29-year-old Elizabeth “Liz” Barraza was known to be a kind, generous person who had a love of Harry Potter & Star Wars & a passion for helping others. She was born on June 26, 1989 in Elk Grove Village, Illinois to parents Robert & Rosemary Nuelle & she had an older brother, Robert. It was said that she didn’t have a mean bone in her body & treated all who she met with kindness & respect. Liz met her husband Sergio Barraza while in college at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas & the two got married on February 1, 2014. The couple were such dedicated fans of Star Wars that they had been officially inducted as members of the 501st Legion which is an international costuming organization dedicated to celebrating Star Wars. Liz was the local chapters event coordinator & volunteered a lot of her time visiting children’s hospitals dressed in Storm Troopers costume.
The couple moved into their home in Tomball, Texas in the Princeton Place subdivision on Cedar Walk Drive in April of 2016.
On the morning of Friday, January 25, 2019, Liz was getting prepared for a yard sale that she was holding at her home that she planned to run on both Friday & Saturday. She started her day by running to Starbucks to get a coffee a few minutes after 6 am. When she got home, she & Sergio started setting things up outside at about 6:15 am. She got to work at about 7 am, hoping to sell some things they no longer needed & earn extra money for a fifth anniversary trip they’d planned to Orlando, Florida. They planned to leave on Sunday, January 27, two days later & they were so excited to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. Liz had her suitcase packed & ready to go & she’d even made a special pair of Harry Potter shoes.
As Liz was setting things up in the front yard, a black truck drove by, turned around & stopped. A person got out of the car & approached Liz & without warning, shot her three times until she fell to the ground. Before leaving, they fired one last shot for a total of four shots. The first shot went through the side of her neck & ended up hitting the house, the next two rounds were fired into her chest & the final shot was at her face as the armed person stood over her.
Three separate neighbors heard the gunshots on their quiet street & called 911; there was a quick succession of three shots, a pause & then the fourth shot was heard. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office responded & Liz was flown by helicopter to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.
She was transferred to the Shock Trauma ICU & maintained on life support. Sadly, her injuries were too severe & she pronounced dead the following afternoon at 1:40 pm.
As investigators spoke with neighbors, they were able to obtain a surveillance video from a neighbor’s camera that caught the entire murder. Harris County Sheriff’s Office were horrified as they watched the footage. They watched as the black pickup truck did a 3-point turn & parked behind Liz’s car, an unknown person with long hair exited the vehicle & walked up to Liz who stood in her front yard. It appeared that they exchanged a few words & eight seconds after the person approached Liz, they opened fire & then quickly ran back to their car & fled. The shooter used one hand when firing the gun & didn’t struggle with any recoil which made investigators believe the person had experience with a weapon.
Liz’s husband Sergio learned the devastating news while he was at work & rushed to the hospital to be with his wife. His mother, Margarita Barraza, told reporters that she didn’t know anyone who would want to hurt Liz. She was unaware of any issues the couple may have been having & said that they just lived a very normal life.
Neighbors described the couple as very well liked & one neighbor in particular mentioned that when she moved in, they welcomed her to the area & were very friendly & helpful. The area where they lived outside of Houston was very quiet & calm & crime was unheard of so residents were terrified after something so tragic & random could happen.
Deputies told reporters that they were trying to find out a motive behind the murder & based on the contents of the video, it appeared that Liz was targeted since the act seemed so deliberate. It suggested that it was a planned hit where someone paid an assassin to murder her. No shell casings were found at the crime scene which led investigators to believe that a revolver had been used.
Because a suspect wasn’t immediately named, there was a lot of speculation from online & social media communities about who the shooter could be. The surveillance video was fuzzy, but the shooter had long hair & some speculated that it could have been a female. Others speculated that the killer was a jealous wife or mistress but there were no indications that either Liz or Segio had been involved in any extramarital relationships. There were also no signs of financial issues within their marriage. Another theory was that this was simply a case of mistaken identity.
The truck entered their neighborhood at 6:47 am & then drove to the Goddard School parking lot. Sergio was seen leaving for work at 6:48 am & the killer’s truck drove by only minutes later at 6:52 am which indicated that the killer either knew Sergio’s schedule or had been watching the house that morning. The truck was seen in the neighborhood as early as 2 am & was seen driving by Liz & Sergio’s home.
One week after Liz was murdered, her family & friends held a candlelight vigil in her honor in the driveway where she was killed. More than 100 people attended. Some people held light sabers in place of candles because of her love of Star Wars.
Sergio spoke & said, “She didn’t deserve this, she deserved to live a long happy life. I’m so glad that one of the last things I got to do was kiss her goodbye & tell her I love her.” He spoke about Liz’s love of helping others & the fact that she did volunteer work at the hospital she just so happened to pass away in. She was a beautiful person with a big heart.
Liz’s father, Bob Nuelle, could not wrap his head around how someone could so ruthlessly kill his daughter who was a truly inspirational person. She was a sister, a wife, a daughter & a friend & he wanted to focus on getting justice for his daughter. Her generosity continued even after death because Liz was an organ donor & her heart, liver & both kidneys helped four people have a second chance at life.
During a February 6, 2019 press conference, police said they believed that the truck the killer drove was a black 2013 or newer Nissan Frontier ProX4 four door pickup truck. Witnesses had seen the truck the night before the murder & it was believed to be lurking around the morning of the murder, likely waiting for Sergio to leave for work. Hundreds of trucks matching the description were reviewed, some rentals, but none were able to be linked to the murder.
Liz hadn’t advertised the yard sale in any local papers, but did place two signs in the area the night before; one at the entrance to their neighborhood & one down the road. Sergio indicated that only a few people knew about the garage sale including some coworkers & their parents. Liz’s father spoke at the press conference & said, “A coward forever changed our lives & shot an unarmed & defenseless woman. The murderer needs to pay for their actions.” Bob begged anyone to come forward to help guide law enforcement in finding his daughter’s killer. Bob couldn’t understand how the killer knew that Liz would be standing on her driveway alone at that hour.
Detectives still struggled to find a motive for the killing; a cash box with $100 was left untouched as were the yard sale items Liz had put out. Police hoped someone would recognize the car or person in the surveillance video & come forward. The killer was described as wearing knee high white go-go type boots, a possible muumuu dress or robe or trenchcoat & maybe a wig. They still couldn’t say if it was a man or a woman. The person was seen drawing a gun from beneath her clothing & pointing it directly at Liz. Liz could be seen backing up but it was clearly too late.
Months went by & the killer remained a mystery. Liz’s family & friends held a vigil in her memory on the one year anniversary of her murder. It was their goal to make sure her case was not forgotten & reminded them that it was still unsolved. Sergio said that he lived with a piece of his life ripped away & each morning, he wondered if her killer would be outside waiting for him too. He put the house he & Liz shared up for sale because he couldn’t get past the fact that she was brutally murdered in the driveway.
There was a $20,000 reward in place because police believed that there were people out there who had a suspicion that someone they knew may have been involved. On the second anniversary of the murder, police released doorbell cam footage from Liz’s home that captured the moment she was killed. The shooting itself couldn’t be seen but you could see the killer’s car as it passed the house & parked. A minute later, Liz could be heard saying, “Good morning” to someone & a few seconds later, shots were fired.
The shooter rushed back to the running truck & drove past the house as if they were going to exit the subdivision, but two minutes later, it passed by the doorbell cam again. It’s likely they wanted to be sure that Liz was dead. Police hoped this footage would weigh heavily on someone’s heart & they would finally come forward.
Liz’s mom, Rosemary Nuelle, was absolutely devastated by her daughter’s death & didn’t speak publicly until March 2021. She hoped her pain would be visible & would inspire someone to come forward. By the third anniversary, the reward was increased to $50,000 after 145 donors contributed money to raise the reward. Liz’s father Bob spoke out & said they would never give up fighting for justice.
In January 2023, Sergio told reporters that he was aware that some people believed that he was somehow involved in his wife’s murder, but he insisted he had nothing to do with it. He said his wife was amazing & they lived a fairytale together. Some speculation came from the fact that Sergio remarried a couple of years after Liz died, but he pointed out that he didn’t meet his new wife until a year after the murder. She recently lost her sister & they bonded over their shared grief. Sergio said both he & his current wife were always cooperative with investigators & they’d both passed polygraph exams.
If you have a tip, please call the Crime Stoppers of Houston tip line; tips are anonymous & eligible for a $50,000 reward at (713) 222-TIPS & reference case HCSO #1901-07970.
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