MURDERED: Elizabeth Barraza

Transcript

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Speaker 1 Hi, crime junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers.
And I'm Britt. And the story I have for you, it is about the baffling murder of a young woman.

Speaker 1 It is the kind of case where like everything feels like it's going to fall into place at first with all of the pieces that they have. They literally have the murder on film.

Speaker 1 So investigators are super confident that they're going to catch their killer within hours. But six years have gone by and it is still unsolved.

Speaker 1 And Britt, like this is one where truly, when I say I have no idea what happened, I have no idea what happened because there is no theory that makes complete sense.

Speaker 1 And Nina and I, she's the reporter that worked on this. We were in my office, I mean, going round and round and round for literally like an hour talking about theories and feelings.

Speaker 1 And we were just losing our minds because we're trying to get the pieces to add up.

Speaker 1 But her family's hoping that someone, maybe somebody even listening or watching right now, can help bring them the justice that they have so desperately been seeking.

Speaker 1 This is the story of Elizabeth Barraza.

Speaker 1 It's around 7:20 on the morning of Friday, January 25th, 2019, when Bob and Rosemary Nellie wake up to their phones buzzing. And it's a notification from the alarm system on their daughter's home.

Speaker 1 Now, they know Elizabeth, Liz, as everyone calls her, is holding a garage sale that day.

Speaker 1 So at first, they think that she might have just accidentally set it off while she's like going in and out of the house or whatever. But when they call her to check, she doesn't answer the phone.

Speaker 1 And things get even more unsettling when the alarm company contacts them directly because they tried calling Liz and they can't get a hold of her either.

Speaker 1 So Rosemary gives them the go-ahead to notify police and she and Bob throw on some clothes, jump in the car and head straight to Liz's home in Tomebald, Texas, which is like 15 minutes away.

Speaker 1 Bob told our reporter, Nina, that a lot of that morning is just a blur for him at this point, but he does remember speaking to their daughter's husband, Sergio Barraza, on the drive over.

Speaker 1 Now, Sergio's not home as a crew chief for his father's flooring company. He'd already left for the day, but he tells them that he also got the alarm alert.

Speaker 1 And when he checked their nest doorbell camera, like the live feed for it, he saw police tape and cops like in the background.

Speaker 1 And he even, this is wild, he like used the speaker on the doorbell camera to try and talk to them, but like, what is going on?

Speaker 1 He did get someone's attention, but they wouldn't tell him what was happening. They just said that he needed to get home immediately.

Speaker 1 So when Bob and Rosemary pull into Liz's neighborhood, it is like every parent's worst nightmare unfolding before their eyes. Their daughter's usually quiet street is swarming with emergency vehicles.

Speaker 1 First responders tell them that a young woman has just been airlifted to the hospital.

Speaker 1 And as they get closer, they realize that all the commotion and activity is centered around their daughter's house.

Speaker 1 And there is this trail of blood on the driveway mixed in near items that she had set out for the garage sale.

Speaker 1 Now, initially, officers are tight-lipped, but they tell Bob and Rosemary the most critical detail, and that is that it was Liz, their daughter, who's been shot.

Speaker 1 How do they set off her alarm if she was shot out by the driveway? So the police were actually the ones who set it off. Oh, they were responding to 911 calls of gunshots in the neighborhood.

Speaker 1 And when they arrived, she was laying on the driveway near the garage, still breathing, but barely. She had like a faint pulse.
That's where she was shot.

Speaker 1 And the alarm only went off when officers went through the unlocked door between the garage and the house to like secure the scene.

Speaker 1 So Bob and Rosemary are like reeling. Liz is the most positive person they know.
She's creative. She's kind, always helping others.

Speaker 1 She's a Harry Potter fanatic who spends her free time reading and dressing as Star Wars characters to visit sick kids.

Speaker 1 So like in the immediate moment, they're like, who on earth would do this to our daughter? And this isn't a high crime area either, we're talking about. It is this nice middle-class neighborhood.

Speaker 1 Drive-by shootings are not something that they deal with. So before her parents can even begin to wrap their heads around this, Sergio pulls up and police ask him to stay nearby for questioning.

Speaker 1 So while he waits there, along with his mom, who shows up to be with him, The Nellies rush to the trauma center to be with their daughter.

Speaker 1 They are clinging to hope the whole 40-minute drive over, praying that she's gonna pull through.

Speaker 1 But when they get to the hospital, the same one where Liz spent so many hours volunteering, doctors tell them that she's not gonna make it. She's been shot point blank four times.
Oh my God.

Speaker 1 Once through the side of her neck, twice in the chest, and finally once in the head. So while Liz is still technically alive, police know that it's gonna be a homicide case now.

Speaker 1 And while her parents grieve, the Harris Harris County Sheriff's Office jumps in with Deputy Michael Ritchie at the helm.

Speaker 1 And as he and other investigators question Sergio, it quickly becomes clear to them that it actually hadn't been a typical morning for the couple, even before the shooting.

Speaker 1 So normally, Liz leaves for work by 6:30, 6.45, but she had taken the day off for that garage sale she was doing, which she had prioritized to make some extra spending money for her and Sergio's trip to Disney and Universal Studios.

Speaker 1 They were supposed to leave for Florida that Sunday to celebrate their upcoming fifth wedding anniversary.

Speaker 1 So, between what Sergio tells investigators and what they're able to pull from the doorbell camera footage that he gives them, police know that Liz was up super early.

Speaker 1 She went to Starbucks at 6.08, and then the couple started setting up the sale in the driveway when she got back. And then Sergio left for work at exactly 6:48.

Speaker 1 Now, Sergio says that he drove to a Lowe's about five miles away to meet his flooring crew. Everything was fine until he got that security alert on his phone.

Speaker 1 And he explains that on his way home, he like actually actively was like rewinding the doorbell footage trying to find out what happened.

Speaker 1 And while he couldn't see the shooting itself, he could hear it. And he shares the footage with investigators too.

Speaker 1 Now, the sound quality isn't great, but what is audible is Liz greeting someone and she's cheerful. She says, good morning.

Speaker 1 And there's this like muffled, brief exchange of words, followed by four deafening gunshots. And then Liz screams.

Speaker 1 And there has been endless speculation about what was said in that quick conversation.

Speaker 1 But even after detectives enhance the audio, all they can hear for sure is just Liz's good morning, the shots and the scream. But there's no visual of the shooter.

Speaker 1 Well, not on the Barraza's camera, but a neighbor's security camera caught the entire thing. This is what is so wild and why I said this case is so frustrating.

Speaker 1 So as Deputy Richie reviews all of the footage that he can get his hands on, he cannot believe how brazen it was. So what he sees is there's this dark colored pickup that pulls up at around 6.52 a.m.

Speaker 1 This is four minutes after Sergio left. The truck first passes Liz's house, then it like makes a U-turn, parks at the curb.

Speaker 1 And then the driver, who appeared to be alone in the vehicle, leaves the vehicle running, walks over to where Liz was setting up. And it's so weird.
They're wearing what looks like a disguise. What?

Speaker 1 It's like this,

Speaker 1 you can't really see because

Speaker 1 it's still dark outside. So like the footage is almost like night vision, kind of, but it's like a flowy coat or robe paired with what detectives call go-go style boots.

Speaker 1 Like I can't really see the boots. And then

Speaker 1 maybe this person has a really long hair or it might be a wig. And I'm saying like they, because like police can't even determine if this shooter is a man or a woman.

Speaker 1 The video quality, like I said, is super poor. Everything's cast in this like bluish gray tint.
But this shooter approaches Liz. You can see them like have this exchange.

Speaker 1 It looks like they might even have shown her something. Like there's this moment where it looks like a kind of a transaction.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 But police don't find anything, like a note at the scene or something. Like a pamphlet or anything.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 And this person pulls out a gun and they shoot her three times. She collapsed and then they stood over her and that's when they like fired that final shot to her head.

Speaker 1 And then as soon as that final shot is fired, they run back to their truck and leave.

Speaker 1 The entire encounter is over in less than a minute, which is a super short amount of time, but I'm thinking like people are leaving for work, taking like their dogs on walks.

Speaker 1 Did anyone see this happen? No. Like I said, it was still kind of dark out.
Multiple people heard the gunshots. They were the ones who contacted 911.

Speaker 1 The first call actually came from a a man who lived across the street. He had a clear view of the shooter's truck, which he's able to tell them is a Nissan frontier that is almost certainly black.

Speaker 1 But this is what's really puzzling to investigators is that in less than two minutes after the neighbor called, while he was still on the phone with dispatch, there's this eerie moment where the truck drives back past the Barraz's house again.

Speaker 1 And like everything about this crime looks so professional and planned and deliberate.

Speaker 1 But this doubling back past the scene, this is the part that seems sloppy, like an amateur move that like almost certainly would have gotten them caught, like given the right circumstances.

Speaker 1 Were they coming back to get something? Like, did they stop or was it just a drive-by? No, like they didn't stop. They didn't get out.
Like, I don't know what the reason was.

Speaker 1 And unfortunately, Again, this should have been a sloppy move, but for whatever reason, luck was on this shooter's side because no one gets a good look at their license plate number and none of the surveillance footage that they do get is clear enough to ID it.

Speaker 1 But still, in those early times, Deputy Richie is optimistic.

Speaker 1 They've got this video footage, plus constables were on the scene within minutes and they quickly put out a bolo for a black nissan frontier. So whoever did this didn't get a big head start?

Speaker 1 No, like minutes tops from the time police arrived. But the real reason that Richie is so confident is that this seems way too methodical to be random.
Like this had to have been targeted.

Speaker 1 It feels pointed. Right.
Like take how the shooter approached. When they pulled up, the Barraza's house was to their left.
So the driver's side door was already facing the driveway.

Speaker 1 The easiest move would have been to just stop right next to it, quick in, quick out.

Speaker 1 Instead, they make that U-turn. They turn around and park like farther down the street.

Speaker 1 That meant getting out, walking around the front of the truck to reach the driveway, then running back after the shooting. But the maneuvering kept them mostly hidden from the Barraza's nest camera.

Speaker 1 So Deputy Richie thinks that they knew where that camera was and what that camera could see. And maybe they parked farther away because they had spotted that camera.
Maybe.

Speaker 1 But whoever did this, the real feeling they're getting is that they must know a lot about the Barrazas. I mean, on any other day, Liz would not have even been home, let alone outside alone.

Speaker 1 Now, investigators figure that Sergio is going to give them a name. Like, who is the person that has a grudge against Liz who drives a black Nissan frontier, like case clothes?

Speaker 1 But that's not what happens. Sergio mentions there is one woman who Liz had a disagreement with.
She is a member of a Star Wars fan group that they belong to. It's called the 501st Legion.

Speaker 1 But he insists that like whatever disagreement they had, like it was petty drama, nothing that would ever lead to murder.

Speaker 1 Actually, the first thing Sergio suggests is maybe this was some kind of robbery gone wrong. But police know that that doesn't track.
Nothing had been taken.

Speaker 1 Liz had a hundred bucks in a lockbox for making change for the garage sale. That's still there untouched.
So obvious question, but what about Sergio? You're right, it is obvious.

Speaker 1 And Deputy Ritchie isn't taking anything Sergio says at face value. He knows they have to start at square one.
And square one is always the person closest to the victim.

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Speaker 1 The investigators ask about the couple's marriage, which according to Sergio is perfect. They've been together for years, just like living their best lives with their docs and diesel.

Speaker 1 No affairs, no serious issues. He tells them that he would never harm Liz.

Speaker 1 And detectives are confident that he didn't pull the trigger.

Speaker 1 I mean, mean, even if they hadn't checked with the people that like he met up with at Lowe's, he doesn't even match the shooter seen on camera.

Speaker 1 Like he's way more heavy set than the person on the footage. But like, to be fair, they know that doesn't rule out his involvement.

Speaker 1 Now, in the moment, he's like cooperative, he's respectful, even when Deputy Richie tells him like, hey, nothing personal, but like as the husband, you're probably the prime suspect.

Speaker 1 But he gives them access to everything, the house, their electronics, his phone, Liz's phone, which she had with her.

Speaker 1 And according to an episode of On the Case with Paula Zahn, he even tells them about a life insurance policy that she had through her employer, which he would be the beneficiary of, although he says that he doesn't even think it's worth that much.

Speaker 1 But from the start, investigators think, even if he is so cooperative, like there is something off about him. Like Sergio keeps saying how worried he was about Liz holding that garage sale alone.

Speaker 1 that he encouraged her to have someone with her, but she said she'd be fine. And that's actually why the alarm was set on the house to begin with, even though she was outside.

Speaker 1 He says that he had her set it on the door from the garage at the house. That way, if anything went wrong, all she would have to do was run to the door and open it, and then help would be on the way.

Speaker 1 I guess I'm trying to decide where the line is between like a crime junkie parparanoid and

Speaker 1 laying out all this groundwork to cover your tracks. It's strange.
Yeah. Again, they're in a pretty nice neighborhood too, which is like I keep taking into account.

Speaker 1 I don't think there was like a history of garage sale robberies or anything, even remotely close. But Sergio like just tells police that they're just super cautious people.

Speaker 1 But that isn't the only thing that's raising red flags. His overall demeanor is odd to them.

Speaker 1 Like sitting in a police car listening to the doorbell camera audio with Deputy Richie, he almost seems calm.

Speaker 1 Like the deputy is expecting some kind of reaction as they hear those like booming gunshots and they hear Liz scream, but Sergio's face is just blank.

Speaker 1 Now, some early police reports claim that Sergio never asked about Liz's condition, but that is actually not entirely accurate. So he was talking to investigators from at least two different agencies.

Speaker 1 And while he might not have asked everyone, at some point he definitely inquired about her status and whether he could go to the hospital.

Speaker 1 But when detectives finish questioning him and tell him he can leave, he doesn't. Deputy Richie watches as he kind of just lingers around.
He's like talking to neighbors.

Speaker 1 He's checking out what the media is doing. Is he aware that Liz isn't going to make it?

Speaker 1 I'm not sure what investigators have told him or like what updates he's getting from her family, but obviously he knows that she's shot and has been airlifted to the hospital. Right.

Speaker 1 Like it's clearly a pretty serious injury. Yeah.
And his lack of urgency isn't what detectives expect in that situation.

Speaker 1 Now, meanwhile, the Nellies are at the hospital trying to process what feels like a nightmare.

Speaker 1 Liz is registered under an alias in case the shooter is still after her, which is like such a weird like reality for them to be in.

Speaker 1 They have no idea what is going to happen next or what they're supposed to do next. Are they wondering where Sergio, their son-in-law, is? Not really.
No, like everyone...

Speaker 1 I think everyone is just so focused on Liz and they know police needed to question him. Plus, Bob and Rosemary trust him.
They have never doubted that he loves their daughter.

Speaker 1 So when Sergio and his mom do finally get to the hospital, which is sometime that afternoon, he and Bob arrange one final act of generosity on Liz's behalf. They are gonna donate her organs.

Speaker 1 And even in this devastating moment, they're thinking about how she can help others. So Liz is declared dead on Saturday, January 26th at 1.40 p.m.

Speaker 1 But she is kept on life support for the next few days to preserve her organs. Her loved ones barely leave her side during that time.

Speaker 1 I mean, they're hardly sleeping or showering, let alone thinking about the investigation.

Speaker 1 Now, Deputy Richie does show them a censored version of the shooting footage, hoping that they'll recognize the killer or maybe the truck, which they don't.

Speaker 1 But after listening to the audio, they are convinced that Liz didn't know the shooter. Because they said if she did, she wouldn't have said like, good morning.

Speaker 1 She would have said like, good morning, so-and-so, like their name. And they're sure about that.
I think so. Yes, they are.

Speaker 1 are i guess i'm trying to like think of how i greet my friends or like my neighbors i don't yeah i don't say people's i'm like good morning bread i'm just like hey you like you know what i mean yeah like i would say like good morning to anyone walking down the street i think whether i knew them or not yeah i kind of went back and forth this is actually something i had nina like like push on but she said she talked to them and they are like adamant that whoever the shooter was liz did not know the shooter so by this point the shooting video is circulating in the media as well and And while it hasn't given police the big break that they thought it would, it is still a huge help.

Speaker 1 They might not be able to ID the killer, but they can start ruling people out. Like Liz was 5'2.
And all things considered, detectives estimate that the killer was somewhere between 5'4 and 5'8.

Speaker 1 And they think they have an athletic build. Maybe they're like 140 to 175 pounds.
Do they have a better sense of the shooter's gender? No, it's not clear enough on the video for them to say.

Speaker 1 There's a lot of early speculation that it's a woman. Deputy Richie specifically thinks their mannerisms and gait appear kind of feminine, but he knows that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

Speaker 1 But while they're grappling with the uncertainty, they are getting clarity on other areas too. So like piecing together a timeline of the killer's movements from the area surveillance cameras.

Speaker 1 Now, it turns out that the frontier was in the Barraza's neighborhood hours before the shooting at around like two in the morning.

Speaker 1 Though investigator Richie says that it didn't pass by their house at that time. It was just in the neighborhood.

Speaker 1 Yeah. And they can't see who's driving because the footage is too grainy.
And without a plate number, they can't be 100% sure that it's the same frontier, but like everything else matches.

Speaker 1 They're like pretty sure it was in the neighborhood at 2 a.m. Which makes even less sense.

Speaker 1 If we're working off the theory that they knew she'd be outside and timed it to when like Sergio might be leaving, then why even get there that early? Why would you be waiting around at 2 a.m.?

Speaker 1 If they're already there, why not attack when she goes out to get Starbucks at like six o'clock?

Speaker 1 It's not, I don't think they think that the person was sitting there from like two to seven, or at least that's like maybe not in the same spot.

Speaker 1 The camera only catches them from what I understand briefly at around two, but then after that, we don't know where the truck goes or what they're doing.

Speaker 1 Like if it's even there in the neighborhood at all, were they lying in wait off camera? Maybe did they leave and then come back?

Speaker 1 What we do know for sure is that they're back at around 6.48 a.m., literally right as Sergio was leaving for work. So there's a chance that they came by at two

Speaker 1 to scope the area out. Maybe.
But even that doesn't totally make sense because like they didn't actually or apparently they weren't by the house at two.

Speaker 1 They were just like in the neighborhood. Right.
Cause like the Barraza's camera doesn't pick them up.

Speaker 1 So if they're scoping out the house, they're scoping the house outside of where the house actually is.

Speaker 1 The camera view, which to me would mean that you already know about the house or that there's a camera.

Speaker 1 camera yeah i don't know it feels like pre-scoped right but maybe they were just getting a feel for the neighborhood or like how they're gonna like escape route situation yeah anyways when they returned later that morning the driver briefly rolled into the parking lot of a preschool near the entrance of the braza's subdivision then they pulled out and headed toward their street but instead of turning right toward their house they make that left hit a u-turn stop the truck and then cut the lights Now, from where they parked, it seems like they knew Sergio's van would pass them almost.

Speaker 1 Like about four minutes after he left, that's when the killer makes their move. And I know this is a lot to visualize.

Speaker 1 So we are going to have maps and stuff on the blog post, along with links to the videos that I've been talking about, which various news sites have already shared.

Speaker 1 So the whole point is the whole thing seems carefully planned. Even the murder weapon, which they haven't found, points to that.

Speaker 1 So there were no shell casings at the scene, suggesting that the killer used a revolver, likely a.38 caliber, based on the bullets that they recovered.

Speaker 1 And revolvers keep their shell casings inside, which would be a smart choice for anyone who wants to avoid like leaving evidence behind or having to take the time to clean up evidence they left behind.

Speaker 1 So someone went to a lot of trouble to kill Liz and to get away with it. But now police need to figure out why, because the why

Speaker 1 should lead them to the who.

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Speaker 1 As detectives delve into Liz's world, there is one major focus, and that's the 501st Legion, that Star Wars group. This isn't some casual fan club.

Speaker 1 It requires a serious commitment from members who dress as Star Wars villains while doing charity work, which makes them think kind of about the strange disguise that the shooter wore.

Speaker 1 Maybe that unusual flowy costume in those boots could have been part of a stormtrooper uniform, maybe. Like, I actually have, it's so hard to see, but I have like a screenshot.

Speaker 1 And I think it's actually better like in motion. In the video, yeah.
Yeah, because you can see, I've heard Princess Leia somewhere as well, but you can like see how it feels.

Speaker 1 It's definitely, you described it as like a robe. I thought it looked like a house robe.
Yeah, like a long coat that's like kind of billowing out or could billow out.

Speaker 1 And then there's definitely like, again, go-go boots, or now that you mention it, stormtrooper boots would

Speaker 1 make sense. I don't know.
And listen, even though like, most of what this group is about is charity, anytime you have a large, passionate group of people, drama feels a little inevitable.

Speaker 1 And Liz's local squadron was no exception. Investigators hear about personality clashes, rivalries, arguments.

Speaker 1 And what about the woman that Sergio had mentioned earlier, especially since there's a chance the shooter might be female?

Speaker 1 They check her out, but after interviewing her, they're convinced that she's not involved.

Speaker 1 And actually, after looking at all of them in this group, they they don't think Liz's killer was on the group's roster. And by the way, none of them drive a frontier.

Speaker 1 So at that point, the investigators turn their attention to another big part of Liz's life, her job.

Speaker 1 Now, she is a data reporter at the Rosen Group, which is this company that inspects oil and gas pipelines. So she worked at the Houston branch with a small, close-knit team.

Speaker 1 And it doesn't take investigators long to clear all of them too. Liz was the only one who was out of office that that Friday.

Speaker 1 And when they map out her colleagues' addresses and times that they showed up for work, it is clear that none of them could have killed her. And again, no frontiers in the mix.

Speaker 1 So what about her actual work? Like, could she have found out about something she wasn't supposed to? Deputy Ritchie considers that, but he says that her job duties were like really straightforward.

Speaker 1 She literally just like took data from robots that inspect pipelines and then turned in reports. So like, there is nothing he can see that would make her a target.

Speaker 1 The thing that seemed to maybe make her a target, or I should say like an easy target on that particular day was the garage sale.

Speaker 1 And I have to believe, like so many people I've seen like talk about this on the internet, that that is the key to everything, because it turns out that almost no one knew she was having it that day.

Speaker 1 The only people in Liz and Sergio's life that they told about the garage sale were some family members and her coworkers. They didn't post anything online.

Speaker 1 Sergio says that they only put up two signs, neither of which even listed the address. But this, it wasn't a last-minute thing either, I should say.
So it was Liz's idea.

Speaker 1 And her mom, Rosemary, told us that she had been talking about it for at least a month. Although it's not clear when she finalized the date or like requested the time off from work.

Speaker 1 I mean, it's not like a garage sale is a secret, though. That's kind of the whole point.
I mean, surely someone mentioned it or heard about it in

Speaker 1 the passing in the past months. But it's still like a pretty small group of people, like even more so now that they've ruled out her coworkers.
You know what I mean?

Speaker 1 Like at least when you post on Facebook Marketplace or something, like your suspect pool becomes like huge the whole internet, right? Right. But that didn't happen here.

Speaker 1 So we're working with a very small, very specific group of people. And why were they holding it on a Friday? Wouldn't a Saturday make more sense? Apparently that's like how it's done around there.

Speaker 1 Her dad Bob says that Friday is like when the serious garage sale is.

Speaker 1 Yeah. And Liz planned to like run the sale through Saturday before they left.
They were going to leave on Sunday. So like, that's just how it works down there.

Speaker 1 And there's not some like garage sale spree killer out there at the time, right? Like, I don't think I've heard of any similar cases. No.
And again and again, police keep coming back to one thing.

Speaker 1 Based on everything they know, Liz was the target. This doesn't feel random.

Speaker 1 It wasn't like it was going to be her or someone else that day. It was about her and only her.
So they looked back at the person closest to her, Sergio.

Speaker 1 Now they learned that he and Liz were college sweethearts who bonded over shared interests like traveling and dressing up for Star Wars events and renaissance fairs.

Speaker 1 They married in February of 2014, bought their house a couple of years later. And truly, detectives comb through their stuff, their phones, their bank records.

Speaker 1 They are looking for anything that might connect Sergio to the crime. A strange call or text around the time of the shooting, unexplained financial transactions.

Speaker 1 But there is nothing yeah but everyone knows that police check phone records like what if you used a burner i mean did they use like one of those cell tower dumps that they do where they just get everything they wanted to but investigator richie says that the da's office wouldn't authorize it when you're talking about i think you're what you're talking about is a cell phone dump so those are actually pretty controversial because phone companies are basically turning over data on every single device that pinged a specific tower during a set of time so it becomes like a privacy thing Yeah, a wide area.

Speaker 1 Even phones that like weren't being used and they've become the subject of a lot of legal battles. So long story short is, if Sergio did have a burner phone, we might never know.
Right.

Speaker 1 And I do want to add like a little caveat about their finances. So Sergio is an independent contractor for his dad's business.
So he has to handle his own taxes.

Speaker 1 The Barrazas have a financial advisor, but Liz managed their shared accounts. Sergio just kind of like handed over his paycheck each week.

Speaker 1 And the only separate accounts that they had were very like low-limit credit cards used to buy each other gifts, which is all that to say, yes, the bank records are clean.

Speaker 1 I don't know if that like proves everything.

Speaker 1 I mean, if you're hiring someone to kill your spouse, you're probably not paying them from your checking account, I would assume, your joint checking account.

Speaker 1 Right, but it wouldn't necessarily have to be like a fortune that we're talking about. And we've heard stories about hitmen working for pennies, practically nothing.
Well, here's what I can tell you.

Speaker 1 So the longer the case drags on without finding the shooter, the more convinced everyone is that it was a professional hit to your point like it doesn't have to be a lot and they're sure someone was hired to do this and while police can't connect sergio directly to it he is still the obvious suspect for this but sergio keeps cooperating he takes and passes a polygraph like anything police want he gives them but I mean, when you think about everything that had to line up, like just

Speaker 1 told perfectly for all of this to happen this way well yes and there were some inconsistencies in his story like at first he told police that he and liz put up the garage sale signs the morning of the shooting then later he changes says it was the night before which would have been thursday january 24th which might not mean anything but i'm still curious about it because i haven't spotted pictures of these signs in any of the news coverage and in all of our reporting.

Speaker 1 We haven't actually found anyone who saw the signs. Even Deputy Richie.
Deputy Richie hasn't even seen them. But I also don't know if police looked for them.

Speaker 1 Like with everything going on, it probably wasn't a high priority. So again, maybe it's nothing.
Still, if anyone listening has seen them, like our DMs are open. Yeah.

Speaker 1 But honestly, the whole sign thing is pretty minor compared to what investigators learn about Liz's life insurance. So remember how Sergio told detectives that Liz had a policy.

Speaker 1 It was through her work. But it wasn't that much money or anything.
Right. Yeah.

Speaker 1 Well, it turns out me and Sergio have different ideas about like what not a whole lot means because that policy is actually worth a quarter of a million dollars. What? Yeah.

Speaker 1 And since Liz was murdered, a double indemnity clause doubles that payout to half a million dollars. And like you said, since when is half a million dollars, not that much.
I know.

Speaker 1 Which feels like all the red flags we need. But hang on, because this is where like, I don't know, this might not be the smoking gun.
I think it would be in every like husband did a case, right?

Speaker 1 So the weird part is by all accounts, Sergio genuinely didn't seem to know how much the policy was worth. Liz got the policy when she started working at Rosen back in 2014.

Speaker 1 And it was actually her dad, not Sergio, who encouraged her to get all of the coverage that her company offered. Bob thought it was like too good of a deal to pass up.

Speaker 1 But either way, whether he knew about it, whether he didn't know about it, like all the things, Deputy Richie like warned Sergio, he's like, don't even think about trying to go collect that money because when the insurance company calls me and like asks me about my investigation, I will make it very clear that I do not want that money released until this case is solved.

Speaker 1 But even just knowing about the policy could be enough of a motive, even if you never actually get the money. True.

Speaker 1 And you still haven't mentioned anyone else who knew Liz's schedule and had something to gain from her death. Just him.
Just him.

Speaker 1 Yeah, but here is the big problem with like sergio as the mastermind theory every single person detectives talk to friends family co-workers everyone tells them that he and liz were really happy together like normally when you dig right you've got the life insurance policy and the timing is so weird there's there's something

Speaker 1 that yeah someone says like oh i i thought this was weird that they did they seem to have this in their relationship she mentioned this one time there's nothing there is like deputy richie he digs and digs he He doesn't find anything to suggest like anything funky going on.

Speaker 1 It texts, in emails, he goes through all of it. There is no hint of an affair.
There is no fights, nothing. And look, like, who couldn't use an extra half a million dollars to make life easier?

Speaker 1 But it's not like the couple was in major debt or anything like that. Like normally you'll see, okay, like the money was the motive.
That's not the case here. They lived within their means.

Speaker 1 He didn't need that money to get out of a bind or to start over.

Speaker 1 But there was someone else very close to Sergio who was apparently in a significant financial bind. That is Sergio's 57-year-old father, Oscar.

Speaker 1 Now, you see, Sergio's mom had recently discovered that Oscar was cheating with multiple women.

Speaker 1 And that was bad enough, but then they learned that he was also spending a lot of money on these girlfriends, like to the point where his finances were suffering.

Speaker 1 One of Sergio's paychecks that he had gotten bounced recently. And while they weren't hurting for money, Liz was like understandably upset by this.

Speaker 1 And according to that Paula Zahn episode, Oscar blames Sergio's bounce check on just like an accounting air. He tells investigators that his finances are like totally straight, everything's good.

Speaker 1 But county court records show that around this time, Oscar was hit with several lawsuits for unpaid taxes. And in divorce filings, Sergio's mom said that he gave over $20,000 to three different women.

Speaker 1 And hang on, did Liz confront Oscar about any of this? It feels like she's kind of removed from all of this financial stuff. She kind of was.

Speaker 1 So this, again, this is where like, it doesn't totally add up. Like, cause from what Sergio tells police, she never confronted Oscar about this.

Speaker 1 Sergio says that he and Liz decided basically to stay out of it. And after all, I mean, he still worked for his dad.

Speaker 1 Like, well, and it's not even like his dad would have gotten the money when Liz died. I don't see how it helps him.

Speaker 1 The only thing that investigators have theorized is like, well, what if Oscar knew about Liz's life insurance and then he thought Sergio might invest the payout into the family business?

Speaker 1 Okay, but if we're supposed to believe that Sergio didn't even know the amount of the policy, he likely didn't know it was going to double if she was murdered. How the heck would Oscar have known?

Speaker 1 That's what I'm saying. It doesn't.
make sense because police can't find any proof that Oscar did know about the life insurance. It's still a possible theory, but it seems so far-fetched.
I know.

Speaker 1 Now, it's clear to them, same thing with Sergio. It's like clear to them that the surveillance footage doesn't show Oscar.
He isn't the shooter. But then they have the same question, right?

Speaker 1 Like, did Oscar have someone orchestrate this? It becomes like Oscar is the mastermind theory. Right.
Is Sergio suspicious of his dad at all? Maybe.

Speaker 1 So on the Paula Zahn episode, Sergio implies that he was the one who first suggested his dad's potential connection.

Speaker 1 Yeah, Yeah, but investigator Richie says that the suspicion started when Oscar lied to police and tried to downplay the affair. So I don't know, I don't know where Sergio's suspicion started.

Speaker 1 But at any rate, like his son, Oscar is cooperative. He passes a polygraph.
And when detectives go through his phone and bank records, they can't find anything linking him to Liz's murder.

Speaker 1 So while Oscar has made some questionable decisions with his life, like there is no evidence that he plotted to have his daughter-in-law killed.

Speaker 1 And so, a couple of weeks into their investigation, police aren't much further than they were when they started. They've ruled people out, but they're not any closer to arresting anyone.

Speaker 1 And that seems impossible in a case that feels like it should be so straightforward. Like they need something more, they need something solid to go on.

Speaker 1 So they decide they're going to go ask the public for help.

Speaker 1 And on Wednesday, February 6th, investigators and Crime Stoppers join Liz's loved ones for this big press conference to announce a $20,000 reward for information.

Speaker 1 And Bob, followed by Sergio, make heartbreaking pleas to the public.

Speaker 31 We believe that someone can help guide law enforcement to the perpetrator responsible for this atrocity.

Speaker 31 And if you are that person, please come forward.

Speaker 31 Houston Crime Stoppers will preserve your anonymity and they are offering a reward for information that leads to the filing of felony charges or arrest of the suspect in this case.

Speaker 31 We are here to seek justice for Liz.

Speaker 31 We are Liz's family. We never imagined a life without her.
We still can't, and we never will.

Speaker 31 I don't understand how someone could do this to her.

Speaker 31 She didn't deserve to pass away like this. Why someone could be so monstrous to commit an act like this, dude? My innocent wife, I just really can't understand.

Speaker 31 I had to had to trade our fifth anniversary for her funeral.

Speaker 31 I ask if anybody knows anything,

Speaker 31 please come forward. Please come forward.
We need justice for Liz.

Speaker 31 I need justice for Liz.

Speaker 31 I love

Speaker 31 it.

Speaker 1 So it seems like Liz's family is standing by Sergio. Oh, yeah.
I mean, he's actually been living with the Nellies since the shooting. So they're still like presenting as one unit.
They're still close.

Speaker 1 And standing next to her family, her parents and Sergio, Deputy Richie feels the weight of their pain and the mounting frustration of unanswered questions.

Speaker 1 But what keeps him optimistic is that they already do have a critical piece of the puzzle. Information about the shooter's truck.
A Nissan Frontier is what's considered a mid-sized pickup.

Speaker 1 And in Texas, where big full-size pickups dominate, he figures that it should stick out like a sore thumb.

Speaker 1 So they pour their efforts into tracking this car down, hoping that this is going to be the break they so desperately need.

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Speaker 1 When Deputy Richie gets the registration records for Harris County, which includes Houston and the surrounding areas, he finds out that there are over 1,000 frontiers. Of course.

Speaker 1 And guess what the most popular color is? Of course, it's got to be black. Yes.
And ultimately, they do narrow it down a bit more. Thanks to Nissan.

Speaker 1 They have the salesman who recognizes the specific style. So it's a four-door pro 4x crew cab that was made from like 2013 to 2019.
Great.

Speaker 1 Unfortunately, the registration database only lists the basics. So it doesn't specifically say if like someone has a pro 4x or whatever, like two-door, four-door or what.

Speaker 1 So they have to check every single one manually. Not quite.

Speaker 1 So what they decided to do is they actually go and use a license plate reader system to sift through the database, highlighting potential matches and then using photos to eliminate trucks that clearly don't fit.

Speaker 1 But they also can't just go knocking on the door of every dark colored, but probably Black Frontier owner in Texas. Right.

Speaker 1 Instead, they look for trucks caught on the plate reader camera near the crime scene that morning, but even that doesn't lead anywhere.

Speaker 1 Like, for instance, there's a Black Frontier that police stopped nearby right after the shooting, but it didn't have the same decals decals as the killer's truck.

Speaker 1 And then they can't, like, those aren't things that can just be like removed on a whim.

Speaker 1 Plus, the driver was an older Hispanic man whose body type didn't even match the shooter. So like they quickly rule that one out.

Speaker 1 Can they narrow it down by looking at like other connections trying to triangulate people who own a frontier or a dark colored frontier and a.38 revolver? Well, no, because it's Texas.

Speaker 1 Like there's no state level registration requirements for firearms. And honestly, if I had to guess, I don't even know that the killer would use a legally registered gun for this.

Speaker 1 And I was honestly about to say something similar about the truck. I mean, maybe it was stolen or borrowed from a friend.
Well, police look into that, like, or at least the stolen.

Speaker 1 There weren't any reports of stolen frontiers or even like stolen license plates from frontiers, like during that whole time, but it is still possible.

Speaker 1 Or like they used a fake plate, or maybe they borrowed a plate and then put it back before anyone even knew. There are just like too many maybes for detectives to draw any real conclusions.

Speaker 1 But speaking of the truck, so the one thing they hone in, I remember the strange doubling back that the shooter did?

Speaker 1 Well, surveillance footage shows that after shooting Liz, this person drove all the way to the main entrance of the subdivision, nearly a good quarter of a mile away before making a U-turn and then driving back past the barrazas.

Speaker 1 And again, initially, nobody knew what that was about, like, because they didn't get out, they didn't stop, whatever.

Speaker 1 So it gets Deputy Richie wondering if maybe someone like called the shooter, like the person who's pulling the strings and told them to go back and make sure she was dead.

Speaker 1 So he gets this idea. He's like, I'm going to try geofencing, which is completely different than like the cell tower dump we were talking about.

Speaker 1 Geofencing, like you literally get a very specific area for a very specific time and it'll tell you like what's all the activity. Yeah.

Speaker 1 So he puts a digital perimeter around the bras's house and he gets a warrant for Google location data from every device in that zone around that time of the shooting.

Speaker 1 Hope being that if a device moved in and out of the geo fence at the right time, that could lead to the shooter. So detectives wait and they wait.

Speaker 1 And finally, around May or June of 2020, they get the results. But it's another disappointment because the only device with unusual movement belonged to first responders.

Speaker 1 So the killer, at least they're thinking, probably didn't even bring a phone with them. Though there could be another simple explanation for why they came back by the Barraza house.

Speaker 1 The other thing they start thinking is like, what if they turned around because they were trying to avoid running into police? Oh.

Speaker 1 Yeah, a resident security camera caught the truck heading toward a dead-end cul-de-sac right after the shooting. And that is the last anyone sees the truck.
It doesn't turn around.

Speaker 1 It doesn't come back. Couldn't have just vanished though.
No,

Speaker 1 they think that maybe it went off-roading, like jumped the curb. Like at the end of this cul-de-sac.
cul-de-sac. Tore out through.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 There's like this greenbelt area that gets you to the main road.

Speaker 1 And they're thinking that maybe they went far enough away where law enforcement, because if you think about it, like I told you, law enforcement's there within like minutes.

Speaker 1 So if they're coming in the main entrance, which they probably would have used, like they can't get out without passing them. Yeah, they might have seen them.

Speaker 1 They turn around and they like high tail it out of there. And this feels like a no-brainer, but I assume they checked everyone in the neighborhood, like especially in that specific cul-de-sac.

Speaker 1 So Investigator Richie says that they went house to house. By the way, I don't think that theory was part of the initial police investigation, though.

Speaker 1 Like Liz's parents learned, and I'm talking about like the them jumping the

Speaker 1 off-roading. Yeah.
Liz's parents learned that through a YouTuber named Aaron Stoner, who analyzes cold cases.

Speaker 1 And so while this might not be the breakthrough that catches their daughter's killer, it at least matters to Bob and Rosemary.

Speaker 1 Like in the face of so much uncertainty, any clarity that like they can be brought brings them comfort, but it doesn't bring them answers. And life without Liz is a constant struggle.

Speaker 1 Sergio never goes back to the house that they shared. Bob helps him sell it.
He stays with the Nellies for nearly a year, though eventually he does get a new place. He does start dating again.

Speaker 1 And for Bob and Rosemary, it's like that moment is bittersweet. Like it's hard to see him moving on, but they are happy for him.
I mean, they know it's what Liz would have wanted.

Speaker 1 The public, however, has like a very different reaction. Like it's always the people not closest to everyone who has like the strongest feelings.

Speaker 1 Cause when Sergio posts something online about being engaged again, police are like flooded with tips.

Speaker 1 Rumors start swirling that he and his fiancé Amber were having an affair before Liz was murdered, that Amber was somehow involved. Sergio denies it all.

Speaker 1 He and Amber went to the same high school, but like, so did thousands of other students. And they insist they didn't know each other at the time.

Speaker 1 He tells Cage OU11 reporter Grace White that they ended up meeting on a dating app in 2020, which was after her murder.

Speaker 1 Now, investigators don't just dismiss the gossip outright. By now, Michael Ritchie has been promoted to sergeant.
He's transferred to another division, but he is still working the case.

Speaker 1 He like goes so far as to like dig through old high school yearbooks after hearing like maybe there's a photo of Sergio and Amber together. He comes up empty.

Speaker 1 Amber even ends up taking a polygraph, which she passes. So while no one has been completely cleared, Sergeant Ritchie is confident that Amber had nothing to do with Liz's murder.

Speaker 1 I mean, this is just kind of what happens, right? Like the longer a case stays unsolved, the more room there is for speculation and misinformation and rumors. Well, gossip.

Speaker 1 And it's not even just because of social media, like that these stories are spinning.

Speaker 1 So the constable's office accidentally released incorrect information early on, which just like added to the confusion of everything.

Speaker 1 And that's why Bob and Rosemary created their own website, whokilledlizbarazza.com. It gives them a chance to set the record straight, keep Liz's story alive.

Speaker 1 But they know a website alone isn't going to get them justice. Someone out there has to know something.

Speaker 1 Maybe they just need a little incentive.

Speaker 1 So on the third anniversary of Liz's murder, they announced that the reward is now up to $50,000, thanks in large part to a community fundraiser. And they're not the only ones who refuse to give up.

Speaker 1 When Sergeant Ritchie transfers back to homicide in early 2023, he takes over as lead investigator again. He's grown close to the Nellies in all this time and he wants to get them answers.

Speaker 1 But he warns Bob and Rosemary that learning the truth about who's behind her murder is going to devastate them.

Speaker 1 That sounds like something you would say if you knew who did it and knew that that person was close to them. That's what I thought too.
But he told us it wasn't about a specific suspect.

Speaker 1 It's more like he's been trying to prepare them from the start that whatever happened, whoever did this, it was probably someone close to them. It goes back to the original theory, right?

Speaker 1 Like someone targeted her, someone who knew she'd be out there that it feels very targeted. Right.
Do her parents have any theories? They're really careful not to point fingers.

Speaker 1 They are confident and police agree that this wasn't the work of just one person. They think that there was a shooter and then there was someone who put the shooter up to it.

Speaker 1 But figuring out who those people are and why is enough to drive anyone up a wall. Like I said, Nina and I sat in my office spiraling.

Speaker 1 When I first decided we were going to cover this case, I had heard about it.

Speaker 1 Like I knew the story and I was like, this has to be one where when you talk to detectives, when you talk to the family, we're just missing a piece of it that's not in the recording right now. Right.

Speaker 1 Like, oh, we just can't say this thing out loud. Let me be the one to assure you as a crime junkie, there is not something that I'm not telling you out loud.
I turned over every rock and this is it.

Speaker 1 This is it. And nothing makes sense.

Speaker 1 So in a world where nothing makes sense, what her parents have done is they've tried to focus on things that give them a sense of purpose, like the impact of Liz's final gift.

Speaker 1 The recipients of her organs had spent a combined 22 years on transplant lists before receiving her heart, her liver, kidneys, and corneas.

Speaker 1 And her best friend started the Liz Library, which donates Harry Potter books, like the sets of them to children's hospitals in her honor.

Speaker 1 And Bob and Rosemary are channeling their energy into supporting other parents of homicide victims as well. Are they still in touch with Sergio at all?

Speaker 1 They're not as much as they used to be, but I mean, he joined them for another press conference on the fifth anniversary of Liz's murder.

Speaker 1 They also reached out to him on our behalf to see if he would speak with us. He told them that he'd think about it, but then we never heard back.
And I get it. Like, he's got a new life now.

Speaker 1 He's got a new wife. He recently became a dad.
He doesn't work for his father anymore. He still, from what I can tell, doesn't know if Oscar was involved in Liz's death.

Speaker 1 And that, I would imagine, like, put a big wedge between them. And did he ever end up collecting on that life insurance policy? No, he told Grace White that he doesn't need it.

Speaker 1 But the reality also has to be that he knows investigators would like fight to keep that money from being released still. So

Speaker 1 and they can't just keep it away forever, though, can they? I mean, they can ask the insurance company to deny payment. They can't block it indefinitely without a court order.

Speaker 1 And since Sergio hasn't been charged with anything, like he could push for that money if he wanted to.

Speaker 1 I think the insurance company would probably have to pay up eventually, like if he started that fight. But he would have to be the one to start that process.
And that won't look good.

Speaker 1 Yeah, I don't think he will. Like he knows a lot of people believe that he's responsible for Liz's death.
And he, I think he thinks trying to claim that money would like just add fuel to that fire.

Speaker 1 And again, like the life insurance is just one piece of a larger puzzle, one that the internet slews have been trying to solve since the day Liz was murdered.

Speaker 1 And if you go down these online rabbit holes, which believe me, I have, you will find every scenario under the sun.

Speaker 1 But there are a couple that I've seen pop up like a couple of times that just, it's worth hitting on.

Speaker 1 One is that the shooter might have had access to the Barraza's nest doorbell camera system and like could have been monitoring their movements in real time. Like they were hacked?

Speaker 1 Maybe, or there was speculation maybe that Sergio and Liz might have had a public URL enabled on their camera, meaning that anyone with the link could view the live stream.

Speaker 1 But like Liz's parents were adamant, that's just not something she would do.

Speaker 1 And as for whether Liz or Sergio gave the login to anyone, like I highly doubt it since, I mean, Bob and Rosemary didn't have it and we know how security conscious they were.

Speaker 1 Yeah, like if it wasn't them, who else would they have given it to? Right. But then if someone did have it or hacked it or whatever, like that would have left a digital footprint.

Speaker 1 And that kind of data might be able to connect to a specific person or device or location or whatever. But it doesn't seem like police accessed those records.

Speaker 1 Although I don't know why they left that out. Is there a reason people are saying this is a possibility? Like to me, I feel like we know this person is waiting specifically for Sergio to leave.

Speaker 1 Like they don't need the camera. You don't need the camera because this is like part of their routine.

Speaker 1 I think we're all just grasping at straws, grasping at anything, because I'm telling you, nothing makes sense. And the timing is so precise.

Speaker 1 So another theory is that Liz's murder was a gang initiation. Like someone had to commit a random act of violence to prove themselves.
But I-I'm not buying that. This, this doesn't feel random.

Speaker 1 I know. Nothing about this feels random.

Speaker 1 And I think this, this one only started at least in part because I think that at one point it was noted that the Texas anti-gang unit got involved with the investigation, but specialized units often help with complex cases.

Speaker 1 Like they have resources, expertise that local departments don't have. So like, I don't read much into it.
Like if anything, I don't know.

Speaker 1 What's clear though, is that this case has never truly gone cold.

Speaker 1 The sheriff's office has worked with the Texas Rangers, they've worked with the FBI, they are following leads across the country, even into Mexico at one point.

Speaker 1 No one has been completely ruled out as a suspect, including Sergio and Oscar, but investigators have looked at them from every angle. And as of right now, they have hit a wall.

Speaker 1 So Sergeant Ritchie is challenging himself to think differently, to reconsider every assumption. But no matter how he approaches it, he keeps circling back to the same core questions.

Speaker 1 Who knew about the garage sale? Who had motive to kill Liz? And who could fit the description of the shooter? Liz's loved ones have spent six years searching for those answers.

Speaker 1 They need our crime junkie's help. If you know anything about what happened to Liz, please call the Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222 TIPS.

Speaker 1 The $50,000 reward is still on the table and it can be collected anonymously. You can also contact the Harris County Sheriff's Office at 713-274-9100.

Speaker 1 You can find all the source material for this episode on our website, CrimeJunkiePodcast.com. And you can follow us on Instagram at Crime Junkie Podcast.

Speaker 1 We'll be back next week with a brand new episode. And be sure to check out our YouTube channel.
We'll be posting this as a video in the coming weeks.

Speaker 1 Crime Junkie is an audio Chuck production. So, what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve?

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