TX TX - Elizabeth Barraza, 29, murdered setting up garage sale, Harris Co, Jan 2019 #7

[lonewanderer]

( I was following another vein; most internet discussions are regurgitating the same scenario. I am thinking: Liz had natural charm, and chewing on Sergio’s possible role has led us nowhere. Why not test the opposite hypothesis, that she was loved, and he, uninvolved? I am not totally walking away from the situation that has been discussed, either.)

Your post, though, is interesting. Liz’s father joined 501st legion after her murder. In the podcast, Mr. Nuelle explained the rigorousness of the costumes, the selection, the organization. It was new to me.

However: every fandom organization, be it a Roman legion, or Greek hoplytes, or Medieval jousters, anything uniting people deeply interested in the topic, is obligatory de rigueur. The participants make it such. Now I can imagine the tensions existing inside fandom communities. With Star Wars having so many fans, the 501 Legion charity is large, thus probably leading to more “politics”.

I see Liz as warm and diplomatic, perhaps achieving more than “by the book” handicraft can do. I might be wrong, but IMHO, Liz could organize and lead. Could any inner squabble be the motive for intense hatred in such a situation? Likely, but IMHO, the most obvious suspects in 501 would be ruled out by now.

We may need to turn to earlier times, because if I understood correctly, 501st legion was Sergio’s hobby, and Liz joined suit. The perpetrator could even be from pre-Sergio times, with another hobby and a social, charming woman raising the ire of someone too rigid.

The Nuelles used the word “the Sopranos” in the podcast. Meaning, it was not a mistaken identity, Liz was targeted, the assassination was very-well planned, and the planning must have taken time. (Plus, Liz did not know the killer.)

Strictly MOO: a Kaitlin Armstrong-type person, but smarter, gender unclear. Not necessarily someone from a prior relationship, but a person who can seethe with hatred. Very obsessive. Likely, not too social. With KA’s-type personality disorder and paranoia. A person who doesn’t let go, and is a planner. They could have hired an assassin, but the timing makes me think they were in the car. JMO: the anger was totally disproportionate to the situation. Likely, the person is great with time and never late.

In addition to KA, there is Sheila Warren (dressed as a clown to surprise shoot her love rival at her home) and Stephanie Lazuras (also shot her love rival at her home). All three of these shootings were woman on woman, at the victims current place they were staying.

 

[lonewanderer]

Wasn't Liz still working at Cool Katz Party Supplies there in Tomball at the time?

I saw that her LinkedIn said she was a supervisor there. Could she have fired someone and they were mad about it? Was there anything associated with that party supplies store ever looked into?

This is interesting information I was not familiar with.

I recall reading about a shooting at her place of work, but I do not remember where that place of work was.

 

[Charlot123]

I have always thought this was the important clue- this person drove by to check out the surroundings and didn't care in the slightest that they might be seen (by Liz for example) by cameras or other witnesses. This, and the fact that nobody has pointed to a friend with a truck like this, tells you this person likely didn't know and wasn't familiar to Liz.

Respectfully snipped for brevity. In the podcast, Liz's parents both said amazingly interesting thing.

When they saw the person approach Liz on video, it looked like two absolutely unknown people met for the first time. Nor did the recording (which is unclear, they say!) indicate any prior knowledge of one another. The Nuelles said with the quality of the video being so poor, they didn't immediately recognize Liz. But when she made a step backward, they suddenly saw it was their daughter. The interviewers asked, what did you see to recognize her? Nothing, said the parents, IRL we never observed Liz making such a step ILR, but it's something, the mannerisms, the posture, and you see your child.

So the same might apply to the killer. Maybe it is when they turn to run, or run that might be more indicative of who the person is.

 

[Curiousobserver]

Respectfully snipped for brevity. In the podcast, Liz's parents both said amazingly interesting thing.

When they saw the person approach Liz on video, it looked like two absolutely unknown people met for the first time. Nor did the recording (which is unclear, they say!) indicate any prior knowledge of one another. The Nuelles said with the quality of the video being so poor, they didn't immediately recognize Liz. But when she made a step backward, they suddenly saw it was their daughter. The interviewers asked, what did you see to recognize her? Nothing, said the parents, IRL we never observed Liz making such a step ILR, but it's something, the mannerisms, the posture, and you see your child.

So the same might apply to the killer. Maybe it is when they turn to run, or run that might be more indicative of who the person is.

Of all the cases I have followed I think about this one the most.

I am absolutely convinced that Liz didn't know her killer, and your comment is spot on about mannerisms. The killer has a somewhat unusual gait while running back to the truck that someone might recognize. Again though, because none of her friends or family have been able to do that I think this person is relatively or completely unknown to Liz's friends.

 

[Charlot123]

Of all the cases I have followed I think about this one the most.

I am absolutely convinced that Liz didn't know her killer, and your comment is spot on about mannerisms. The killer has a somewhat unusual gait while running back to the truck that someone might recognize. Again though, because none of her friends or family have been able to do that I think this person is relatively or completely unknown to Liz's friends.

This is a good interview with detective Ritchie. Smart, calm man, very logical. Wish him luck. The video is there, too. Yes, to me it would seem that the steps are larger than expected for the height, and maybe the boots are uncomfortable. I hope someone would recognize the person.

 

[TraxMaster]

The person drove around the neighborhood hours before the murder, indicating they were looking for her car or house. What would be the point of unecessary exposure to cameras or witnesses? If they had her name, a simple internet search would find her address. Not likely necessary if they already knew her. In my opinion, nothing in the way that person approached her, showed that she knew them or that they knew her well.

Even if someone knows someone else and is planning to do something this horrible they would plan it out... arrive early to look for alternative exits from the neighborhood for example, look to see if there are cameras that would particularly need avoiding and if they lived further away with Houston traffic you would want to for sure arrive super early if you knew you had a narrow time-frame to do the job during peak work hour traffic... heck just nerves alone probably had them up early.

To me the fact they used a 22 was unusual. 22 is not a powerful weapon. I use one bc the bullets are cheap for target practice with very little recoil. If this was a professional they would use something like a 9mm/40 cal/ or 45 cal etc... not a 22. If they were worried about too much noise then they would have had a silencer or made a homemade one instead of opting to downgrade the caliber IMO. 22s are a dime a dozen so whoever did this wasn't experienced or a pro. Also they shoot with one hand....if they were professionally shown how to shoot a handgun it is always with 2 hands as one hand is used as a stabilizer for better accuracy. They shot one handed.... were shell casings left behind? If not then we can say it was a 22 revolver. I bet this inexperienced killer would have gone to a gun range probably less than a week prior to build confidence and bc it seems like they were a big time planner so I'm sure they would have wanted to practice prior.

 

[Charlot123]

Even if someone knows someone else and is planning to do something this horrible they would plan it out... arrive early to look for alternative exits from the neighborhood for example, look to see if there are cameras that would particularly need avoiding and if they lived further away with Houston traffic you would want to for sure arrive super early if you knew you had a narrow time-frame to do the job during peak work hour traffic... heck just nerves alone probably had them up early.

To me the fact they used a 22 was unusual. 22 is not a powerful weapon. I use one bc the bullets are cheap for target practice with very little recoil. If this was a professional they would use something like a 9mm/40 cal/ or 45 cal etc... not a 22. If they were worried about too much noise then they would have had a silencer or made a homemade one instead of opting to downgrade the caliber IMO. 22s are a dime a dozen so whoever did this wasn't experienced or a pro. Also they shoot with one hand....if they were professionally shown how to shoot a handgun it is always with 2 hands as one hand is used as a stabilizer for better accuracy. They shot one handed.... were shell casings left behind? If not then we can say it was a 22 revolver. I bet this inexperienced killer would have gone to a gun range probably less than a week prior to build confidence and bc it seems like they were a big time planner so I'm sure they would have wanted to practice prior.

No casings, but maybe this fact indicates preparedness? No casings, no DNA, not even clear if a woman or a man.

 

[TraxMaster]

No casings, but maybe this fact indicates preparedness? No casings, no DNA, not even clear if a woman or a man.

No they would have had to pick up the casings unless it was a revolver or they had a catch bag which they didn't bc you could tell if they had a catch bag. So this was a revolver .22.

 

[TraxMaster]

No casings, but maybe this fact indicates preparedness? No casings, no DNA, not even clear if a woman or a man.

IMO I think it is a man that did this. The reason I think this is bc of the audio enhancement done by a guy on YT and he did a really pro job with the audio frequency. The range is too low for a female. I forget the guy's name to reference it but I learned about it either in reddit or here. Also, the gait and mannerisms appear male to me and not female. Just MOO

 

[ilovewings]

Of all the cases I have followed I think about this one the most.

I am absolutely convinced that Liz didn't know her killer, and your comment is spot on about mannerisms. The killer has a somewhat unusual gait while running back to the truck that someone might recognize. Again though, because none of her friends or family have been able to do that I think this person is relatively or completely unknown to Liz's friends.

This case haunts me- I want so much for her killer to be identified and caught

 

[AppleTreeGreen]

But when she made a step backward, they suddenly saw it was their daughter.

Every time I see her take that step back in the video I get the impression that we’re instincts were setting off and something about the perp, whether it was their facial expression or purposeful and quick pass towards her, just didn’t seem right to her.

Almost like her instincts were telling her get away or give this individual more space as they get closer just in case, IMO.

I think it is possible that even if Liz and her killer didn’t know each other personally, they may be at least one degree of separation between them. For example, what if the perp was committing the murder on the behalf of a co-conspirator who held animosity or a grudge against Liz. Perhaps this co-conspirator is someone they are close too emotionally or are involved with romantically and they took on this person’s emotions, even their hostility against Liz unfortunately, intimately as a result of the relationship or a sense of loyalty or empathy. Like “I don’t like the people you don’t like too” or “I’m on your side (and am only hearing your side) and you’re right person is totally unfair to you” or “It’s not my problem but for you I’ll make it my fight and throw the punches or get rid of whatever person is being a bother”.

That or perhaps they were unfortunately misled or manipulated into thinking that Liz was or would be a problem for them, and not just the co-conspirator, to the point the killer’s actions and reactions eventually and tragically escalated to murder and excessive violence.

This may explain why even if a stranger or very distant acquaintance to Liz would express such rage while shooting at and attacking Liz. The rage they were feeling is not necessarily their own but they are feeling and releasing it as far as they are in involved.

JMO/JMT

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

Even if someone knows someone else and is planning to do something this horrible they would plan it out... arrive early to look for alternative exits from the neighborhood for example, look to see if there are cameras that would particularly need avoiding and if they lived further away with Houston traffic you would want to for sure arrive super early if you knew you had a narrow time-frame to do the job during peak work hour traffic... heck just nerves alone probably had them up early.

To me the fact they used a 22 was unusual. 22 is not a powerful weapon. I use one bc the bullets are cheap for target practice with very little recoil. If this was a professional they would use something like a 9mm/40 cal/ or 45 cal etc... not a 22. If they were worried about too much noise then they would have had a silencer or made a homemade one instead of opting to downgrade the caliber IMO. 22s are a dime a dozen so whoever did this wasn't experienced or a pro. Also they shoot with one hand....if they were professionally shown how to shoot a handgun it is always with 2 hands as one hand is used as a stabilizer for better accuracy. They shot one handed.... were shell casings left behind? If not then we can say it was a 22 revolver. I bet this inexperienced killer would have gone to a gun range probably less than a week prior to build confidence and bc it seems like they were a big time planner so I'm sure they would have wanted to practice prior.

I am sure that most of us remember that we have already, severald times, discussed the weapon. I haven't seen any new developments.

Except for one very unusual exception, that I'm not going to bother to go into, silencers cannot be used on revolvers.

I have never seen it stated by LE that a 22 revolver was used. If I missed this, please give a source for your statements.

We don't know for a fact what the ammo was, nor do we known much about the revolver.
I certainly agree this was not a "professional" but I disagree that a professional would have used a 9mm/40/45
if the plan was to shoot her at such close range, especially if both of them were standing up. I won't describe what the consequences could be for several head shots. It appears that the shooter had 2 reasons they needed to get close to Liz, to verify she was the right person and to show or give her something. So the weapon and ammo could have been a decision based on that. The very delberate last shot to the face, tells me that the shooter may have known the "best" place for the ammo used.

The idea the shooter using only one hand indicates inexperience is not necessarily true. He/she was holding something in their left hand, which they showed to Liz, after they had already pointed the gun at her. They may have been confident of controlling recoil their aim at such a close range. They shot immediately after showing something to Liz. I have often done drills shooting a number of guns with only one hand, it's a common shooting exercise.

There is a misunderstanding of what is said by the detective in the linked broadcast. At 5:16 he is asked what kind of gun was fired, he answered that one round was recovered, small to medium size caliber, possibly a .380. If he is talking about the ammo, as it sounds, it cannot be claimed a .380 revolver is the gun that was used. The recovered round does not identify the bullet or the gun type that was used. He said "Possibly". My opinion is, as a member of LE, the detective has heard something (he did not do the ballastics/examination of the recovered evidence) and doesn't know any facts.

I do not think that any of this information alone, could or should have led to this being solved.
Edit to add
A planned evert would mean knowing the exact address already, you don't case a bank the day of the robbery.
You use a different car and drive around a number of times, way before the event.

Moo
https://www.investigationdiscovery....igation-discovery-atve-us/a-fairy-tale-ruined

 

[TraxMaster]

I am sure that most of us remember that we have already, severald times, discussed the weapon. I haven't seen any new developments.

Except for one very unusual exception, that I'm not going to bother to go into, silencers cannot be used on revolvers.

I have never seen it stated by LE that a 22 revolver was used. If I missed this, please give a source for your statements.

We don't know for a fact what the ammo was, nor do we known much about the revolver.
I certainly agree this was not a "professional" but I disagree that a professional would have used a 9mm/40/45
if the plan was to shoot her at such close range, especially if both of them were standing up. I won't describe what the consequences could be for several head shots. It appears that the shooter had 2 reasons they needed to get close to Liz, to verify she was the right person and to show or give her something. So the weapon and ammo could have been a decision based on that. The very delberate last shot to the face, tells me that the shooter may have known the "best" place for the ammo used.

The idea the shooter using only one hand indicates inexperience is not necessarily true. He/she was holding something in their left hand, which they showed to Liz, after they had already pointed the gun at her. They may have been confident of controlling recoil their aim at such a close range. They shot immediately after showing something to Liz. I have often done drills shooting a number of guns with only one hand, it's a common shooting exercise.

There is a misunderstanding of what is said by the detective in the linked broadcast. At 5:16 he is asked what kind of gun was fired, he answered that one round was recovered, small to medium size caliber, possibly a .380. If he is talking about the ammo, as it sounds, it cannot be claimed a .380 revolver is the gun that was used. The recovered round does not identify the bullet or the gun type that was used. He said "Possibly". My opinion is, as a member of LE, the detective has heard something (he did not do the ballastics/examination of the recovered evidence) and doesn't know any facts.

I do not think that any of this information alone, could or should have led to this being solved.
Edit to add
A planned evert would mean knowing the exact address already, you don't case a bank the day of the robbery.
You use a different car and drive around a number of times, way before the event.

Moo
https://www.investigationdiscovery....igation-discovery-atve-us/a-fairy-tale-ruined

Unless you have a bag catcher or pick up the shells which we know they did not bc of the video then we know it was a revolver.... I don't need to cite a fact of how a gun works. If there were no shells found then it is a revolver as that is the only kind that does not leave behind casings.

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

Unless you have a bag catcher or pick up the shells which we know they did not bc of the video then we know it was a revolver.... I don't need to cite a fact of how a gun works. If there were no shells found then it is a revolver as that is the only kind that does not leave behind casings.

I believe my post clearly mentions "revolver" a number of times and I never indicated it wasn't a revolver used. The issue is claiming it was a 22, do you have a source?

You said "To me the fact they used a 22 was unusual."

Quoting myself:

"We don't know for a fact what the ammo was, nor do we known much about the revolver."

 

[lonewanderer]

No casings, but maybe this fact indicates preparedness? No casings, no DNA, not even clear if a woman or a man.

I posted a deep dive comparison of people who were shot in their driveways. With the exception of one case (that didnt really fit the others too well) every single one of them involved a revolver.

 

[lonewanderer]

I believe my post clearly mentions "revolver" a number of times and I never indicated it wasn't a revolver used. The issue is claiming it was a 22, do you have a source?

You said "To me the fact they used a 22 was unusual."

Quoting myself:

"We don't know for a fact what the ammo was, nor do we known much about the revolver."

I don't remember the caliber but I am certain I read it was NOT .22

22 is also the most commonly used murder weapon. Its quiet, cheap, etc

 

[TraxMaster]

I believe my post clearly mentions "revolver" a number of times and I never indicated it wasn't a revolver used. The issue is claiming it was a 22, do you have a source?

You said "To me the fact they used a 22 was unusual."

Quoting myself:

"We don't know for a fact what the ammo was, nor do we known much about the revolver."

My bad I misunderstood what you were getting at. I thought I read it was a .22 but I have no idea why I thought that. So was it a .38 or a .380 special?

 

[TraxMaster]

I don't remember the caliber but I am certain I read it was NOT .22

22 is also the most commonly used murder weapon. Its quiet, cheap, etc

Yeah idk why I thought it was a .22 ugh total rookie mistake

 

[lonewanderer]

Every time I see her take that step back in the video I get the impression that we’re instincts were setting off and something about the perp, whether it was their facial expression or purposeful and quick pass towards her, just didn’t seem right to her.

Almost like her instincts were telling her get away or give this individual more space as they get closer just in case, IMO.

I think it is possible that even if Liz and her killer didn’t know each other personally, they may be at least one degree of separation between them. For example, what if the perp was committing the murder on the behalf of a co-conspirator who held animosity or a grudge against Liz. Perhaps this co-conspirator is someone they are close too emotionally or are involved with romantically and they took on this person’s emotions, even their hostility against Liz unfortunately, intimately as a result of the relationship or a sense of loyalty or empathy. Like “I don’t like the people you don’t like too” or “I’m on your side (and am only hearing your side) and you’re right person is totally unfair to you” or “It’s not my problem but for you I’ll make it my fight and throw the punches or get rid of whatever person is being a bother”.

That or perhaps they were unfortunately misled or manipulated into thinking that Liz was or would be a problem for them, and not just the co-conspirator, to the point the killer’s actions and reactions eventually and tragically escalated to murder and excessive violence.

This may explain why even if a stranger or very distant acquaintance to Liz would express such rage while shooting at and attacking Liz. The rage they were feeling is not necessarily their own but they are feeling and releasing it as far as they are in involved.

JMO/JMT

I think its possible Liz was reacting to the phone/paper/etc that the shooter has in their left hand.

I also think its possible Liz takes that HUGE step back because she saw the gun.

Unfortunately, Liz is shot right as she leans in to see the item in the shooter's hand. We do not get to see a body language reaction from Liz such as her hands up like "whoah! Wait, that isn't me.." or Liz looking confused like "uhh...what is this I am looking at?" or even Liz rolling her eyes like "omg this crap again".

I think if Liz had time to react to the item, we may have a more clear idea of her reaction to what was presented to her. That, or we would debate over her body language and be even more confused.

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

My bad I misunderstood what you were getting at. I thought I read it was a .22 but I have no idea why I thought that. So was it a .38 or a .380 special?

From the Det. interview that I linked, we cannot read anything into his saying as he answered a gun question with a comment about the ammo. Numbers given to ammo and gun models are confusing as there is no absolute rule to the names/numbers. He said small/medium bullet/ammo like 380. You cannot then take that to mean that was a gun model.
He did not follow up with any guesses as to the gun, beyond of course, it being a revolver.