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

[Charlot123]

Having followed the case from the beginning, I’m pretty much stumped. I’d think that a paid hit would be massively expensive and I just don’t see the Barazzas having access to that kind of money, or the connections really to pull off a paid hit. I’m sure the police in Texas will have looked into this in great detail. I have family in Galveston and Austin and they rate the State Troopers and Texas DPS very highly. There’s a reason people say “don’t mess with Texas.”

To me it sounds like someone with a grudge against Liz or Sergio. Planned quite well as we’ve seen with the Nissan pickup cruising the neighborhood in the early hours and then making a brazen escape through a notorious rush hour. By all accounts going off road at the end of a dead end street and chewing up grass that should’ve left mud all up the sides of the truck.

I’d say the culprit is a fellow Texan but probably with a grudge going back so far it’s not occurred to anyone. It could easily be a slight from high school, who knows. Or even earlier. Or someone deranged in the 501 group.

I think there’s a local connection somewhere - and I agree it’s very odd that the killer hid and waited, and may have known that Liz’s Dad had canceled attendance at the last minute.

Just wanted to say, the solved murder of Namiko Takaba in Nagoya, Japan, 26 years ago should, as her now adult son has said, give everyone hope. She was a social, beautiful woman, whose mom was involved in some scamming, so initially they thought, revenge and mistaken identity. Then they probably looked at other circles, and within the last year, included a woman who had a crush on the victim’s husband in HS, 24 years before the murder. The story sounds nutty mostly because the culprit looks normal and had a normal life without any criminal history or anything, but they probably had to clean a lot of “obvious” suspects before they even considered her. 26 years ago there were no DNA testings. But in Japan, it is still only 1:1 so they had to still include her into the suspect list. So there was a connection, but old and, if you think, peripheral. So I think it might be something similar here, deeply irrational but making sense to the killer. Liz’s parents can’t imagine who could hate their lovely daughter. Same happened in Nagoya, the investigator said to the widower, “you are such great people, I can’t imagine anyone hating you”. It took one, a polite woman looking absolutely pulled together, who kept that obsessive unrequited crush on the husband for 24 years and then lay low for 26.

 

[kityy]

okay, so the idea with the whole camera showbiz really brings new ideas to light. perhaps, like most killers, they knew the camera was there. but, going back a bit to the part of the killer wanting to help sergio, they must have known him, therefor knew some things about the house and the camera. the treadmill was just an extra helping hand, perhaps?

I mean, going into the details about the nest camera, some point out how it is positioned far to the left, so many believe that the killer must have knew the camera was there, and so they knew to move in, and where to.

another thing is, the ideas circulating about why you would sell a treadmill like that is rather interesting. I mean, first of all, why are you even selling it? secondly, whatever the reason, why not do it in a more convenient way? instead of doing a car sale and so on, just sell it to an individual person! Also, the internet was around, so surely you could snap a picture, and put it on E-bay or whatever you would use at the time? (question for internet people)/

 

[kityy]

1) no I am not

2) I think that it is a horribly unfair case. I listened to the interview of Detective Ritchie, he appears good. I was left with an impression that the case is not solved because no apparent connection between the murderer and Liz has been found.

If we all keep this thread alive, this is probably the maximum we can do.

It seems that the police can’t find the motive. Perhaps in this case, “drop the motive, look for who had the best means” would be the approach. Half of the motives won’t be motives for us, anyhow.

Also: remember, det. Richie looked at the neighbor’s camera and thought that they’d solve this case in 2 hours. And it is still unsolved in almost 7 years. Meaning, the person/people planning it knew what the police would look at (the license plate? So the car has only one. Did they take off the other one or did they come from a state where one is legal?). So…someone planning the murder knows well what the detectives will search for and cuts off all ways to find them.

Is the murderer close to LE? Or are they so much into criminal stories that they learned a lot? They have to be deeply into details, an autodidact.

Think of this, Kohberger who had criminal justice degree, still made some mistakes. They probably don’t teach you everything in criminal justice. But imagine Kohberger with his degree + some experience interning in the police. He’d pull the murders, no doubt.

So the person who killed Liz knew the investigative work well…+ had some personal grudge against Liz. MOO.

In short, I am no profiler but: I think that: 1) the killer is in a position to find out a lot about Liz and in a short time and 2) the person knows very well how the police investigation is done and cuts off all routes for them. If he has not been found yet, it means, he has made no mistakes. It is not a woman who gets angry and hysterically shoots a perceived rival. It is a planner.

the idea of "drop the motive and look for who has the best means" might actually be a good idea for now. seeing as it happened six years ago, motives wouldn't be an easy task by any means. though the helping Sergio part may be the motive, or the closest we have to say the least. but the means, however, that is a good lead. I mean, thinking of who is easier than why. I personally think it must be someone in Sergio's family or social network. perhaps he should go into more detail about who he knew?

 

[flowershop]

This has been my nr 1 direction as well, I get the feeling the killing was personal, that the shooter was the person that wanted her dead. There is also the driving-around-the-night-before (with the same vehicle, but not passing her house at all) and there was the talk of google searches about Liz (and her address?) going up for a few months (?) before the murder. If I had to guess, it was someone not local, with a grudge, either long-term (scorned lovers easily hate you for 10+ years and can be re-triggered) or something more recent (that might not have seemed such a big thing to Liz).

As I said previously, from what we know, she married Sergio in 2014, after meeting him while in college at Sam Houston State University (so sometime 2009-2012). She was born in 1989, so while she was super young when she married (24), it is also unlikely that she never had any prior relationships whatsoever. Liz had lived in Illinois, Missouri, Florida and Texas. That's a lot of locations. And not just a single town in each state, either; for example, we don't know, why she decided to transfer from SFA to SHSU.

Can you elaborate more on these google searches you mentioned? Am I understanding that there waa an increase in the amount of google searches containing her name near the time of her death? I would also be curious what source(s) this is coming from.

 

[flowershop]

okay, so the idea with the whole camera showbiz really brings new ideas to light. perhaps, like most killers, they knew the camera was there. but, going back a bit to the part of the killer wanting to help sergio, they must have known him, therefor knew some things about the house and the camera. the treadmill was just an extra helping hand, perhaps?

I mean, going into the details about the nest camera, some point out how it is positioned far to the left, so many believe that the killer must have knew the camera was there, and so they knew to move in, and where to.

another thing is, the ideas circulating about why you would sell a treadmill like that is rather interesting. I mean, first of all, why are you even selling it? secondly, whatever the reason, why not do it in a more convenient way? instead of doing a car sale and so on, just sell it to an individual person! Also, the internet was around, so surely you could snap a picture, and put it on E-bay or whatever you would use at the time? (question for internet people)/

LB had the garage sale in order to get spending money for the trip to Disney World that she had planned with her husband.

I don't understand what you are referring to when you say "camera showbiz". Can you clarify?

 

[Charlot123]

the idea of "drop the motive and look for who has the best means" might actually be a good idea for now. seeing as it happened six years ago, motives wouldn't be an easy task by any means. though the helping Sergio part may be the motive, or the closest we have to say the least. but the means, however, that is a good lead. I mean, thinking of who is easier than why. I personally think it must be someone in Sergio's family or social network. perhaps he should go into more detail about who he knew?

Well here is how I see it. And let me be blunt.

Sergio had the motive (insurance) but: unless he had an affair at the time when Liz was killed, I would drop him as the interested party.

(Remembering the words of a family therapist and a very smart man: during his 35-years of practice, this therapist said, he saw only six cases of men initiating a divorce without another woman already lined up. Women, on the other hand, would do it often. “Get free and meet someone”. For guys this principle doesn’t work. Even Chris Watts first had to have an affair to annihilate the family, and before that, he was coping with his marriage by having more kids!).

Now, the question is, was Sergio a faithful husband or not? If he was - all this “Sergio angle” costs nothing IMO. His FIL or other people might have their reasons, a woman secretly in one-sided love with Sergio might have a reason, but Sergio himself is out of the equation no matter how logical his involvement seems.

If SB did have a relationship in the time of Liz murder, that alone raises his chances of him being involved immensely,

So the question is, did he or did he not? What can we use to find out? Only Ritchie - who is telling us that both Liz and Sergio were very straightforward people and had a good relationship. If it is true, that alone is very important. Can Ritchie be mistaken of withhold information? Surely. But, he looks like a worldly man and if officially he found no evidence of Barraza’s marriage being weak, we have to take his words for granted…for now.

So that leaves the investigators with a much more difficult task, look at “farther circles” or think who could stalk Liz, including electronically, or who of Liz’s friends had access to her wi-fi. A different circle.

Theoretically this case is resolvable. But if Sergio is not involved, he surely didn’t help solving the case with all his useless blabbering. Sorry.

 

[Charlot123]

the idea of "drop the motive and look for who has the best means" might actually be a good idea for now. seeing as it happened six years ago, motives wouldn't be an easy task by any means. though the helping Sergio part may be the motive, or the closest we have to say the least. but the means, however, that is a good lead. I mean, thinking of who is easier than why. I personally think it must be someone in Sergio's family or social network. perhaps he should go into more detail about who he knew?

BTW: It is too sad that the murder happened in 2019, and in 2020-2021, the police in the country got crippled. I suspect that many cities have not yet recovered, but hopefully, TX is better than my state. Wishing good luck with this case.

 

[Charlot123]

This has been my nr 1 direction as well, I get the feeling the killing was personal, that the shooter was the person that wanted her dead. There is also the driving-around-the-night-before (with the same vehicle, but not passing her house at all) and there was the talk of google searches about Liz (and her address?) going up for a few months (?) before the murder. If I had to guess, it was someone not local, with a grudge, either long-term (scorned lovers easily hate you for 10+ years and can be re-triggered) or something more recent (that might not have seemed such a big thing to Liz).

As I said previously, from what we know, she married Sergio in 2014, after meeting him while in college at Sam Houston State University (so sometime 2009-2012). She was born in 1989, so while she was super young when she married (24), it is also unlikely that she never had any prior relationships whatsoever. Liz had lived in Illinois, Missouri, Florida and Texas. That's a lot of locations. And not just a single town in each state, either; for example, we don't know, why she decided to transfer from SFA to SHSU.

From what we know: the internet is full of random information about the case, but in almost 7 years, it is sort of cold. So I hope it is not violation to repeat that someone saw Liz’s LinkedIn and she used to work at a car sales or rental company before 2014. Not for long.

Also, it was mentioned somewhere that the Disney trip had some connection to 501, it was even mentioned what, but I have no idea about how things are organized there. So it might have been not that expensive. I wonder if anyone else heard about it.

Also, a very far cry, but didn’t Sergio get Liz’s job at Rosen after her death?

Who hired him?

I always wonder if there might be a person disliking Liz but thinking that Sergio could be good “husband material” (as he, probably, is. Clean, handy, definitely not aggressive). I wonder if someone really considered him “a good choice” for themselves. People at Rosen could have heard about the sale. And, they could have known about the insurance. Removed Liz, invited Sergio, planned to wait a little bit…but instead, he with time fell for his current wife (who resembles Liz, so it is unsurprising. He might be attracted to women of a certain type). But the person could have thought differently, “I am better looking, have a better position, why Liz and not me?”, this and that. They are quiet now or even moved to another job because it was a wrong idea. But, not implausible at that time.

Did Liz take Sergio to job parties, one wonders? Did she take people from her work home?

 

[Sjöberg]

As far as the internet searches, I remember someone posting in this thread (many pages ago) about how Liz's name had a huge spike in Google searches close to her time of death.

Can you elaborate more on these google searches you mentioned?

I cannot find the original poster on the topic, burried too deep (late 2023 I think?), but my own latest replay was at TX - TX - Elizabeth Barraza, 29, murdered setting up garage sale, Harris Co, Jan 2019 #6

I don't think that information has been confirmed by LE, but as far as I remember, it came from a few different sources and my own (sceptical) review of the public google data did confirm it. Does it mean anything or not, no idea.

 

[cenazoic]

The night before drive around the neighborhood, then the perp leaves and returns just a few hours later and hides for just the right amount of time a

My opinion of the significance of the Goddard school stop changed when I realized how short it was and that they went to wait somewhere else afterwards.

Here’s the questions I have:

1 - where did they go after the camera capture at 2am? What direction were they headed? Is it possible this is unrelated ?

(whokilledlizbarrazza.com says “Black Nissan Frontier observed on neighborhood cameras driving within sight of Liz’s house.”). How many cameras?

2 - if its the same person, what were they doing between 2am and 647am (Goddard)?

2 - Where did they go after Goddard but before Liz’s house?

Hopefully LE has answers they haven’t shared with the public. The 2am drive is puzzling - if it’s the shooter, I’m not sure what ‘driving within sight’ gets them vs driving by the actual house, if you’re reconnoitering the location. The 2nd driveby after the shooting seems to indicate an unfamiliarity with the neighborhood.

I’d also be curious to know how far back they attempted to find the Nissan on local cameras, or whether they looked for other cars who appeared multiple times then weren’t filmed again after Liz’s death.

 

[FromGermany1]

Can you elaborate more on these google searches you mentioned? Am I understanding that there waa an increase in the amount of google searches containing her name near the time of her death? I would also be curious what source(s) this is coming from.

Post in thread 'TX - Elizabeth Barraza, 29, murdered setting up garage sale, Harris Co, Jan 2019 #4'

Mar 30, 2023

I would think that the primary focus phone-wise must be with Liz. Our phones are packed with clues about our normal and not-so-normal daily goings on. She was targeted, as evidenced by the 2am surveillance that was conducted. Now, if a killer was hired to do this there would probably be no connection to her phone records. And even if Liz knew her attacker, again there may be no phone communication between them. We have discussed geofence, but the broader the data request the less likely a judge will grant one. I still think that a major breadcrumb is the Google Maps angle. The...

• arielilane

• 

 

[BlaiseFinlay]

Somebody brought up the mother too. That’s also crossed my mind in only a hypothetical sense, not for any reason specific to the mother, who I know nothing about. From what’s become known about the FIL’s situation, it seems like that is the obvious place to start, since it seems like Liz was rocking the boat. There are a number of people whose lives were impacted by the FIL’s affairs and money troubles, though, so that would still leave a handful of people in the theoretical suspect pool — SB, the FIL, the MIL, and the mistresses.

I’m not convinced from the video we’ve seen that the person was in a cosplay costume.

With the FIL having his own business, the lack of a financial paper trail doesn’t convince me that he wasn’t in on it.

Still seems crazy to me that the car could just disappear, it’s not like they had a delay in accessing camera footage.

Key for me on the timing is whether SB usually left before her or after her in the morning. Since that truck was waiting, they had to have been waiting for something. Which suggests they had information about SB’s intended timing that morning. If Liz usually left before SB, what would they have been waiting for?

 

[lonewanderer]

Somebody brought up the mother too. That’s also crossed my mind in only a hypothetical sense, not for any reason specific to the mother, who I know nothing about. From what’s become known about the FIL’s situation, it seems like that is the obvious place to start, since it seems like Liz was rocking the boat. There are a number of people whose lives were impacted by the FIL’s affairs and money troubles, though, so that would still leave a handful of people in the theoretical suspect pool — SB, the FIL, the MIL, and the mistresses.

I’m not convinced from the video we’ve seen that the person was in a cosplay costume.

With the FIL having his own business, the lack of a financial paper trail doesn’t convince me that he wasn’t in on it.

Still seems crazy to me that the car could just disappear, it’s not like they had a delay in accessing camera footage.

Key for me on the timing is whether SB usually left before her or after her in the morning. Since that truck was waiting, they had to have been waiting for something. Which suggests they had information about SB’s intended timing that morning. If Liz usually left before SB, what would they have been waiting for?

I think it’s likely the shooter was wearing a Patrick Bateman style splash guard outfit, and what appears to be a wig is actually a hairnet.

This, in my opinion, sounds like a well prepared woman’s idea. Who better to come up with such an elaborate and well thought out plan than a woman who cosplays?

 

[flowershop]

Post in thread 'TX - Elizabeth Barraza, 29, murdered setting up garage sale, Harris Co, Jan 2019 #4'

Mar 30, 2023

I would think that the primary focus phone-wise must be with Liz. Our phones are packed with clues about our normal and not-so-normal daily goings on. She was targeted, as evidenced by the 2am surveillance that was conducted. Now, if a killer was hired to do this there would probably be no connection to her phone records. And even if Liz knew her attacker, again there may be no phone communication between them. We have discussed geofence, but the broader the data request the less likely a judge will grant one. I still think that a major breadcrumb is the Google Maps angle. The...

• arielilane

• 

So the idea here is that someone that night entered LB's address into Google and Google may be able to reveal this? (Or they at least entered in an address in that neighborhood..?)

 

[Charlot123]

Post in thread 'TX - Elizabeth Barraza, 29, murdered setting up garage sale, Harris Co, Jan 2019 #4'

Mar 30, 2023

I would think that the primary focus phone-wise must be with Liz. Our phones are packed with clues about our normal and not-so-normal daily goings on. She was targeted, as evidenced by the 2am surveillance that was conducted. Now, if a killer was hired to do this there would probably be no connection to her phone records. And even if Liz knew her attacker, again there may be no phone communication between them. We have discussed geofence, but the broader the data request the less likely a judge will grant one. I still think that a major breadcrumb is the Google Maps angle. The...

• arielilane

• 

Imagine that the person did not stalk Liz all the time, but “recently rediscovered her” shortly before the murder. (Or “recently developed interest”).

It would be tempting to see what searches peak shortly before the address search. Liz Barraza? Elizabeth Barraza? Sergio Barraza? 501 Legion? Special costumes? Any friend of the Barrazas? Colleges or schools she attended? Dogs of her animal’s breed? Rosen?

I think there could be a “social engineering” way to see what searches would cluster on Google trends before/around Liz Barraza and the address. That could potentially hint at the motive. I have little information about Liz to know what to search for, but I think specialists on Internet search could extract the “clouds of searches”, or different searches coming from one place/area around the same time.

 

[sunspun]

okay, so the idea with the whole camera showbiz really brings new ideas to light. perhaps, like most killers, they knew the camera was there. but, going back a bit to the part of the killer wanting to help sergio, they must have known him, therefor knew some things about the house and the camera. the treadmill was just an extra helping hand, perhaps?

I mean, going into the details about the nest camera, some point out how it is positioned far to the left, so many believe that the killer must have knew the camera was there, and so they knew to move in, and where to.

another thing is, the ideas circulating about why you would sell a treadmill like that is rather interesting. I mean, first of all, why are you even selling it? secondly, whatever the reason, why not do it in a more convenient way? instead of doing a car sale and so on, just sell it to an individual person! Also, the internet was around, so surely you could snap a picture, and put it on E-bay or whatever you would use at the time? (question for internet people)/

Well, just addressing your last point, I would point out that I think it would be quite the ordeal to have to ship a treadmill!

 

[sunspun]

Also, a very far cry, but didn’t Sergio get Liz’s job at Rosen after her death?

Who hired him?

Snipped just to focus on this part of your post:

Is this true?? I have never ever heard this! I don't mean, I don't believe you, but I'm just amazed both that I've not heard it and that this happened!

That seems like it could end up being at least slightly awkward, doesn't it? I just can't see anyone ever stepping into his just-murdered wife's former job, and just acting like nothing happened. OK, I'm sure he didn't act like nothing happened, but that's awkward too-- if he or anyone else ever mentions it while working, or if he happens to have a moment of fun during a workday, nothing wrong with that, but it might be hard not to look sideways at a man cutting up, laughing, having a good time, when his wife was just murdered and nobody knows who did it! And the husband is still officially not cleared as a suspect!

Well, that could happen anywhere he went, not just if he took her former job. But still, that just seems really weird to me, although I can't seem to articulate just why really. I wonder whose idea that was? Did he know personally her co-workers before she died? How did he come to being offered her job? Or did he approach them first and request it? Had he ever worked in this field before?

Hmm, so this would also mean he was no longer working for his father? Or was he still working part-time with his dad too? That is very interesting to me, if he didn't want to work with his father anymore after Liz was murdered. Was it RIGHT after?

 

[FromGermany1]

Hmm, so this would also mean he was no longer working for his father? Or was he still working part-time with his dad too? That is very interesting to me, if he didn't want to work with his father anymore after Liz was murdered. Was it RIGHT after?

^^ This especially!

 

[Charlot123]

Snipped just to focus on this part of your post:

Is this true?? I have never ever heard this! I don't mean, I don't believe you, but I'm just amazed both that I've not heard it and that this happened!

That seems like it could end up being at least slightly awkward, doesn't it? I just can't see anyone ever stepping into his just-murdered wife's former job, and just acting like nothing happened. OK, I'm sure he didn't act like nothing happened, but that's awkward too-- if he or anyone else ever mentions it while working, or if he happens to have a moment of fun during a workday, nothing wrong with that, but it might be hard not to look sideways at a man cutting up, laughing, having a good time, when his wife was just murdered and nobody knows who did it! And the husband is still officially not cleared as a suspect!

Well, that could happen anywhere he went, not just if he took her former job. But still, that just seems really weird to me, although I can't seem to articulate just why really. I wonder whose idea that was? Did he know personally her co-workers before she died? How did he come to being offered her job? Or did he approach them first and request it? Had he ever worked in this field before?

Hmm, so this would also mean he was no longer working for his father? Or was he still working part-time with his dad too? That is very interesting to me, if he didn't want to work with his father anymore after Liz was murdered. Was it RIGHT after?

Besides Liz’s website contents and Detective Ritchie’s interview, information about her on the Internet is surprisingly scattered, bits and pieces I can read I am trying to discuss in the hope that maybe, somehow, someone will get an idea.

About Sergio working later with Rosen, I read several times. I don’t find it weird at all. I think people around felt very sympathetic of Liz and compassionate of Sergio. On the other hand, Rosen group must have been looked through and through. So: I don’t think it had to do with the job itself, I am thinking about a very personal angle. I plan to listen to Sergio interviews again today.

 

[Charlot123]

Well, just addressing your last point, I would point out that I think it would be quite the ordeal to have to ship a treadmill!

Just wondering if Liz and Sergio started already going to the gym, that’s all.