TX TX - Elizabeth Barraza, 29, murdered setting up garage sale, Harris Co, Jan 2019 #6

[arielilane]

The truck was seen on various cameras off Kukendahl road after the murder before they lost track.

No doubt the truck is caught on commercial cameras. In addition, I suspect that there are other residential cameras which have not been released to the public, which captured the truck on video surveillance.

I can certainly understand why the public are not privy to all footage LE may have collected from neighbors' videos from that dreadful day.

jmo, speculation

 

[glassheater]

When I saw the video, I started to feel that this case might never end up in court.
It feels like the police were initially so sure that it must have been the husband, one way or the other, that they ignored other options and crucial data or proof might have been missed. MOO

Your post has stuck with me and I can’t help but wonder the same.

 

[lonewanderer]

No doubt the truck is caught on commercial cameras. In addition, I suspect that there are other residential cameras which have not been released to the public, which captured the truck on video surveillance.

I can certainly understand why the public are not privy to all footage LE may have collected from neighbors' videos from that dreadful day.

jmo, speculation

I think the police have a really good idea of who did this to Liz.

I think they may be trying to avoid a Kaityln Armstrong situation (look into it if you haven't, almost exact same core details, in Texas).

When Kaitlyn was arrested for a petty theft she had a warrant for, they had to let her go because the birthdate wasn't correct. She used that opportunity to take a ton of short, confusing flights, get plastic surgery, then was caught in a small town with her sister.

 

[SnowAngels]

When re-looking at the timeline of her name searches on google, I wonder if something noteworthy happened in Liz's life in the first week of August 2018, half a year before her murder. While the main increase is in December and January (and I think that one lines up quite well and might be connected to the crime), there is also that first "higher" period that starts on the week of 5-11th of August. If she posted anything public or attended any noteworthy events or was in any other way "(re-/)discoverable" in early August, I'd be interested to see where these dots could connect to.

Of course, there are also other people with the same name and the searches might be related to someone else.

I also still wonder if the killer was a male or a female. When I only look at the images, I lean heavily towards a woman. When I listen to the audio, I lean towards a male. I don't think Liz appears to recognize this person initially. She might, later, though. The killing feels personal to me, I think the shooter was the person that wanted her dead. So someone Liz would not expect in the context of an early morning garage sale in Tomball, stepping out of a black truck?

MOO

So interesting. Perhaps this was when the motivator of the crime first started paying attention to Liz or Sergio? Hence the google searches? Did they initially meet someone on Aug of 2018 connected to the crime?

 

[iusedtofloat]

When re-looking at the timeline of her name searches on google, I wonder if something noteworthy happened in Liz's life in the first week of August 2018, half a year before her murder. While the main increase is in December and January (and I think that one lines up quite well and might be connected to the crime), there is also that first "higher" period that starts on the week of 5-11th of August. If she posted anything public or attended any noteworthy events or was in any other way "(re-/)discoverable" in early August, I'd be interested to see where these dots could connect to.

Of course, there are also other people with the same name and the searches might be related to someone else.

I also still wonder if the killer was a male or a female. When I only look at the images, I lean heavily towards a woman. When I listen to the audio, I lean towards a male. I don't think Liz appears to recognize this person initially. She might, later, though. The killing feels personal to me, I think the shooter was the person that wanted her dead. So someone Liz would not expect in the context of an early morning garage sale in Tomball, stepping out of a black truck?

MOO

So interesting. Perhaps this was when the motivator of the crime first started paying attention to Liz or Sergio? Hence the google searches? Did they initially meet someone on Aug of 2018 connected to the crime?

yes very interesting!
sergio's is even weirder... https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2017-09-01 2019-01-27&q=sergio barraza&hl=et
I wonder if he was on any dating apps. TOTAL speculation. idk why his name would be googled SO MUCH! searches coming from mexico also. interesting.

 

[SnowAngels]

yes very interesting!
sergio's is even weirder... https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2017-09-01 2019-01-27&q=sergio barraza&hl=et
I wonder if he was on any dating apps. TOTAL speculation. idk why his name would be googled SO MUCH! searches coming from mexico also. interesting.

Good find. October of 2018 following Liz’s spike in August 2018? I wonder what if anything it means…

Though I do believe Sergio Barraza is a more common name in Mexico than the US. But this info is interesting to think about.

 

[KindMind1ofA]

A few thoughts we've talked about in the past, but for the sake of the new faces in the thread: (welcome!!)

There was a rumored altercation between Liz and Sergios "employer" (per Sergio in PZ interview) That employer is in a line of work where access to transient workers is conceivable (moo) If one such worker also had gang/cartel ties, that would offer a golden opportunity for this employer to hire a hard-to-trace hit and would align with the recent investigative teams assigned. Someone upthread mentioned the potential for Liz to be snitching on some misdeeds as well - that could certainly play into motive.. it's not clear to me if the marital misdeeds Liz was aware of were already known to employers wife.

The employer claimed that the bounced checks were a clerical error and the business was financially sound, but there is documentation in county records now that show this to be untrue.

The yard sale signs were put out the night before.

The driver was either insanely lucky to not have their plates recorded and didn't care about being caught, or, they were in a truck they didn't think could be easily traced back to them so didn't care about the plates.

The police can be fairly confident the weapon is a revolver by noting that the killer did not stop to collect shell casings in the videos, and finding none at the scene.

Anyway, excited to see so much recent activity around Liz's case. Hopefully we have some movement soon!

 

[lonewanderer]

Someone upthread mentioned the potential for Liz to be snitching on some misdeeds as well - that could certainly play into motive..

The driver was either insanely lucky to not have their plates recorded and didn't care about being caught, or, they were in a truck they didn't think could be easily traced back to them so didn't care about the plates.

The police can be fairly confident the weapon is a revolver by noting that the killer did not stop to collect shell casings in the videos, and finding none at the scene.

I have theorized that its a possibility Liz was going to report someone for mishandling 501st Legion donation money. She could have confronted this person or this person could have just thought Liz was going to expose them. I think its a possibility that is what the shooter is showing her in their left hand before shooting Liz.

I speculate the driver was "borrowing" (with or without permission) a person's truck who was visiting out of state. I also think some of the 3-point turns were to ensure the plate was not easily seen on cameras.

The revolver use is a polarizing fact for me. On one hand, it indicates the shooter was smart enough and experienced enough with guns to know that it did not leave casings and was almost completely incapable of jamming. The shooter doesn't flinch and doesn't seem to be startled by how loud it is (possibly because they were deaf and was showing Liz a hand written note because they could not speak but thats a very low possibility to me). On the other hand, using a revolver could also be argued that it was a weapon of oppurtunity, that the shooter snatched it from grandpa's safe or it was a gun lying around haphazardly at their gun nut boyfriends house. Its really hard to say!

 

[Luna20]

Good find. October of 2018 following Liz’s spike in August 2018? I wonder what if anything it means…

Though I do believe Sergio Barraza is a more common name in Mexico than the US. But this info is interesting to think about.

Can you please elaborate on ‘Liz’s spike’

 

[somequestions]

When I look and listen to the surveillance video of the murder, I do not hear anything other than Elizabeth Barraza say, "Good morning" in a high pitched female voice. Then I hear her scream when the first shot is fired. That is all I hear clearly except for the gunshots. I have tried to increase the volume without listening to the gunshots, which are very loud. I still cannot hear anything other than background noise from what some theorize was a media device that was playing outside at the time. There is a lot of background noise similar to wind noise too.

I have wondered if the murderer was a deaf person because of this lack of conversation. Maybe the first shot was to destroy Elizabeth's hearing since it is theorized the first shot missed due to the police report stating she was only shot 3 times, not 4. There is always the possibility too that it was mistaken identity, but Sergio and Elizabeth Barraza lived at the address for a while.

There are a lot of small details in the news videos about the case that are strange, but probably have a good explanation. For example, it looks like one of the items being sold at the garage sale was luggage. Also, there look to be Amazon boxes placed out on the garage sale table. I do not think Elizabeth Barraza took anything from anyone, but you have to look at every possibility. I am sure police would have tracked all those garage sale items to see if any of it tied into the murder.

The big mystery in this case seems to be the motive. Understanding why the murder happened would certainly help solve this case.

Also, I do not think Sergio had anything to do with the murder. There is nothing that indicates that. I also do not think Elizabeth Barraza did anything like taking packages since there is no evidence of this. My opinion is that good investigators try to check out and eliminate as many possibilities as they can. I think most of these possibilities probably already have been eliminated in this case if I had to guess. Hopefully this case gets solved.

 

[lonewanderer]

When I saw the video, I started to feel that this case might never end up in court.
It feels like the police were initially so sure that it must have been the husband, one way or the other, that they ignored other options and crucial data or proof might have been missed. MOO

I know you were not asking me if I watched the dash cam video, but wanted to chime in, anyway. Yes, I watched it - a lot! Many times. And plan to watch it again.

Thought he asked some interesting questions, and, yes, he asked about his wife's well being and there are other conflicting info in the report, besides, whether S asked about Liz, unfortunately. One day, that report may be used in a court of law.

It was not a pleasant day for all involved, some more than others.

jmo

I feel pretty bad for Sergio after seeing the dashcam footage. (I may be completely mistaken but I don't think he was involved).

Before the dashcam footage, the media seemed to intentionally show small clips of him looking like a deer-in-the headlights or unemotionally available man-child.

Before I saw that footage, my perception of him was a sorta chubby nerd type that may have been too emotionally immature to have an adult reaction to his wife's death.

After watching the footage, he comes off a normal and mature guy that could conversate outside of nerd culture. A guy you could chat with and not feel the introverted awkwardness that they portrayed him as in the media.

I still don't know why they wrote the report that way and why the media decided to make him look like that.

 

[lonewanderer]

When I look and listen to the surveillance video of the murder, I do not hear anything other than Elizabeth Barraza say, "Good morning" in a high pitched female voice. Then I hear her scream when the first shot is fired. That is all I hear clearly except for the gunshots. I have tried to increase the volume without listening to the gunshots, which are very loud. I still cannot hear anything other than background noise from what some theorize was a media device that was playing outside at the time. There is a lot of background noise similar to wind noise too.

I have wondered if the murderer was a deaf person because of this lack of conversation. Maybe the first shot was to destroy Elizabeth's hearing since it is theorized the first shot missed due to the police report stating she was only shot 3 times, not 4. There is always the possibility too that it was mistaken identity, but Sergio and Elizabeth Barraza lived at the address for a while.

There are a lot of small details in the news videos about the case that are strange, but probably have a good explanation. For example, it looks like one of the items being sold at the garage sale was luggage. Also, there look to be Amazon boxes placed out on the garage sale table. I do not think Elizabeth Barraza took anything from anyone, but you have to look at every possibility. I am sure police would have tracked all those garage sale items to see if any of it tied into the murder.

The big mystery in this case seems to be the motive. Understanding why the murder happened would certainly help solve this case.

Also, I do not think Sergio had anything to do with the murder. There is nothing that indicates that. I also do not think Elizabeth Barraza did anything like taking packages since there is no evidence of this. My opinion is that good investigators try to check out and eliminate as many possibilities as they can. I think most of these possibilities probably already have been eliminated in this case if I had to guess. Hopefully this case gets solved.

I also do not hear a mans voice, nor do I see a wig in any of the footage.

I have wondered if one of the items for sale struck a nerve with someone, as Liz may have won it over them in something, it was gifted to Liz and was much more intimate from the gifter than Liz realized, or was an item the shooter coveted and now Liz was selling it for cheap.

I don't think those are the motives though, but its something to consider.

 

[lonewanderer]

According to the video footage it went from he didn't even what to consider it ... to, "we are a part of a charity group and we’re going through these little election and there’re a couple of people that just dont get along with us… but not enough to come over and shoot my wife… to... it is a woman, and a name is provided."

Benefit of the doubt: supposed he may have seen shooter in video, since he claimed to have watched the Nest cam footage, and decided on a lone female? He's in shock. No one knows how you're going to reaction in any situation.
idk. moo

Honestly, that female looks a HECK of a lot like the shooter in her online profiles. Very similar body type, long dark hair, is known to wear wigs. Dresses in similar ways when not at 501st functions.

 

[Cryptic]

I have wondered if one of the items for sale struck a nerve with someone, as Liz may have won it over them in something, it was gifted to Liz and was much more intimate from the gifter than Liz realized, or was an item the shooter coveted and now Liz was selling it for cheap.

I don't think those are the motives though, but its something to consider.

I agree. The over all chances of such a motive would appear to be low. But.... there are a few aspects of the cos play sub culture that the victim participated in that could increase the chances of such a motive:

- A member who had participated in cos play (different genre) said that there were visible numbers of uhmm...."high maintenance" participants.

- The time, skill and cost that go into crafting approved 501 Legion gear (or perhaps even non costume "this and that") can lead to a big emotional investment in gifted items.

Liz surely knew of both aspects and she was not the type to give "needless offense". But.... what if she was just unaware of the significance to another party of a "this and that" Star Wars type item? Or, what if other party had concluded that Liz had promised them the labor and love intensive gear that she was now selling?

 

[SnowAngels]

Can you please elaborate on ‘Liz’s spike’

The spike in google searches for her name in August 2018.

 

[BlaiseFinlay]

Maybe, he meanwhile knew, his wife was only kept alive because of organ donations?

I think this is important. Do we know what was communicated to him by Liz’s parents? If he knew she was brain dead, it’s different. Everyone grieves differently, and this is a particularly unexpected and unusual situation.

 

[BlaiseFinlay]

I am probably way off but have always wondered if the killer (after committing the homicide) never left the neighborhood, and pulled into a garage... however, LE pulling over a black truck that morning right after the homicide (around 7:11 am ) is concerning, and such a mystery. So perhaps the truck did drive up through the Greenbelt area cul-de-sac? jmo

This continues to trouble me too. I know they’ve said they ruled them out and they had a good reason for being in the area (though does that really preclude the possibility they committed murder on their way to their destination?). Have they released the exact time and location where the car was pulled under? I wonder how well it would match up to the time the crime was committed (like mapping to the distance in between and see how long it would take to get there on a Friday morning. If it ties it within a few minutes, I would be more suspicious.

I wonder if dash cam footage is available for that stop through a FOIA request…. It’s arguably not part of an active investigation, since they’ve said there is no connection. I would say the people pulled over are entitled to their privacy, but I’m not actually sure if they have that right in this situation.

I’m generally inclined to believe LE, but with the timing and the fact it’s not the most common car on the road, I can't help but think how embarrassing it would be for the police to have caught them, then let them go, particularly if they then fled or destroyed evidence. I also know information in the immediate aftermath can be constantly changing so I don't envy the position the cops were in who pulled over that car, but some degree of self-preservation is natural and I wonder if they had blinders on after letting the car go for that reason.

 

[BlaiseFinlay]

The truck was seen on various cameras off Kukendahl road after the murder before they lost track.

I read something that called this into question, but it wasn't in a source I can cite. I will note, though, that the parent' timeline doesn't say what direction the truck was heading when they lost coverage, nor the time.

 

[KindMind1ofA]

Or, what if other party had concluded that Liz had promised them the labor and love intensive gear that she was now selling?

It's possible, but from my modest experience with garage sales and cosplay, I tend to think it's unlikely that someone would sell high-end gear at a garage sale unless it was specifically advertised to those communities.. (or unless they were getting rid of it out of spite...) There are just way better channels to get a return on that type of specialized gear - either direct sale to someone in their group, or online... At a garage sale she'd be getting pennies on the dollar.

From the videos, the storm trooper helmet looked to me like it could just be a 'black series' type that you can buy from a Walmart or Target... Obviously hard to say for sure though.

 

[arielilane]

I think the police have a really good idea of who did this to Liz.

I think they may be trying to avoid a Kaityln Armstrong situation (look into it if you haven't, almost exact same core details, in Texas).

When Kaitlyn was arrested for a petty theft she had a warrant for, they had to let her go because the birthdate wasn't correct. She used that opportunity to take a ton of short, confusing flights, get plastic surgery, then was caught in a small town with her sister.

I followed the KA case/trial. The shooting/killing of MW did not happen at MW's residence, it happened at MW's friend's apartment.

Back on topic: It will be interesting to see who was stalking Elizabeth Barraza... I believe someone raging was stalking Liz, moo. Can't wait for justice for Liz!