Photo by Maximillian Conacher on Unsplash
A Tomball, Texas, woman?s murder was caught on camera outside her home, but her murderer has not been brought to justice.
The Shooting
Elizabeth Barraza (29) and her husband, Sergio Barraza, were huge fans of the Star Wars franchise. In fact, they often dressed up in costumes to visit children staying at the hospital.
On January 25, 2019, Elizabeth and Sergio placed signs advertising their yard sale around their neighborhood. They planned to use the money from the sale to celebrate their fifth anniversary in Orlando two days later. Their bags were already packed.
At 6:48 a.m., Sergio left for work. Within four minutes, Elizabeth was shot.
At 6:52 a.m., a vehicle pulled up to her home. Somebody got out and walked toward Elizabeth. Within eight seconds, the shooter fired three times. Elizabeth fell to the ground, and the suspect stepped over her body to fire one more shot.
How do we know this? Investigators were able to compile footage from neighbors and nearby businesses.
The entire shooting occurred very quickly, and it appeared to be planned. Michael Ritchie, a Harris County homicide investigator said, ?It was very quick, it was very calculated, very cold-blooded of how it was done.? Ritchie suspects more than one person could be involved.
What Do We Know?
There are a few things we do know about Elizabeth?s murder. First, the vehicle in the video has been identified as a dark-colored Nissan Frontier 4×4. The truck was apparently seen in the neighborhood the night before the murder and then later after Elizabeth was shot.
Also notable is the fact that Elizabeth and Sergio had not posted their yard sale on social media. They told friends, co-workers, and family members about the sale, however. Sergio has since sold the home the couple shared.
We also know that investigators are not considering robbery as the motive. Nothing was apparently taken from the scene.
The murderer could be a man or a woman, but many suspect the figure dressed in the robe was a woman with long hair (or a wig).
Case Updates
In January 2020, a warrant was issued in the case. Ritchie hinted that it could bring forth new information about a suspect in the case. Some Internet sleuths speculate that this warrant is linked to a cell phone tower.
Of Elizabeth?s murder, her father Bob Nuelle said, ?We know it?s not random. So the family waits, and when we learn who did it, we may learn why, but the why will never make sense.?
This case is similar to the case of Missy Bevers in that both cases have video footage of the assailant, but there is still not enough information to solve the case. Yet.
A reward of $20,000 is available for anybody who can help identify a suspect in this case thanks to a donation from Peter Mayhew?s foundation. Call Crime Stoppers of Houston at (713) 222-TIPS if you have information about Elizabeth Barraza?s case.
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