August 2, 2024 • 39 mins
It’s a Friday morning, and Elizabeth Barraza picks up Starbucks coffee to sip with her husband before he heads off to work and she sets up for a garage sale.
As Elizabeth sets up in the driveway, a black truck pulls up. The driver gets out and approaches Elizabeth. She says good morning and they interact for a moment before the driver pulls a handgun and shoots Elizabeth three times. While she is on the ground, the driver shoots her again, then runs back to the truck and drives off.
Eliza Barra is life-flighted to a hospital where Doctors determine she will not survive her injuries. Sergio Barraza and the Nuelles make the impossible decision to let Elizabeth go and donate her organs.
JOINING NANCY GRACE TODAY:
- Rosemary Nuelle - Mother of Elizabeth Barraza
- Bob Nuelle -Father of Elizabeth Barazza
- Sergio Barraza - Husband of Elizabeth Barraza
- Andy Kahan – Director of Victim Services and Advocacy at Crime Stoppers of Houston; Facebook: “Andy Kahan and Crime Stoppers of Houston;” X @AKahanCrimeSto1; Instagram: AndyVictimAdvocate
- Sgt. Michael Ritchie - Harris County Homicide Investigator / Lead investigator in Elizabeth Barraza Murder
- Corley Peel - News Reporter for KPRC2 Houston; Instagram: @KPRC2Corley, X: @KPRC2Corley, Facebook: @KPRC2CorleyPeel
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
A gorgeous young wife, just twenty nine, shot dead while
she's just outside her home preparing for a garage sell.
No rape, no sex, assault, no theft, So what could possibly.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Be the motive? Was it a hit? I'm Nancy Grace,
this is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Gunned down in her own driveway? Who killed Elizabeth Barrazza?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Joining me Elizabeth's parents and her widow trying to make
sense of a case that seemingly has stumped police.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
And you know what, very often we think, oh.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Well, the police aren't trying. They screwed up the scene,
they fill in the blank. But this case is highly,
highly unusual. I know this is going to pain pain
the mom and dad, the widow to hear what we
are going to play, but I want all of our
(01:18):
viewers and all of our listeners to hear this. Help
us make sense of who murdered this gorgeous young wife. Listen,
I hope your daughter, Howard, is she a lie?
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Thank you?
Speaker 4 (01:44):
As you said, le's have fathered.
Speaker 5 (01:46):
If you like you's a lie.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
You are hearing bodycam sound bodycam well, police have were
on their bodies and you were hearing Bob and Rosemary
Nellie as they are learning about their daughters shooting, joining
me not only her widow, but her parents. Bob and Rosemary,
(02:18):
thank you for being with us. Thank you so much.
And in case it seemingly has stumped law enforcement, I
can't help but think this was anything other than a hit.
But we are hearing you in the background. We are
hearing you, Bob speaking out. Tell us, Bob and Rosemary,
what happened that day.
Speaker 6 (02:38):
We had been alerted.
Speaker 5 (02:40):
By her alarm company that her alarm was going off
and they've not been able to reach her. We were
sort of like a second notification and we tried to
call her and we didn't get her, and my wife, Rosemary, said,
O get dressed, were gone, and we were in the car,
probably with us three or four minutes and drove over
(03:02):
to her home. That's usually about a fourteen minute drive.
I think we made it in like ten or twelve.
And when we got there there was a lot of
police and fire and ambulances at the front of our subdivision.
We thought, oh great, this is not Les's house, this
is her subdivision. Maybe something happened.
Speaker 6 (03:22):
In the neighborhood.
Speaker 7 (03:24):
And then an ems worker directed.
Speaker 5 (03:26):
Us back to the house, and that's when we saw
the crime scene cape surrounding it. We got out and
started trying to find out what it happened.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
None of it is making any sense to me, Rosemary
with me, Mom and dad, Bob and Rosemary Nelly along
with her widow, Sergio.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Rosemary. So often I get the same thing.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
I get a notice that the home alarm has been tripped,
and I typically think, oh, my fill in the blank,
my mother, who lives with us at ninety two years old,
set it off. The dog, the cat, this that that,
that's what you immediately think, Rosemary Nelly, What went through
(04:13):
your mind when you guys got the notification the alarm
in your daughter's house have been tripped?
Speaker 8 (04:18):
Well, we got the alert first on the phone, which
is just a test, and it, you know, showed that
her alarm had been triggered. So immediately I called her
number and she did not answer, and that that did
alarm me. And she didn't answer, I was thinking, okay,
(04:39):
maybe she would could you know, accidentally set the alarm off?
And then when I found that she wasn't awer in
the phone that said, I immediately.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Got very concerned and.
Speaker 8 (04:54):
I you know, you're just you're hoping that, okay, maybe
something happened to a na or something, and you know,
I don't know what it didn't, and it still doesn't
make sense. I did, you know, the only we can
(05:15):
only just go over there and find out which because
she was not answering her phone, and that said the
alarm company actually did call us, And you know, we
said it well, I said that she didn't pick up
her phone, and they asked if they called police, and
(05:36):
I said yes, because she would always infer her home
in that kind of situation, and I know she would,
so yeah, we just headed over.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
This is what happened. Listen.
Speaker 9 (05:50):
Right at seven am, both Sergio Barazza and Elizabeth's parents
receive the notification that the house alarm has been tripped
and Elizabeth is an answering. Security team calls Bob and
Rosemary Nelly arrive at the home minutes before Sergio Brazza
and learn Harris County constables trip the alarm because their
daughter had been shocked.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Oh my stars.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Video the suspect's car driving by.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
You can hear Elizabeth say good morning.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Then there's a few seconds of unintelligible conversation you hear gunshots,
and you hear Elizabeth screaming. Andy Kahn joining me, Director
Victim Services and Advocacy Crime Starvers Houston. Andy, thank you
for being with us. I've played this over and over
and over in my mind, and I don't like playing
(06:42):
that sound because I know that is precisely when Elizabeth
Liz loses her life right there.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
But what do we learn, Andy?
Speaker 2 (06:56):
My job is to try to seek justice and give
Elizabeth all I can give for now, and that is justice.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
What do you hear? What does that tell you? Andy?
You and I have gone over a million murder cases way.
Speaker 7 (07:12):
In the only thing that I can quate. What happened
to Liz Barraza was like watching a scene from The
Sopranos where you have somebody that would drive up, get
out of the car, bang bang bang bang bang, run
back in and hit. I mean, it's an obvious hit.
Like you said earlier, she's setting up for a garage sale,
(07:35):
not even the false pretenses of trying to take an item,
pretending that it was a robbery, and come back and
make sure that Liz is dead. In my long career,
this is one of the most puzzling and frustrating cases
because you have just little to go on other than
a make of a car and the fact that this
(07:56):
happened about six forty five in the morning. So from
and where I sit, I'm wondering, how did this person
know that Liz was setting up for a garage sale.
It wasn't like it was publicized. You had to know
at that exact moment in time that Liz was going
to be out there in order for you to commit
(08:18):
this cold blooded murder of Liz. So I've gotten to
know you know, Bob Rosemary Sergio over the last five years,
and it's one of the most frustrating cases that I've
ever been personally involved with.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Guys, we are also showing you a neighbor's surveillance video.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Let's play it from the top.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
This is critical and I'm surprised this can't be enhanced
a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
You see the shooter walk up, he walks up to her.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
They have a brief brief like hello, hello, and then
the shooting goes down and.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
The purp leaves.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
You know, another thing I'm trying to determine, Andy Kahn
joining us to write to victim services.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Are we sure the perp is a man.
Speaker 5 (09:07):
No, we're not.
Speaker 7 (09:08):
And that's another confusing part. We don't know if it's
male or female, whether this person was wearing a disguise
or not, so that's another frustrating factor in this. But
you can see by the video how deliberate this was,
and the fact that this person is standing over Liz
while she's shot on the ground to ensure that she
(09:30):
is dead must send out chills to everyone. And I
know we've done everything that we possibly can to get
this out to the public, and I want to thank
you personally, Nancy for putting this out to a broader audience,
because right now, grief is intensified when justice is lacking,
and sadly, justice is lacking for Bob, Rosemary surgery over
(09:54):
legion of friends and we're I'm not going to quit
until we get this case selved.
Speaker 6 (09:58):
But it's maddening.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Rob and Nelly joining me.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
This is Liz Bras's dad, along with her mom, Rosemary,
and then husband Sergio.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
To you, Bob, it looks to me like a woman.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
I've watched this footage so many times, and over the
course of five and a half years, I've come to
both conclusions male and female it's just it's so frustrating
not being able to tell more from that video.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Well, it seems that the clothing is somewhat flowing.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Okay, you know what, let me go to Sergio. I
didn't mean to keep you waiting, Sergio.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
With me is not only are not only Bob and
Roseberry Nelly. This is something very rare where the female victims'
parents join with the then husband searching for justice. Sergio,
tell us what happened that morning to your recollect.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
Well, that morning just started off by Liz and I
just starting our day normally. She left early that morning
to go get coffee, return back to the home, we
started preparing for the garage sale. I helped her with
a few big items. I was even a little bit
late for work to make sure I could help her
(11:22):
with everything I could.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Where do you work?
Speaker 4 (11:24):
I was a contractor at the time, a hardwood flooring contractor,
so I would meet my employees at different locations and
just pick them up there and we'd go to work.
So I was heading to when I left her. I
just headed to the nearest construction shop nearby, and I
(11:47):
was there when I got the notification, and it just
it was kind of crazy. I was like, what's going
on that I had just left? I thought maybe an
accident happened in front of the house. Maybe Liz was
trying to help, because she's just that kind of person
who immediately would just try to do the right thing
and do good stuff. So I thought she was just
(12:08):
busy trying to be helpful. And then I saw a
police officer cross the camera and he I tried to
ask them for information, and they told me to come
to the home. Something had happened to my wife and
I needed to be there. I tried to get information,
but I was just told to make it to the home.
(12:30):
And when I made it to the home, I could
see that there was blood in the driveway, and I
was just in complete shock because I was hoping that
wasn't Liz's blood.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Surveillance video captures the moment twenty nine year old Elizabeth
Burraza is shot four times outside of her home. Happened
to Liz?
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Are we any closer to figuring out who murdered this
young woman?
Speaker 1 (13:07):
She's in the prime of her life.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Why why does she end up deead just outside her
own garage? You know? One thing I noticed, if I
could see the photo of them dressed up in Renaissance outfits.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
These two seemingly meant for each other.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
They say that they were both attracted to all things nerdy,
and that includes dressing up in different outfits always matching. Okay,
there's one a Star Wars outfit. They did so much together.
To Sergio Baraza, this is Liz's now widow.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Sergio, tell me about your relationship with her.
Speaker 4 (13:51):
To me, it was a storybook relationship. We had the
most amazing time together. We met in college and immediately
we're attracted to one another. We started off as friends
and over time just became a couple and just started
to do so much together. We did charity work together,
We did a whole bunch of nerdy like comic con
(14:15):
stuff together. We did all the parks in Florida and
travel together. It was just the most amazing time and
some of the best moments of my life have been
with her. And when this happened, it completely shattered that
life I had with her. It was just out of
(14:36):
the blue. This happened one night, yere watching Netflix and
movies with your spouse. The next day you're at a hospital.
It's just something out of an alternate universe that I
feel like I was thrown into.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Sergio. How long had you been married?
Speaker 4 (14:54):
We'd been married for we were about to hit our
five year anniversary, but we had been together for ten
years and it was just amazing to be with her.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Sergio Brazza, this is Lizz's husband. You stated that you
were going to You're in wood flooring and you were
a contractor going to meet who and where?
Speaker 4 (15:18):
My employees that I worked with at a construction shop nearby.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
They were open at seven in the morning.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
Yes, it was like a Lows, so they open at
six am or so.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
And I do not want to be blunt at all, Sergio,
but do your employees confirm that meeting?
Speaker 5 (15:38):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Okay, you know, Sergio, whether we like it or not,
the first person that police look at is the husband.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Why.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
It's not about you. It's nothing personal to you. It's statistically.
So the more quickly you can answer what the police
last want to know, the more quickly they will move on,
hopefully to another suspect.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
So please forgive me for seeming Kurt. Okay, but I
like police.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
I completely understand.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
I want to find out who did this to Liz Rosemary.
Is this your only child, or does Liz have siblings.
Speaker 8 (16:21):
She has one brother who is a little bit older,
a few years.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Older than So this is your only girl, correct.
Speaker 6 (16:29):
Yes, that is correct.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
I have one girl, one baby girl, and my whole
world rises, my son rises and sets in that little girl.
Let me tell you, Okay, let me understand something, curly peel,
let me ask you. Kp RC two, tell me what
you've learned about that morning.
Speaker 10 (16:50):
Well, based on conversations I've had with Liza's parents and investigators,
it seemed.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Like a normal morning.
Speaker 10 (16:57):
She went out, she had Starbucks, she was getting ready
for that girl sale, and she was doing that garage
sale to get a little bit of extra pocket money
because she and Sergio are planning on celebrating their anniversary.
They're planning a trip to Florida. So this is something
that she would do just to get a little extra
pocket money.
Speaker 6 (17:17):
Nothing seemed unusual.
Speaker 10 (17:19):
But after that shooting, news outlets immediately released that surveillance
video hoping to find out who that shooter may be,
if there was any type of recognization from that video,
but no one seemed to come forward with a description
of that shooter.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Joining me now, Sergeant Michael Ritchie Harris County homicide investigator,
the lead investigator, and Liz's murder sergeant. Thank you so
much for being with us. I know you've looked at
this video a million times. It looks to me like
the shooter is actually wearing some type of flowing attire.
(18:00):
Do you think it's a woman?
Speaker 11 (18:02):
When I initially saw the video, I did think it
was a woman, But then, of course, looking at the
video numerous times again and again, I could see that
it could possibly be a man and just trying to
disguise their identity and disguise their build. As you can tell,
they wearing some type of boots, they're wearing a coat,
(18:24):
it's possibly a wig that they're wearing, or it could
be real hair. So in all of the interviews and
press conferences I've done in the past, I've never confirmed
or never chose or decided whether it's.
Speaker 6 (18:40):
Male or female because it could.
Speaker 11 (18:42):
Be either or just reiterating when I initially saw the
video for the first time that morning, I did think
it was a woman. But again I've always stated too,
with how long this case is going on and how
many difference curveballs I've been thrown, it could definitely be
a man just as easy as a woman.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Back to Andy conn joining us, who has handled so
many homicide cases, He's joining us out of Houston. I'm
sure you recall the case of Marlene Warren. A clown
came to her door. A woman dressed as a clown
comes to her door with the carnations and balloons and
(19:25):
shoots her dad in front of her son. As it
turns out, it was Sheila Keene Warren, the husband's lover,
dressed as a clown. Now I'm thinking about what Sergeant
Ritchie is saying, and this is not casting doubt on Sergio.
(19:46):
What I'm saying is what you mentioned earlier, Andy, who
knew who knew that she was having a.
Speaker 7 (19:55):
Yard's health You know, Nancy, You're exactly correct. I mean,
that's why everyone is only the assumption this was a
direct hit. Obviously, this isn't random. You're not driving around
a neighborhood at six forty five in the morning and
all of a sudden you see somebody setting up for
a garage sale and you're going to decide, I'm going
to park it out and shoot somebody and kill them
(20:17):
without taking anything. That's what is so frustrating about this
and that's what I like, I said. My initial thought
was this is like right out of the Sopranos right here.
Speaker 5 (20:30):
So we're going on.
Speaker 7 (20:31):
Five plus years right now. Crime Stoppers, along with Bob
Rosemary and Sergio, we have enhanced this reward now several times.
Right now we're offering in up to a fifty thousand
dollars reason up to five zero zero zero zero. I'm
(20:56):
giving you fifty thousand reasons to let us know who
this person is. And we know somebody out there knows something.
The public is our best eyes and ears out there.
You cannot tell me that this was just a singular,
random app of somebody shooting her. So we're asking the
public to step forward, contact crime Stoppers, and you can
(21:18):
be eligible for an up to fifty thousand dollars reward.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
A suspects vehicle caught on tape surveillan shows the shooter's
truck right before and after the murder.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
We're going to go to Sergeant Michael Ritchie, joining US
Harris County Homicide lead investigator in Liz's case.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Tell me about that vehicle, what make and model.
Speaker 11 (21:42):
Well, one of the known facts of this case, which
are very few, is the vehicle that was used. Again,
watching several videos that we got from several different houses
in the neighborhood, we were able to determine that the
suspect used a Nissan Frontier, a black four door truck
(22:03):
and the model was a Pro four X. We believe
it was black, possibly dark blue, but most likely black,
and again we have.
Speaker 6 (22:15):
Video of it.
Speaker 11 (22:16):
We were able to speak to a witness that confirmed
it was that type of vehicle. And as you're looking
at that picture there there's a decal that goes near
the rear of the vehicle, near that tail light along
the bed of the truck that will say Pro four X.
That's kind of like a green and white color. And
(22:37):
during our I guess investigation and watching several clips of
different videos, we were able to determine that it was
that type of truck and see the decal outline and
know that it was that. I also had a Nissan
salesman look at the video and he was able to
confirm that he thought it was a Pro foro X
(22:59):
or Desert. He mentioned that it looked like a full
wheel drive. It had kind of some of the bells
of whistles on it, such as GPS and the running
lights and it looked like a four x four. So
he was able to educate me a little bit better
on this vehicle. And so again we believe it was
a black four door Nissan Frontier Pro four X and
(23:20):
I believe the years we were looking for was probably
a twenty twelve at the oldest two of twenty nineteen.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Okay, let's talk about what we just heard.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Straight out to Andy Conn joining us and everybody jumped in.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
If you know anything about.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Trucks, which I assume everybody does, Andy Conn, there is
a difference in the way the truck looks.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
If it's a four wheel drive, the.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Truck actually looks differently and it sits, it sits differently
than a.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Non four wheel drive.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
If you got a four wheel the truck looks bigger
just because of the positioning. So what I don't get
and maybe this was done, and sergeant jump in and
tell me what happened. There are ways I've done it
and I've seen it done.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
To go through vehicle registration.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
To find out how many of those are sold, how
many are of those are in the system in that.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Area at that time.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
You do it through insurance, you do it in all
sorts of manners. But what's that done here? Because that's
pretty specific. A black Nissan Frontier four door Pro four X.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
It's four wheel drive.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Because look, there's so many things to distinguish it. You
got a four wheel on a truck, you got four
wheel drive on a truck. You've got even the years
somewhere between twelve and nineteen helped me out.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Andy.
Speaker 7 (24:57):
Hey, let me ask Sergeant Richie. I mean, I'm assuming
correct me wrong, but you pretty much exhausted, and you've
looked at all the make of the vehicles, who's purchased,
who's driven around the area. You had to ensure that
there was nobody going to be around when you got
out of the vehicle to shoot and kill Liz. So
(25:21):
you can't just tell me you just drove up at
that specific time. I'm assuming that there had to be
some sort of case. You drove around, make sure that
this was being done. You made sure that you carried
out the plot. Let's be real, this is intentional.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
It was a hit.
Speaker 7 (25:38):
It was well planned. We have the make of the vehicle.
What is the motive for killing Liz? Was it insurance money?
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Hey?
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Hey, what we call that under the law?
Speaker 2 (25:53):
A complex question, So one question at a time, what
did you do, Sergeant Richie to find the vehicle?
Speaker 11 (25:59):
So when I saw this video, I initially thought we
were going to have that solved today. I really felt
that the family or the husband was going to tell me, yes,
we have a problem with a certain person they drive
a Nissan Frontier, because it just seemed so deliberate. But
that wasn't the case that night. That day, the court
again occurred early in the morning. We were out there
(26:21):
all morning, afternoon, and evening canvassing the entire neighborhood for
different video that had captured the vehicle besides the one
that we're seeing right now. So with looking at all
of the video, we also I also have contacts with
the Texas Rangers and the FBI, and a ranger that
(26:42):
I had known through other investigations gave me registrations of
all the Nissan Frontiers in that area and other surrounding
areas in Harris County and Montgomery County. So I initially
thought that Nissan Frontiers were not really a very pot
popular or common vehicle, but one seeing those registrations, I
(27:06):
realized that there was a lot of them out there.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
They're very popular. They're very popular.
Speaker 11 (27:11):
Well, in Texas, everything's big in Texas. That's more of
a smaller time.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
This is more of a smaller truck. Yeah, you're right, Yeah, yes, ma'am.
Speaker 11 (27:19):
A lot of Texas, a lot of Texas guys and
girls like to drive the bigger, the bigger, four door.
Speaker 6 (27:25):
Full sized trucks rather than those smaller trucks.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
Could it have been a rental vehicle?
Speaker 11 (27:30):
We looked into We looked into rentals, and what I've
found out, what I was told was that there were companies.
Most companies did not rent out those vehicles.
Speaker 6 (27:42):
But we did look into it and it came up
with nothing.
Speaker 11 (27:44):
Another thing with the video, of course, there's no license
plate visible.
Speaker 6 (27:48):
Even if they.
Speaker 11 (27:49):
Did have a legit license plate, most likely it's fictitious.
Speaker 6 (27:53):
We see that a lot in these type of situations.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Okay, let me ask you a couple of quick questions.
Sargeant Richie. Did you try to have the video enhanced?
Speaker 5 (28:02):
Yes? No?
Speaker 4 (28:02):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (28:03):
Did it work?
Speaker 4 (28:04):
No?
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Could you try it again? Says technology has improved?
Speaker 11 (28:07):
Yes, we're currently working on that right now. Do you
have the bullets a revolver was used. We do not
have casings, but we do have some of the projectiles.
Speaker 6 (28:16):
Yes, that we that we're shore.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
So then simply put, yes, have they been entered into
the National Ballistics Database?
Speaker 6 (28:26):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (28:27):
When was the last time they were entered?
Speaker 6 (28:29):
I would not be able to know.
Speaker 11 (28:30):
That wouldn't be a question for me, that would be
for our the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
And also regarding the bullets, you're saying you had no shells,
is that what you're saying correct?
Speaker 11 (28:44):
There was no There was no casings. Therefore, we believe
a revolver was used. A revolver does not eject casings
when it's fired like a semi automatic.
Speaker 6 (28:53):
If you use a semi automatic with a magazine, it will.
Speaker 11 (28:55):
Eject casings as you fire it, so you know, definitely,
semi automatic handguns are more common these days than revolvers.
So again, just with a revolver being used, in my opinion,
this is just another tactic used by the shooter to
try to hide their identity and who they are and
(29:16):
what weapon was used. With no casings being able to
be collected.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
Elizabeth Barazza's shooter dressed in disguise and used a revolver
to leave no trace behind.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
To Sergia Barraza. This is Liz's then husband, Sergio. You
heard me earlier talking about how you guys would dress
up in play as you refer to.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
All things nerdy.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
And the reason I'm asking that is because I believe
the perp was dressed up as well. I also think
the purp may very well have been a woman. We've
seen over and over, which I'm going to go over
with Andy conn in a moment video of Missy Beaver's
killer who has the gate of a female. But let
me ask you something surge going again, Thank you for
(30:08):
being with us. The pickup truck that was captured on
surveillance video nearby shortly before you left for work. In
other words, it was lying. The driver was lying in wait.
Investigators believe the shooter may have been waiting for you
to leave to make sure Liz was alone. Did you
(30:31):
have any sense of a car, a vehicle, a truck
in waight?
Speaker 6 (30:36):
No, ma'am.
Speaker 4 (30:38):
Whenever I left for work, it was just like a
normal day for us. Liz was set up for that
garage sale, and I was just headed to work like
a normal day. I wasn't looking for anything suspicious or anything.
I just headed out.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
Tell me about some of the events at which you
guys dressed up. There's a Star Wars photos, there's Harry
Potter photos. I see what I believe to be a
Renaissance Festival photo. What other events would you attend at
which you would dress up?
Speaker 4 (31:09):
We would go to children's hospitals to visit kids there
to cheer them up. We would go to community events
all in Houston area. We would also, like you said,
go to like the Renaissance Festival for fun, just all around,
just to have a good time throughout the community and
helping kids out. That's what we enjoyed and loved to
(31:32):
do together.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Did you ever dress up with other people? Do you
have a group surrounding you?
Speaker 4 (31:40):
Yes, we were part of a charity group that they
have a community across the world, honestly that does community
events like this for Star Wars and the communities that
they're in, and we all kind of communicate and travel around,
meet each other there and and help each other out
(32:02):
through these events and stuff. It's a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
I'm leading up to something about the charity listen, I.
Speaker 4 (32:09):
Believe and I just saw on the camera these vehicle
pulled up the thros around I guess were there, and
then like I don't hear anything for a second, and
then I just hear the four shots in Hurst Green
and that's it.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Everybody can show you we don't want.
Speaker 4 (32:24):
To come though I've never seen the vehicle over. The
only thing.
Speaker 5 (32:27):
I can think of is I don't even want to
consider of that because it's we're a part of a
charity group.
Speaker 4 (32:33):
And we're going through the little election things and there's
a couple of people that just don't get along with us.
Speaker 5 (32:40):
But I don't know to come home and shoot my wife.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
Sergio, what are you talking about?
Speaker 4 (32:45):
At the time we were in the group we were in,
like I was saying, there's just elections for officers within
the community, I mean within the charity group. And with
as elections go, there's there's like discussions and arguments that happen,
and at the time that's what was happening. But like
(33:08):
I said, I don't believe anyone in this group would
ever hurt anyone like this. This is a group for
good that does charity, that does such good work.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
But immediately that sprang to mind, and I found very
often that in moments of clarity, we come up with
very very let me just say probative ideas. Listen, well
you you could put our charity.
Speaker 5 (33:37):
Yeah, we're a part of a group called the five
hundred and.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
First Legion and it's yeah, it's a.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
It's a scholars charity group.
Speaker 4 (33:46):
And know about good I really think they were just.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
Probative.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
They're a hundred.
Speaker 6 (33:53):
Dollars, but it's probably but well.
Speaker 5 (33:57):
You know how that g had one hundred dollars a
care okay, yeah, a little bred block walks.
Speaker 10 (34:05):
Yeah, we had a gold and everything.
Speaker 7 (34:06):
Ridie, if you could be.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
The so again, people within the charity seem to be
on your mind at the time. And what were you
saying about elections?
Speaker 4 (34:16):
Like I said, it was a during that time. Every
year we have different elections to have officers within the
charity who helped organize it at that time.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
Okay, so the elections for that.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
Let me ask you very quickly, and I'm trying to
get as much evidence as I can and as quickly
as I can.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
Have you taken a polygraph?
Speaker 4 (34:37):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Have you taken one or two polygraphs?
Speaker 4 (34:40):
I believe it was only one, Yes, it was one.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
Did you pass the polygraph?
Speaker 4 (34:44):
When I spoke to doctor, I'm detective Ritchie.
Speaker 11 (34:47):
He told me I had Is that true, Sergeant Richie, Yes,
he did take a polygraph.
Speaker 6 (34:52):
Again, I'm not the one that conducted it.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
Okay, Fine, he took the polygraph. Do you know if
he passed it? Yes, okay, And very quickly back to you,
Orgio Baraza. When you're speaking earlier, you say, I saw
on the camera this vehicle pulls up, turns around right there.
I don't hear anything, and then I hear four shots.
You go on to describe money in a lock box.
(35:16):
Was the money taken? No, Bob and Roseberry and Nelly
are with us as Lizz's parents.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
Bob, what do you think, Well, if you look at the.
Speaker 5 (35:26):
Video where the animal shot and killed my beautiful daughter,
there's no time for them to take anything. They didn't
touch anything. They walked up, talked to her, shot her
four times, and then like a.
Speaker 7 (35:38):
Coward, ran away.
Speaker 5 (35:40):
And there's no justification in the world for anyone to
be murdered, but there's specifically no justification for my daughter
because she was a good actor.
Speaker 10 (35:53):
She was not.
Speaker 5 (35:54):
Involved in anything shady or anything that would have brought
her in conflict.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
With the law. It's just puzzling.
Speaker 5 (36:04):
It's frustrating news. It just doesn't seem real.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
Serjian Ritchie. Yes or no?
Speaker 2 (36:15):
Did you guys try to glean security video from red lights?
Video from red lights, traffic cams, other homes, businesses just
outside their subdivision to see the vehicle coming in or out?
Speaker 6 (36:32):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (36:32):
Where'd the vehicle come from?
Speaker 6 (36:34):
A road called Kirkandahl that's outside the neighborhood.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
Did you see that on video?
Speaker 6 (36:38):
Yes? Could you enhance the video that video?
Speaker 7 (36:41):
No?
Speaker 11 (36:42):
The video that you see is pretty much the best
video that we found throughout that entire neighborhood. And there's
a few others that we got from other homes that
we released to the media that was shown on the
local news shortly after the murder.
Speaker 1 (36:57):
Corley Peel KPRC two. What or do we know at
this point?
Speaker 10 (37:01):
There's still not a lot because we at the five
year anniversary, we released, you know, the latest details about
the case that detectives are still searching for Liz Lizbro's
as killer, but still no one seems to have any
real hard information about who.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
Did this to her.
Speaker 10 (37:20):
So as a news that we can continue, you know,
bringing light to her case, bringing the latest information, but
as of right now, it still seems to be a
bit of a standstill.
Speaker 1 (37:33):
To Rosemary Nellie, this is Liz's mother, Rosemary. What do
you think, Well.
Speaker 8 (37:40):
It's very frustrating to say released. I do think it
was a hit. I do think it was planned. I
just can't figure out the motive.
Speaker 3 (37:58):
The motive is not.
Speaker 8 (38:02):
Something that I just can't imagine somebody.
Speaker 6 (38:05):
Just doing this to her.
Speaker 7 (38:06):
She's a sweet woman.
Speaker 4 (38:09):
I mean.
Speaker 8 (38:11):
I I just do believe it was a hit. I
told why they would have done this to her.
Speaker 2 (38:17):
Guys, there is a fifty thousand dollars reward fifty thousand
dollars in the search for Liz's killer the tip line
seven one three two two two tips seven one three
two two two eight four seven seven please bring peace
(38:41):
to her family. I want to thank all of our
guests for being with us, especially Liz's.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
Widow and her parents.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
Nancy Gray signing off, good bye friend
Speaker 7 (39:00):
A
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
A gorgeous young wife, just twenty nine, shot dead while
she's just outside her home preparing for a garage sell.
No rape, no sex, assault, no theft, So what could possibly.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Be the motive? Was it a hit? I'm Nancy Grace,
this is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Gunned down in her own driveway? Who killed Elizabeth Barrazza?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Joining me Elizabeth's parents and her widow trying to make
sense of a case that seemingly has stumped police.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
And you know what, very often we think, oh.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Well, the police aren't trying. They screwed up the scene,
they fill in the blank. But this case is highly,
highly unusual. I know this is going to pain pain
the mom and dad, the widow to hear what we
are going to play, but I want all of our
(01:18):
viewers and all of our listeners to hear this. Help
us make sense of who murdered this gorgeous young wife. Listen,
I hope your daughter, Howard, is she a lie?
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Thank you?
Speaker 4 (01:44):
As you said, le's have fathered.
Speaker 5 (01:46):
If you like you's a lie.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
You are hearing bodycam sound bodycam well, police have were
on their bodies and you were hearing Bob and Rosemary
Nellie as they are learning about their daughters shooting, joining
me not only her widow, but her parents. Bob and Rosemary,
(02:18):
thank you for being with us. Thank you so much.
And in case it seemingly has stumped law enforcement, I
can't help but think this was anything other than a hit.
But we are hearing you in the background. We are
hearing you, Bob speaking out. Tell us, Bob and Rosemary,
what happened that day.
Speaker 6 (02:38):
We had been alerted.
Speaker 5 (02:40):
By her alarm company that her alarm was going off
and they've not been able to reach her. We were
sort of like a second notification and we tried to
call her and we didn't get her, and my wife, Rosemary, said,
O get dressed, were gone, and we were in the car,
probably with us three or four minutes and drove over
(03:02):
to her home. That's usually about a fourteen minute drive.
I think we made it in like ten or twelve.
And when we got there there was a lot of
police and fire and ambulances at the front of our subdivision.
We thought, oh great, this is not Les's house, this
is her subdivision. Maybe something happened.
Speaker 6 (03:22):
In the neighborhood.
Speaker 7 (03:24):
And then an ems worker directed.
Speaker 5 (03:26):
Us back to the house, and that's when we saw
the crime scene cape surrounding it. We got out and
started trying to find out what it happened.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
None of it is making any sense to me, Rosemary
with me, Mom and dad, Bob and Rosemary Nelly along
with her widow, Sergio.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Rosemary. So often I get the same thing.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
I get a notice that the home alarm has been tripped,
and I typically think, oh, my fill in the blank,
my mother, who lives with us at ninety two years old,
set it off. The dog, the cat, this that that,
that's what you immediately think, Rosemary Nelly, What went through
(04:13):
your mind when you guys got the notification the alarm
in your daughter's house have been tripped?
Speaker 8 (04:18):
Well, we got the alert first on the phone, which
is just a test, and it, you know, showed that
her alarm had been triggered. So immediately I called her
number and she did not answer, and that that did
alarm me. And she didn't answer, I was thinking, okay,
(04:39):
maybe she would could you know, accidentally set the alarm off?
And then when I found that she wasn't awer in
the phone that said, I immediately.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Got very concerned and.
Speaker 8 (04:54):
I you know, you're just you're hoping that, okay, maybe
something happened to a na or something, and you know,
I don't know what it didn't, and it still doesn't
make sense. I did, you know, the only we can
(05:15):
only just go over there and find out which because
she was not answering her phone, and that said the
alarm company actually did call us, And you know, we
said it well, I said that she didn't pick up
her phone, and they asked if they called police, and
(05:36):
I said yes, because she would always infer her home
in that kind of situation, and I know she would,
so yeah, we just headed over.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
This is what happened. Listen.
Speaker 9 (05:50):
Right at seven am, both Sergio Barazza and Elizabeth's parents
receive the notification that the house alarm has been tripped
and Elizabeth is an answering. Security team calls Bob and
Rosemary Nelly arrive at the home minutes before Sergio Brazza
and learn Harris County constables trip the alarm because their
daughter had been shocked.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Oh my stars.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Video the suspect's car driving by.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
You can hear Elizabeth say good morning.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Then there's a few seconds of unintelligible conversation you hear gunshots,
and you hear Elizabeth screaming. Andy Kahn joining me, Director
Victim Services and Advocacy Crime Starvers Houston. Andy, thank you
for being with us. I've played this over and over
and over in my mind, and I don't like playing
(06:42):
that sound because I know that is precisely when Elizabeth
Liz loses her life right there.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
But what do we learn, Andy?
Speaker 2 (06:56):
My job is to try to seek justice and give
Elizabeth all I can give for now, and that is justice.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
What do you hear? What does that tell you? Andy?
You and I have gone over a million murder cases way.
Speaker 7 (07:12):
In the only thing that I can quate. What happened
to Liz Barraza was like watching a scene from The
Sopranos where you have somebody that would drive up, get
out of the car, bang bang bang bang bang, run
back in and hit. I mean, it's an obvious hit.
Like you said earlier, she's setting up for a garage sale,
(07:35):
not even the false pretenses of trying to take an item,
pretending that it was a robbery, and come back and
make sure that Liz is dead. In my long career,
this is one of the most puzzling and frustrating cases
because you have just little to go on other than
a make of a car and the fact that this
(07:56):
happened about six forty five in the morning. So from
and where I sit, I'm wondering, how did this person
know that Liz was setting up for a garage sale.
It wasn't like it was publicized. You had to know
at that exact moment in time that Liz was going
to be out there in order for you to commit
(08:18):
this cold blooded murder of Liz. So I've gotten to
know you know, Bob Rosemary Sergio over the last five years,
and it's one of the most frustrating cases that I've
ever been personally involved with.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Guys, we are also showing you a neighbor's surveillance video.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Let's play it from the top.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
This is critical and I'm surprised this can't be enhanced
a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
You see the shooter walk up, he walks up to her.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
They have a brief brief like hello, hello, and then
the shooting goes down and.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
The purp leaves.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
You know, another thing I'm trying to determine, Andy Kahn
joining us to write to victim services.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Are we sure the perp is a man.
Speaker 5 (09:07):
No, we're not.
Speaker 7 (09:08):
And that's another confusing part. We don't know if it's
male or female, whether this person was wearing a disguise
or not, so that's another frustrating factor in this. But
you can see by the video how deliberate this was,
and the fact that this person is standing over Liz
while she's shot on the ground to ensure that she
(09:30):
is dead must send out chills to everyone. And I
know we've done everything that we possibly can to get
this out to the public, and I want to thank
you personally, Nancy for putting this out to a broader audience,
because right now, grief is intensified when justice is lacking,
and sadly, justice is lacking for Bob, Rosemary surgery over
(09:54):
legion of friends and we're I'm not going to quit
until we get this case selved.
Speaker 6 (09:58):
But it's maddening.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Rob and Nelly joining me.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
This is Liz Bras's dad, along with her mom, Rosemary,
and then husband Sergio.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
To you, Bob, it looks to me like a woman.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
I've watched this footage so many times, and over the
course of five and a half years, I've come to
both conclusions male and female it's just it's so frustrating
not being able to tell more from that video.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Well, it seems that the clothing is somewhat flowing.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Okay, you know what, let me go to Sergio. I
didn't mean to keep you waiting, Sergio.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
With me is not only are not only Bob and
Roseberry Nelly. This is something very rare where the female victims'
parents join with the then husband searching for justice. Sergio,
tell us what happened that morning to your recollect.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
Well, that morning just started off by Liz and I
just starting our day normally. She left early that morning
to go get coffee, return back to the home, we
started preparing for the garage sale. I helped her with
a few big items. I was even a little bit
late for work to make sure I could help her
(11:22):
with everything I could.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Where do you work?
Speaker 4 (11:24):
I was a contractor at the time, a hardwood flooring contractor,
so I would meet my employees at different locations and
just pick them up there and we'd go to work.
So I was heading to when I left her. I
just headed to the nearest construction shop nearby, and I
(11:47):
was there when I got the notification, and it just
it was kind of crazy. I was like, what's going
on that I had just left? I thought maybe an
accident happened in front of the house. Maybe Liz was
trying to help, because she's just that kind of person
who immediately would just try to do the right thing
and do good stuff. So I thought she was just
(12:08):
busy trying to be helpful. And then I saw a
police officer cross the camera and he I tried to
ask them for information, and they told me to come
to the home. Something had happened to my wife and
I needed to be there. I tried to get information,
but I was just told to make it to the home.
(12:30):
And when I made it to the home, I could
see that there was blood in the driveway, and I
was just in complete shock because I was hoping that
wasn't Liz's blood.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Surveillance video captures the moment twenty nine year old Elizabeth
Burraza is shot four times outside of her home. Happened
to Liz?
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Are we any closer to figuring out who murdered this
young woman?
Speaker 1 (13:07):
She's in the prime of her life.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Why why does she end up deead just outside her
own garage? You know? One thing I noticed, if I
could see the photo of them dressed up in Renaissance outfits.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
These two seemingly meant for each other.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
They say that they were both attracted to all things nerdy,
and that includes dressing up in different outfits always matching. Okay,
there's one a Star Wars outfit. They did so much together.
To Sergio Baraza, this is Liz's now widow.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Sergio, tell me about your relationship with her.
Speaker 4 (13:51):
To me, it was a storybook relationship. We had the
most amazing time together. We met in college and immediately
we're attracted to one another. We started off as friends
and over time just became a couple and just started
to do so much together. We did charity work together,
We did a whole bunch of nerdy like comic con
(14:15):
stuff together. We did all the parks in Florida and
travel together. It was just the most amazing time and
some of the best moments of my life have been
with her. And when this happened, it completely shattered that
life I had with her. It was just out of
(14:36):
the blue. This happened one night, yere watching Netflix and
movies with your spouse. The next day you're at a hospital.
It's just something out of an alternate universe that I
feel like I was thrown into.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Sergio. How long had you been married?
Speaker 4 (14:54):
We'd been married for we were about to hit our
five year anniversary, but we had been together for ten
years and it was just amazing to be with her.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Sergio Brazza, this is Lizz's husband. You stated that you
were going to You're in wood flooring and you were
a contractor going to meet who and where?
Speaker 4 (15:18):
My employees that I worked with at a construction shop nearby.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
They were open at seven in the morning.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
Yes, it was like a Lows, so they open at
six am or so.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
And I do not want to be blunt at all, Sergio,
but do your employees confirm that meeting?
Speaker 5 (15:38):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Okay, you know, Sergio, whether we like it or not,
the first person that police look at is the husband.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Why.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
It's not about you. It's nothing personal to you. It's statistically.
So the more quickly you can answer what the police
last want to know, the more quickly they will move on,
hopefully to another suspect.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
So please forgive me for seeming Kurt. Okay, but I
like police.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
I completely understand.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
I want to find out who did this to Liz Rosemary.
Is this your only child, or does Liz have siblings.
Speaker 8 (16:21):
She has one brother who is a little bit older,
a few years.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Older than So this is your only girl, correct.
Speaker 6 (16:29):
Yes, that is correct.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
I have one girl, one baby girl, and my whole
world rises, my son rises and sets in that little girl.
Let me tell you, Okay, let me understand something, curly peel,
let me ask you. Kp RC two, tell me what
you've learned about that morning.
Speaker 10 (16:50):
Well, based on conversations I've had with Liza's parents and investigators,
it seemed.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Like a normal morning.
Speaker 10 (16:57):
She went out, she had Starbucks, she was getting ready
for that girl sale, and she was doing that garage
sale to get a little bit of extra pocket money
because she and Sergio are planning on celebrating their anniversary.
They're planning a trip to Florida. So this is something
that she would do just to get a little extra
pocket money.
Speaker 6 (17:17):
Nothing seemed unusual.
Speaker 10 (17:19):
But after that shooting, news outlets immediately released that surveillance
video hoping to find out who that shooter may be,
if there was any type of recognization from that video,
but no one seemed to come forward with a description
of that shooter.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Joining me now, Sergeant Michael Ritchie Harris County homicide investigator,
the lead investigator, and Liz's murder sergeant. Thank you so
much for being with us. I know you've looked at
this video a million times. It looks to me like
the shooter is actually wearing some type of flowing attire.
(18:00):
Do you think it's a woman?
Speaker 11 (18:02):
When I initially saw the video, I did think it
was a woman, But then, of course, looking at the
video numerous times again and again, I could see that
it could possibly be a man and just trying to
disguise their identity and disguise their build. As you can tell,
they wearing some type of boots, they're wearing a coat,
(18:24):
it's possibly a wig that they're wearing, or it could
be real hair. So in all of the interviews and
press conferences I've done in the past, I've never confirmed
or never chose or decided whether it's.
Speaker 6 (18:40):
Male or female because it could.
Speaker 11 (18:42):
Be either or just reiterating when I initially saw the
video for the first time that morning, I did think
it was a woman. But again I've always stated too,
with how long this case is going on and how
many difference curveballs I've been thrown, it could definitely be
a man just as easy as a woman.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Back to Andy conn joining us, who has handled so
many homicide cases, He's joining us out of Houston. I'm
sure you recall the case of Marlene Warren. A clown
came to her door. A woman dressed as a clown
comes to her door with the carnations and balloons and
(19:25):
shoots her dad in front of her son. As it
turns out, it was Sheila Keene Warren, the husband's lover,
dressed as a clown. Now I'm thinking about what Sergeant
Ritchie is saying, and this is not casting doubt on Sergio.
(19:46):
What I'm saying is what you mentioned earlier, Andy, who
knew who knew that she was having a.
Speaker 7 (19:55):
Yard's health You know, Nancy, You're exactly correct. I mean,
that's why everyone is only the assumption this was a
direct hit. Obviously, this isn't random. You're not driving around
a neighborhood at six forty five in the morning and
all of a sudden you see somebody setting up for
a garage sale and you're going to decide, I'm going
to park it out and shoot somebody and kill them
(20:17):
without taking anything. That's what is so frustrating about this
and that's what I like, I said. My initial thought
was this is like right out of the Sopranos right here.
Speaker 5 (20:30):
So we're going on.
Speaker 7 (20:31):
Five plus years right now. Crime Stoppers, along with Bob
Rosemary and Sergio, we have enhanced this reward now several times.
Right now we're offering in up to a fifty thousand
dollars reason up to five zero zero zero zero. I'm
(20:56):
giving you fifty thousand reasons to let us know who
this person is. And we know somebody out there knows something.
The public is our best eyes and ears out there.
You cannot tell me that this was just a singular,
random app of somebody shooting her. So we're asking the
public to step forward, contact crime Stoppers, and you can
(21:18):
be eligible for an up to fifty thousand dollars reward.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
A suspects vehicle caught on tape surveillan shows the shooter's
truck right before and after the murder.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
We're going to go to Sergeant Michael Ritchie, joining US
Harris County Homicide lead investigator in Liz's case.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Tell me about that vehicle, what make and model.
Speaker 11 (21:42):
Well, one of the known facts of this case, which
are very few, is the vehicle that was used. Again,
watching several videos that we got from several different houses
in the neighborhood, we were able to determine that the
suspect used a Nissan Frontier, a black four door truck
(22:03):
and the model was a Pro four X. We believe
it was black, possibly dark blue, but most likely black,
and again we have.
Speaker 6 (22:15):
Video of it.
Speaker 11 (22:16):
We were able to speak to a witness that confirmed
it was that type of vehicle. And as you're looking
at that picture there there's a decal that goes near
the rear of the vehicle, near that tail light along
the bed of the truck that will say Pro four X.
That's kind of like a green and white color. And
(22:37):
during our I guess investigation and watching several clips of
different videos, we were able to determine that it was
that type of truck and see the decal outline and
know that it was that. I also had a Nissan
salesman look at the video and he was able to
confirm that he thought it was a Pro foro X
(22:59):
or Desert. He mentioned that it looked like a full
wheel drive. It had kind of some of the bells
of whistles on it, such as GPS and the running
lights and it looked like a four x four. So
he was able to educate me a little bit better
on this vehicle. And so again we believe it was
a black four door Nissan Frontier Pro four X and
(23:20):
I believe the years we were looking for was probably
a twenty twelve at the oldest two of twenty nineteen.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Okay, let's talk about what we just heard.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Straight out to Andy Conn joining us and everybody jumped in.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
If you know anything about.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Trucks, which I assume everybody does, Andy Conn, there is
a difference in the way the truck looks.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
If it's a four wheel drive, the.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Truck actually looks differently and it sits, it sits differently
than a.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Non four wheel drive.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
If you got a four wheel the truck looks bigger
just because of the positioning. So what I don't get
and maybe this was done, and sergeant jump in and
tell me what happened. There are ways I've done it
and I've seen it done.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
To go through vehicle registration.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
To find out how many of those are sold, how
many are of those are in the system in that.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Area at that time.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
You do it through insurance, you do it in all
sorts of manners. But what's that done here? Because that's
pretty specific. A black Nissan Frontier four door Pro four X.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
It's four wheel drive.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Because look, there's so many things to distinguish it. You
got a four wheel on a truck, you got four
wheel drive on a truck. You've got even the years
somewhere between twelve and nineteen helped me out.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Andy.
Speaker 7 (24:57):
Hey, let me ask Sergeant Richie. I mean, I'm assuming
correct me wrong, but you pretty much exhausted, and you've
looked at all the make of the vehicles, who's purchased,
who's driven around the area. You had to ensure that
there was nobody going to be around when you got
out of the vehicle to shoot and kill Liz. So
(25:21):
you can't just tell me you just drove up at
that specific time. I'm assuming that there had to be
some sort of case. You drove around, make sure that
this was being done. You made sure that you carried
out the plot. Let's be real, this is intentional.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
It was a hit.
Speaker 7 (25:38):
It was well planned. We have the make of the vehicle.
What is the motive for killing Liz? Was it insurance money?
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Hey?
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Hey, what we call that under the law?
Speaker 2 (25:53):
A complex question, So one question at a time, what
did you do, Sergeant Richie to find the vehicle?
Speaker 11 (25:59):
So when I saw this video, I initially thought we
were going to have that solved today. I really felt
that the family or the husband was going to tell me, yes,
we have a problem with a certain person they drive
a Nissan Frontier, because it just seemed so deliberate. But
that wasn't the case that night. That day, the court
again occurred early in the morning. We were out there
(26:21):
all morning, afternoon, and evening canvassing the entire neighborhood for
different video that had captured the vehicle besides the one
that we're seeing right now. So with looking at all
of the video, we also I also have contacts with
the Texas Rangers and the FBI, and a ranger that
(26:42):
I had known through other investigations gave me registrations of
all the Nissan Frontiers in that area and other surrounding
areas in Harris County and Montgomery County. So I initially
thought that Nissan Frontiers were not really a very pot
popular or common vehicle, but one seeing those registrations, I
(27:06):
realized that there was a lot of them out there.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
They're very popular. They're very popular.
Speaker 11 (27:11):
Well, in Texas, everything's big in Texas. That's more of
a smaller time.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
This is more of a smaller truck. Yeah, you're right, Yeah, yes, ma'am.
Speaker 11 (27:19):
A lot of Texas, a lot of Texas guys and
girls like to drive the bigger, the bigger, four door.
Speaker 6 (27:25):
Full sized trucks rather than those smaller trucks.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
Could it have been a rental vehicle?
Speaker 11 (27:30):
We looked into We looked into rentals, and what I've
found out, what I was told was that there were companies.
Most companies did not rent out those vehicles.
Speaker 6 (27:42):
But we did look into it and it came up
with nothing.
Speaker 11 (27:44):
Another thing with the video, of course, there's no license
plate visible.
Speaker 6 (27:48):
Even if they.
Speaker 11 (27:49):
Did have a legit license plate, most likely it's fictitious.
Speaker 6 (27:53):
We see that a lot in these type of situations.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Okay, let me ask you a couple of quick questions.
Sargeant Richie. Did you try to have the video enhanced?
Speaker 5 (28:02):
Yes? No?
Speaker 4 (28:02):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (28:03):
Did it work?
Speaker 4 (28:04):
No?
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Could you try it again? Says technology has improved?
Speaker 11 (28:07):
Yes, we're currently working on that right now. Do you
have the bullets a revolver was used. We do not
have casings, but we do have some of the projectiles.
Speaker 6 (28:16):
Yes, that we that we're shore.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
So then simply put, yes, have they been entered into
the National Ballistics Database?
Speaker 6 (28:26):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (28:27):
When was the last time they were entered?
Speaker 6 (28:29):
I would not be able to know.
Speaker 11 (28:30):
That wouldn't be a question for me, that would be
for our the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
And also regarding the bullets, you're saying you had no shells,
is that what you're saying correct?
Speaker 11 (28:44):
There was no There was no casings. Therefore, we believe
a revolver was used. A revolver does not eject casings
when it's fired like a semi automatic.
Speaker 6 (28:53):
If you use a semi automatic with a magazine, it will.
Speaker 11 (28:55):
Eject casings as you fire it, so you know, definitely,
semi automatic handguns are more common these days than revolvers.
So again, just with a revolver being used, in my opinion,
this is just another tactic used by the shooter to
try to hide their identity and who they are and
(29:16):
what weapon was used. With no casings being able to
be collected.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
Elizabeth Barazza's shooter dressed in disguise and used a revolver
to leave no trace behind.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
To Sergia Barraza. This is Liz's then husband, Sergio. You
heard me earlier talking about how you guys would dress
up in play as you refer to.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
All things nerdy.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
And the reason I'm asking that is because I believe
the perp was dressed up as well. I also think
the purp may very well have been a woman. We've
seen over and over, which I'm going to go over
with Andy conn in a moment video of Missy Beaver's
killer who has the gate of a female. But let
me ask you something surge going again, Thank you for
(30:08):
being with us. The pickup truck that was captured on
surveillance video nearby shortly before you left for work. In
other words, it was lying. The driver was lying in wait.
Investigators believe the shooter may have been waiting for you
to leave to make sure Liz was alone. Did you
(30:31):
have any sense of a car, a vehicle, a truck
in waight?
Speaker 6 (30:36):
No, ma'am.
Speaker 4 (30:38):
Whenever I left for work, it was just like a
normal day for us. Liz was set up for that
garage sale, and I was just headed to work like
a normal day. I wasn't looking for anything suspicious or anything.
I just headed out.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
Tell me about some of the events at which you
guys dressed up. There's a Star Wars photos, there's Harry
Potter photos. I see what I believe to be a
Renaissance Festival photo. What other events would you attend at
which you would dress up?
Speaker 4 (31:09):
We would go to children's hospitals to visit kids there
to cheer them up. We would go to community events
all in Houston area. We would also, like you said,
go to like the Renaissance Festival for fun, just all around,
just to have a good time throughout the community and
helping kids out. That's what we enjoyed and loved to
(31:32):
do together.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Did you ever dress up with other people? Do you
have a group surrounding you?
Speaker 4 (31:40):
Yes, we were part of a charity group that they
have a community across the world, honestly that does community
events like this for Star Wars and the communities that
they're in, and we all kind of communicate and travel around,
meet each other there and and help each other out
(32:02):
through these events and stuff. It's a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
I'm leading up to something about the charity listen, I.
Speaker 4 (32:09):
Believe and I just saw on the camera these vehicle
pulled up the thros around I guess were there, and
then like I don't hear anything for a second, and
then I just hear the four shots in Hurst Green
and that's it.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Everybody can show you we don't want.
Speaker 4 (32:24):
To come though I've never seen the vehicle over. The
only thing.
Speaker 5 (32:27):
I can think of is I don't even want to
consider of that because it's we're a part of a
charity group.
Speaker 4 (32:33):
And we're going through the little election things and there's
a couple of people that just don't get along with us.
Speaker 5 (32:40):
But I don't know to come home and shoot my wife.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
Sergio, what are you talking about?
Speaker 4 (32:45):
At the time we were in the group we were in,
like I was saying, there's just elections for officers within
the community, I mean within the charity group. And with
as elections go, there's there's like discussions and arguments that happen,
and at the time that's what was happening. But like
(33:08):
I said, I don't believe anyone in this group would
ever hurt anyone like this. This is a group for
good that does charity, that does such good work.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
But immediately that sprang to mind, and I found very
often that in moments of clarity, we come up with
very very let me just say probative ideas. Listen, well
you you could put our charity.
Speaker 5 (33:37):
Yeah, we're a part of a group called the five
hundred and.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
First Legion and it's yeah, it's a.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
It's a scholars charity group.
Speaker 4 (33:46):
And know about good I really think they were just.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
Probative.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
They're a hundred.
Speaker 6 (33:53):
Dollars, but it's probably but well.
Speaker 5 (33:57):
You know how that g had one hundred dollars a
care okay, yeah, a little bred block walks.
Speaker 10 (34:05):
Yeah, we had a gold and everything.
Speaker 7 (34:06):
Ridie, if you could be.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
The so again, people within the charity seem to be
on your mind at the time. And what were you
saying about elections?
Speaker 4 (34:16):
Like I said, it was a during that time. Every
year we have different elections to have officers within the
charity who helped organize it at that time.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
Okay, so the elections for that.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
Let me ask you very quickly, and I'm trying to
get as much evidence as I can and as quickly
as I can.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
Have you taken a polygraph?
Speaker 4 (34:37):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (34:37):
Have you taken one or two polygraphs?
Speaker 4 (34:40):
I believe it was only one, Yes, it was one.
Speaker 1 (34:42):
Did you pass the polygraph?
Speaker 4 (34:44):
When I spoke to doctor, I'm detective Ritchie.
Speaker 11 (34:47):
He told me I had Is that true, Sergeant Richie, Yes,
he did take a polygraph.
Speaker 6 (34:52):
Again, I'm not the one that conducted it.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
Okay, Fine, he took the polygraph. Do you know if
he passed it? Yes, okay, And very quickly back to you,
Orgio Baraza. When you're speaking earlier, you say, I saw
on the camera this vehicle pulls up, turns around right there.
I don't hear anything, and then I hear four shots.
You go on to describe money in a lock box.
(35:16):
Was the money taken? No, Bob and Roseberry and Nelly
are with us as Lizz's parents.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
Bob, what do you think, Well, if you look at the.
Speaker 5 (35:26):
Video where the animal shot and killed my beautiful daughter,
there's no time for them to take anything. They didn't
touch anything. They walked up, talked to her, shot her
four times, and then like a.
Speaker 7 (35:38):
Coward, ran away.
Speaker 5 (35:40):
And there's no justification in the world for anyone to
be murdered, but there's specifically no justification for my daughter
because she was a good actor.
Speaker 10 (35:53):
She was not.
Speaker 5 (35:54):
Involved in anything shady or anything that would have brought
her in conflict.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
With the law. It's just puzzling.
Speaker 5 (36:04):
It's frustrating news. It just doesn't seem real.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
Serjian Ritchie. Yes or no?
Speaker 2 (36:15):
Did you guys try to glean security video from red lights?
Video from red lights, traffic cams, other homes, businesses just
outside their subdivision to see the vehicle coming in or out?
Speaker 6 (36:32):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (36:32):
Where'd the vehicle come from?
Speaker 6 (36:34):
A road called Kirkandahl that's outside the neighborhood.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
Did you see that on video?
Speaker 6 (36:38):
Yes? Could you enhance the video that video?
Speaker 7 (36:41):
No?
Speaker 11 (36:42):
The video that you see is pretty much the best
video that we found throughout that entire neighborhood. And there's
a few others that we got from other homes that
we released to the media that was shown on the
local news shortly after the murder.
Speaker 1 (36:57):
Corley Peel KPRC two. What or do we know at
this point?
Speaker 10 (37:01):
There's still not a lot because we at the five
year anniversary, we released, you know, the latest details about
the case that detectives are still searching for Liz Lizbro's
as killer, but still no one seems to have any
real hard information about who.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
Did this to her.
Speaker 10 (37:20):
So as a news that we can continue, you know,
bringing light to her case, bringing the latest information, but
as of right now, it still seems to be a
bit of a standstill.
Speaker 1 (37:33):
To Rosemary Nellie, this is Liz's mother, Rosemary. What do
you think, Well.
Speaker 8 (37:40):
It's very frustrating to say released. I do think it
was a hit. I do think it was planned. I
just can't figure out the motive.
Speaker 3 (37:58):
The motive is not.
Speaker 8 (38:02):
Something that I just can't imagine somebody.
Speaker 6 (38:05):
Just doing this to her.
Speaker 7 (38:06):
She's a sweet woman.
Speaker 4 (38:09):
I mean.
Speaker 8 (38:11):
I I just do believe it was a hit. I
told why they would have done this to her.
Speaker 2 (38:17):
Guys, there is a fifty thousand dollars reward fifty thousand
dollars in the search for Liz's killer the tip line
seven one three two two two tips seven one three
two two two eight four seven seven please bring peace
(38:41):
to her family. I want to thank all of our
guests for being with us, especially Liz's.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
Widow and her parents.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
Nancy Gray signing off, good bye friend
Speaker 7 (39:00):
A
Host
Nancy Grace
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