TX - Elizabeth Barraza, 29, murdered setting up garage sale, Harris Co, Jan 2019 #3

[Badgerette]

The fog lamps being on inadvertently lends credence to the theory the truck isn’t their own. As an inexperienced driver would prob just turn on all the lights not knowing what switch does what.

 

[Curiousobserver]

The Nissan truck is in handicapped parking accessible to both Cool Kat Party Warehouse and Academy and is the closest handicapped parking available to CKPW.

If you move around in the image (June 2018 google map) you can see the driver.

Definitely think it's tip worthy.

edit: just realized I'm looking at a different Nissan Frontier parked in a different area...it's a SV 4x4 but doesn't have the pro designation on the side and wheels are different...also has a "wounded warriors project" sticker on the back...nevermind....

The point to remember is that this model must be very common if two random passes of the google maps car caught two different versions of the same model in front of these stores.

 

[TornGreenVelvet]

First post on this forum, so excuse any faux pas. I've seen many people posit that the shooter might have been a man disguised as a woman, and just as many people say they're sure the shooter was a woman. But I've yet to see anyone consider whether the shooter was trans. Were Liz and Sergio close with any trans folx, or did they know any trans folx through their cosplay community? It would be shortsighted to invest too much into this idea, but the thought kept coming to me as I was catching up on these threads.

The CCTV footage from this case has lingered with me in a major way, and I desperately want for this case to be solved. It's all so unsettling.

 

[CliffyTruxton]

First post on this forum, so excuse any faux pas. I've seen many people posit that the shooter might have been a man disguised as a woman, and just as many people say they're sure the shooter was a woman. But I've yet to see anyone consider whether the shooter was trans. Were Liz and Sergio close with any trans folx, or did they know any trans folx through their cosplay community? It would be shortsighted to invest too much into this idea, but the thought kept coming to me as I was catching up on these threads.

The CCTV footage from this case has lingered with me in a major way, and I desperately want for this case to be solved. It's all so unsettling.

I had the same thought too. Could be trans, could be someone in disguise, might even be a cis woman for all we know because the audio and video quality aren't great. It's tough to say, but it'd probably help to know because if it were a disguise then that would say a lot about how far in advance this person planned this, and how thoroughly. And if she's trans (and if there's a way to confirm that) then that could make sifting through Liz's social network a little easier.

What I keep coming back to is: It's pretty uncommon that there was a hatred so intense and so personal that someone shot her down in her driveway (and made sure to tell her why before doing it), but at the same time, so easily hidden that nobody who knew Liz seems to have any idea who'd want to do this. Even if the person who shot her isn't the person who wanted her dead, even if this is some weird hitman (or hitwoman) situation of some sort, it's baffling to me that whatever set it off isn't known to anyone who knew her, or if it is, they're not talking. That degree of hatred suggests a level of interpersonal entanglement that usually leaves signs, even if the signs are just holes in a person's schedule. Awfully strange.

 

[Cryptic]

What I keep coming back to is: It's pretty uncommon that there was a hatred so intense and so personal that someone shot her down in her driveway (and made sure to tell her why before doing it), but at the same time, so easily hidden that nobody who knew Liz seems to have any idea who'd want to do this.

Awfully strange.

I think you have a very valid observation and I dont think there are easy explanations for your discrepancy (intense hatred, but no signs).

One possible explanation might be derived from two components of the victim's life:

- As a forum member stated earlier, a visible minority of Cosplay members dive in very deep and derive all their self esteem, human interaction, friendships, prestige, even chosen family from the cosplay world.

That visible minority can yield alot of people capable of holding strong grudges over otherwise trivial matters, or perhaps keep secret grudges. The fact that some cosplay "deep divers" live in two separate worlds might reduce outward signs of an intense grudge.

For reference, there are 550 active members of the victim's group in Texas alone- not to mention related groups, and groups in nearby states. That could yield alot of "deep divers" having contact with the victim.

- The victim and her husband had extensive on line lives. The on line world may also attract a similar proportion of deep divers as the cos play world.

In short..... the victim was involved in two sub cultures that could attract a larger than average percentage of... uhmmm...... "intense" people and thus a higher number of people who stew in secret of trivial matters (but not trivial to them).

 

[Curiousobserver]

What I keep coming back to is: It's pretty uncommon that there was a hatred so intense and so personal that someone shot her down in her driveway (and made sure to tell her why before doing it), but at the same time, so easily hidden that nobody who knew Liz seems to have any idea who'd want to do this. Even if the person who shot her isn't the person who wanted her dead, even if this is some weird hitman (or hitwoman) situation of some sort, it's baffling to me that whatever set it off isn't known to anyone who knew her, or if it is, they're not talking. That degree of hatred suggests a level of interpersonal entanglement that usually leaves signs, even if the signs are just holes in a person's schedule. Awfully strange.

And add to that they knew her so intimately that they knew about the garage sale, and yet have a car that nobody seems to recognize.

 

[TornGreenVelvet]

And add to that they knew her so intimately that they knew about the garage sale, and yet have a car that nobody seems to recognize.

This is only an assumption, though, which makes this case all the more frustrating! It could be the killer had no idea about the garage sale until they saw SB putting signs around the neighborhood that morning, or maybe not until they found Liz setting up in the driveway. Maybe they had every intention of going up and knocking on the door, and then changed the plan on the fly when they drove up and spotted her setting up. We have no way of knowing! In hindsight, so many of the steps the killer took seem meticulous and considered, but it could've just as easily been sheer dumb luck.

I really hope LE has a good deal more information than they're letting on at this point. From my perspective, it seems as if the entire world of this case exists only within the cryptic, abstruse world of the neighbors' CCTV, and there's very little to be certain of in those few seconds of footage.

 

[cluciano63]

Is it now known what the shooter said? Or an assumption? Maybe he asked her name? Or if she was Elizabeth?

 

[TornGreenVelvet]

Is it now known what the shooter said? Or an assumption? Maybe he asked her name? Or if she was Elizabeth?

LE released audio from the Barrazas' doorbell camera earlier this year, but the only thing that is at all discernible is Liz saying "Good morning" as she spots the shooter by their truck. You can hear a voice many assume to be the shooter's on the audio, and many people have attempted to transcribe their conversation, but IMO it's garbled enough that any transcription is going to be shoddy guesswork at best.

 

[Thesilentpatient]

There was a case but I cannot remember names because it is not a popular one. I have been looking for it and can not find it. However, I do remember some details.

It involved a lesbian couple and the perpetrator had little to do with them besides knowing one of them briefly a few years ago. According to him one of the women angered/hurt him in some way. The thing was quite insignificant. He obsessed over this for years and one day he broke into their house and attempted to kill them. I remember that they tried to hold the mattress up to protect themselves from bullets but that didn't work. I believe only one of them died though.

So, I believe that the perpetrator was the same fundamentally. Somebody that she or her husband would have had only brief interactions with in real life or online. A person that would not cross their radars at all because they don't even remember them. I think the killer was one of those very deranged and delusional people who had been holding onto a rage and anger created from an insignificant event for years until they decided to kill.

 

[Curiousobserver]

There was a case but I cannot remember names because it is not a popular one. I have been looking for it and can not find it. However, I do remember some details.

It involved a lesbian couple and the perpetrator had little to do with them besides knowing one of them briefly a few years ago. According to him one of the women angered/hurt him in some way. The thing was quite insignificant. He obsessed over this for years and one day he broke into their house and attempted to kill them. I remember that they tried to hold the mattress up to protect themselves from bullets but that didn't work. I believe only one of them died though.

So, I believe that the perpetrator was the same fundamentally. Somebody that she or her husband would have had only brief interactions with in real life or online. A person that would not cross their radars at all because they don't even remember them. I think the killer was one of those very deranged and delusional people who had been holding onto a rage and anger created from an insignificant event for years until they decided to kill.

I think this could be it. They didn't need to know about the garage sale or the timing of her husband's departure. That could be a complete coincidence. The sale and the departure were the opportunity to strike; the perp got a "lucky" opening and took it without any foreknowledge. This could be a person with no real connection at all.

 

[samsmom]

Saw this case on TikTok of all places. Wanted to come over and see what you great Sleuths think happened.

 

[JnRyan]

I think this could be it. They didn't need to know about the garage sale or the timing of her husband's departure. That could be a complete coincidence. The sale and the departure were the opportunity to strike; the perp got a "lucky" opening and took it without any foreknowledge. This could be a person with no real connection at all.

For the longest time I believed that the killer knew about the sale. But recently, due to the very limited advertising of the sale, I've wondered if this killer had planned to simply ring the doorbell and shoot. IOW, they were surprised by the sale and just decided to kill while she was setting up. That possibility expands the suspect pool beyond those that knew about the sale.

 

[iamnotagolem]

For the longest time I believed that the killer knew about the sale. But recently, due to the very limited advertising of the sale, I've wondered if this killer had planned to simply ring the doorbell and shoot. IOW, they were surprised by the sale and just decided to kill while she was setting up. That possibility expands the suspect pool beyond those that knew about the sale.

But she normally would have left for work by then. She was only home that day because of the garage sale.

I think this is much closer connected than some long forgotten grudge. The killer drove by the night before, arrived 4 minutes after Sergio left, avoided the ring camera and apparently had no connection to the vehicle.

I just can’t see all of the details as luck, that’s just way too neat and tidy.

 

[Kittybunny]

But she normally would have left for work by then. She was only home that day because of the garage sale.

I think this is much closer connected than some long forgotten grudge. The killer drove by the night before, arrived 4 minutes after Sergio left, avoided the ring camera and apparently had no connection to the vehicle.

I just can’t see all of the details as luck, that’s just way too neat and tidy.

Agree. If the killer hadn't driven by the night before, I'd be much more willing to entertain a random shooting. But I just don't buy it.

 

[TornGreenVelvet]

Agree. If the killer hadn't driven by the night before, I'd be much more willing to entertain a random shooting. But I just don't buy it.

JMO, but the killer getting lucky doesn't mean it was random, necessarily. It seems likely that the killer was staking out the place, and that the shooting therefore wasn't random at all--but this doesn't preclude the killer happening upon Liz in an unexpected circumstance, i.e. while she's setting up for the garage sale. It very much could be the case that the killer meant to go up and knock on the door, and only escaped detection on their doorbell cam by sheer dumb luck.

I also think it's been stated publicly before that Liz typically left for work after SB even on normal days, which would mean that his departure would signal a window of opportunity regardless. Can't remember a source for this off the top of my head, however. If that's the case, though, then it could explain why the killer acted so fast, shooting Liz only four minutes after SB left for work. If they didn't know Liz had taken the day off, they might have wanted to work quick to make sure they got to her before she left for the day.

For the record, I'm not saying I think it's likelier that the killer DIDN'T know about the garage sale. <modsnip> what's most frustrating about this case is that any conceivable theory seems as likely as the next, tbh. I'm just pointing out that based on the very little evidence we have (primarily constituted of the CCTV/doorbell footage), we can't narrow down the pool of suspects to people who might have known about the garage sale. Unfortunately, we can't really narrow down the pool of suspects to any particular group, as far as I know.

 

[Tbone144]

Another woman was shot multiple times outside/pulling into her garage on Houston’s West side around 6am I couldn’t help but think about this case when I heard the news this morning.
Woman shot, killed while pulling into her garage, deputies say
Woman shot, killed while pulling into her garage, deputies say

 

[CocoChanel]

Another woman was shot multiple times outside/pulling into her garage on Houston’s West side around 6am I couldn’t help but think about this case when I heard the news this morning.
Woman shot, killed while pulling into her garage, deputies say
Woman shot, killed while pulling into her garage, deputies say

I thought the same thing when I read the report of this earlier today. Seems this new crime happened about 4 hours ago from when I am writing this post.
Not many details yet though.
What little we know is:
- not the same part of town as EB, Katy vs Tomball
- similar subdivision setting
- similar early morning hours - this one says 6 am.
- this woman was “pulling into her garage”, while EB was in her driveway.

Started a thread for this very recent crime:
TX - Woman shot over 50x in her driveway, Katy, 17 AUG 2021

Hope there are home cameras that caught something, though we know now that is not a guarantee it will help.

 

[JnRyan]

Checking in to see what is going on here and see if there is anything new. (I knew better, but I had to try!)

 

[BINGOdinoDNA]

A local radio station did a segment on this case with an interview with SB on September 1st. If you click on the 7am segment with her name, the interview starts at 7:30.

https://omny.fm/shows/best-of-roula...5gujlwLOlaK7t4xb87K7IqyEjpS2L7mG_YD5xiDaCmGGE