data analysis and sophisticated mathematics to create securities trading algorithms.

Though data scientists cannot identify the guilty, they might be able to identify who is more likely to be guilty. Information that could be used could include, deviations in established patterns, truck, home address, apparent work location etc etc.