Liz Barraza: Murder at the Yard Sale

Early one January morning Liz Barraza was gunned down in her driveway. The 29 year-old had no enemies. Who in the world would have wanted her dead?

Elizabeth “Liz” Barraza was in a great place in life. She had a good job, a happy marriage, and a beautiful home. She had hobbies she enjoyed, good friends, and a beloved dog. Liz and her husband, Sergio, were just days away from an anniversary trip to Orlando, Florida, where they planned to visit both Disney World and Universal Studios. Liz had already packed her bags, excited to celebrate their upcoming fifth wedding anniversary.

In the early morning hours of January 25, 2019, all that was taken from her. She was killed in her own front yard while setting up for a yard sale. 

A neighbor’s security camera captured the murder, but more than six years later, the killer remains unknown. Who had a reason to take Liz’s life, and why?

Who was Liz Barraza?

Elizabeth Marie Nuelle was born on June 26, 1989, in Illinois. She had one older brother named Robert and a sister-in-law named Amanda. She graduated from Klein Collins High School in Klein, Texas, in 2008. Liz received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Sam Houston State University in 2012. Her father, Bob, described her as a “simple, kind, and generous person, happily living an amazing life of service.”¹Galvan, Jaime. Tomball woman’s husband: ‘I had to trade our 5th anniversary for her funeral’. KHOU-11. 6 February 2019.

While attending college, she met Sergio Barraza, and they were married on February 1, 2014. Liz and Sergio shared an interest in Harry Potter and Star Wars. They enjoyed attending the Texas Renaissance Festival and making their own costumes. The couple adopted a dappled dachshund puppy while in college, who they named Diesel. 

29-year-old Liz worked in Houston as a data reporter for the Rosen Group, a German company that develops and operates inspection devices for pipelines and other complex technical systems. Sergio worked as a crew chief installing flooring for his father’s company.

501st Legion

Both Liz and Sergio were members of the 501st Legion, also known as Vader’s First, a worldwide Star Wars fan organization. Group members create and wear screen-accurate costume replicas of Star Wars villains. They are well-known for their high standards of costume accuracy and their community involvement, often participating in charity events, parades, and official Star Wars promotions. Liz was the event coordinator in the Star Garrison in Texas. The group would visit sick children in local hospitals while dressed in costume. “One of the things that really made her stand out was she didn’t carry a pistol in her holster,” he says. “She carried a little baby Ewok stuffed animal in her holster so that people would see it.” Bob told People magazine.

A Hopeful Future

In April 2016, they purchased a beautiful 4-bedroom, 3-bath home in the Princeton Place subdivision in Tomball, Texas, only a few miles from where Liz went to high school in Klein. 

Tomball is a suburb of Houston, about 30 miles northwest. It’s a mix of old-school Texas charm and new development. Princeton Place subdivision is a well-established neighborhood with 167 homes. Construction started in 2004, and the homes sit fairly close together on quarter- to half-acre lots. There appear to be several ways to get in and out of the neighborhood from adjacent subdivisions, but the main entrance is on Princeton Place Drive. This also happens to be the closest entrance to the Barraza home.

Wedding Anniversary Trip

Liz and Sergio were scheduled to leave for their Florida trip on Sunday, January 27th. Liz had been planning for the past month to have a yard sale to make extra cash to buy souvenirs. ²Crime Junkie Podcast. Murdered: Liz Barraza. 10 February 2025. The sale was planned for Friday and Saturday. On the night of Thursday, January 24th, Liz and Sergio put up two signs advertising their yard sale in their neighborhood.³Timeline: Who Killed Liz Barraza 

According to Sergio, the only people in their circle that knew about the sale were Liz’s parents and his mother, Margarita. It is worth noting that there is a discrepancy with the timing of when the signs were actually put up. Some sources say Thursday night, and some say Friday morning. In a press conference held on February 6, 2019, twelve days after the murder, Sergio indicated the signs were put up Friday morning. 

“It was only advertised at, like, street signs. Like, we had two little signs up. But anywhere else, it wasn’t online or on any kind of website or anything like that, or social media. Nothing. Nobody in my family really knew about it, besides, like, my mom and her parents” ⁴Peel, Corley. FBI, Texas Rangers join investigation into Tomball woman killed while setting up for garage sale. Click2Houston. 8 December 2023.

The Yard Sale

Liz took the day off on Friday, January 25, 2019. ⁵Big Mad True Crime Podcast. Nightmare at the Garage Sale. 23 June 2025 She left her home a few minutes after 6:00 AM to pick up coffee at Starbucks, then returned home and started setting up stuff for the sale. Sergio told local media that he helped her set up the larger items before leaving for work himself. Sergio left home at 6:48 AM to head to work, a few minutes earlier than he typically did.

“It was a normal day. She got Starbucks before the garage sale, got back to the house and I helped her set up the big items and then kissed her and said goodbye and left for work.⁶Peel, Corley. FBI, Texas Rangers join investigation into Tomball woman killed while setting up for garage sale. Click2Houston. 8 December 2023.

While all this was happening, a dark-colored Nissan Frontier truck was driving around the area. At 6:47am security camera footage shows the truck pulling onto Princeton Place Drive and then into a nearby parking lot at the Goddard School of Tomball. A minute later the driver leaves the parking lot and drives to a nearby street before turning back into the Barraza’s neighborhood. 

An Ordinary Morning Turns Tragic

By 6:51, a mere 3 minutes after Sergio’s departure, the killer is heading towards the Barraza home. According to a timeline put together by Liz’s parents and police, at 6:52am the killer does a 3-point turn on Cedar Walk Drive, the street the Barazaas live on, parks at the curb, gets out, and walks toward Liz, who is working in the driveway. The two exchange a few words, with Liz seemingly offering a “Good morning.” There are about five to six seconds between the moment the assailant draws their weapon and when they actually shoot Liz. In those seconds, there are a few words of dialogue, and it appears that the assailant may hand Liz something or show her something. She’s too far away to see what this item is, however. 

Liz is shot a total of four times, three times in her neck and chest and once in her face at point-blank range. The killer runs quickly back to their vehicle, gets in, and leaves. This entire event happened within just 30 seconds. Nothing is stolen or even touched. After shooting Liz, the killer exits the neighborhood but does a U-turn to re-enter. They drive back by Liz’s house at approximately 6:55am, just three minutes before police arrive on the scene. 

“About two minutes later, the suspect drives back to look at their work, seeing what they’ve done, to make sure Liz is dead,” Detective Wallace Wyatt told local media. ⁷Crivelli, Vincent. Deputy in garage sale deadly shooting case speaks out. Click2Houston. 25 January 2021.

The killer exits through an unpaved side pathway in an adjacent neighborhood, successfully avoiding incoming police vehicles.

Caught on Camera

Within seconds of Liz being shot, at least three neighbors call 911. Police arrived on the scene at 6:58am. One of the eyewitnesses saw the Nissan truck drive back by their house while they were on the phone with the 911 operator. Liz is actually still alive; a neighbor tended to her while waiting for an ambulance. Police entered the home via the inside door to the garage, and in doing so, triggered the home alarm. Sergio later told police he was concerned about Liz being alone during the sale and asked her to set the alarm, just in case. It is worth mentioning that the Barraza home is not located in a high-crime area. 

Sergio’s normal work routine was to drive 8-10 miles to a Lowe’s Home Improvement store to meet up with his co-workers and figure out the game plan for the day. On that morning, Sergio was still at Lowe’s when he received the alert from his home alarm system. Both Sergio and Liz’s parents were notified that the garage door alarm was triggered at 7:19am. 

Sergio opens his home security app (Nest) and is able to see police at his home through his doorbell camera’s live feed. He is able to speak to the police through the camera and asks about Liz. The police do not tell him what’s going on, only that he needs to get home immediately. He calls his father to let him know what’s going on and heads back home. “So, I started driving home, and as I was driving home, I was reviewing more and more of the Ring Door footage until I found that or heard her scream and the gunshots in it. My world just stopped right in my heart, like, skipped.”⁸Peel, Corley. FBI, Texas Rangers join investigation into Tomball woman killed while setting up for garage sale. Click2Houston. 8 December 2023.

The murder itself is not visible through the Barraza’s doorbell camera because of where it’s located on the home. 

Disbelief and Shock

At 7:21am Liz is transported via Life Flight to Memorial Hermann Hospital. Sergio arrived back home at 7:38am, just minutes after Liz’s parents arrived. Sergio was immediately held for questioning at the scene. Bob and Rosemary left at 8:02am to head to the hospital. At some point, Sergio’s mom, Margarita, arrives. 

At 7:54am, while sitting in the back of a Harris County police car, Sergio is notified that his wife has been murdered, at which point he starts “wailing” and says, “Oh my God, dude. This is crazy. So they just [expletive] shot her and left?”⁹Willey, Jessica. New video shows raw moments shortly after Tomball woman killed in her driveway nearly 5 years ago. ABC 13. 28 December 2023.

He suggests to police that it may have been a robbery gone wrong, but nothing was taken from the scene. Sergio didn’t immediately leave when released by detectives; he spent some time at the scene talking to neighbors and the media. The timeline put together by Liz’s parents has him arriving sometime in the afternoon. It is unclear where Sergio was during that gap in time. Police have said Sergio was cooperative, giving them access to his phone, Liz’s phone, their home, and their home security footage. 

No shell casings were found at the scene. Police recovered a single round of small- to medium-caliber ammunition, which they believed likely came from a .380 handgun.

From Tragedy to Tribute

Doctors did what they could, Liz fought with all she had, but she passed away in the early afternoon hours of Saturday, January 26th. Liz Barraza was only 29 years old. She was an organ donor and was able to save 4 lives. Liz also gave the gift of sight to someone with the donation of her corneas. She was a generous soul up to the very end of her short life. 

On Friday, February 1st, which would have been Liz and Sergio’s fifth wedding anniversary, a vigil was held at the Barraza home to mourn Liz’s loss and call for justice. Over 100 friends and family members were present, as well as members of the media. The vigil ended with a ceremonial raising of lightsabers and Harry Potter wands, followed by the release of luminary lanterns. A private celebration of life was held the day after. 

“I had to trade our fifth anniversary for her funeral.” - Sergio to KHOU, February 2019

A Bizarre Disguise

Police believed the murder was planned, and planned in advance. On a normal workday, Liz would’ve already left for work by the time she was ambushed. Police gathered video footage from neighbors and nearby businesses. The truck, believed to be driven by the killer, was seen driving by the Barraza home around 2:00am the day of the murder. Police have stated the truck is a dark-colored, 2013-2019 Nissan Frontier Pro 4X Crew Cab truck with a possible badge or tag number in the near quarter panel near the tailgate. That same morning, police pulled over a similar truck in the area, but the driver was cleared and released quickly. 

Video footage of Liz Barraza’s murder is available online. The video is from a neighbor’s security camera and is grainy and dark. It’s possible to make out the figures of Liz and the killer. However, it’s essentially impossible to hear what is being said, although many people have given their opinions and input. The killer was dressed in what appeared to be light-colored knee-high boots, a dress or tunic, and a long jacket or robe. Detectives estimate their height to be between 5’2” and 5’8”. A wig may have concealed their hair. The killer’s gender remains uncertain, but one thing was unmistakable—they were deliberately disguised. Much speculation has been made about the killer’s outfit, with some comparing it to outfits worn by Star Wars characters. It could also be a simple, relatively inexpensive disguise.

Motive, Money, and Misunderstandings

When asked by police who would have had a motive to hurt his wife, Sergio suggested a fellow member of the 501st Legion. Apparently Liz and this person had some sort of disagreement. This person’s name has never been released publicly, and police have cleared them of any involvement with the murder. Liz’s co-workers were also cleared. The only person absent that day was Liz. None of her co-workers drove a Frontier, and no one in the Star Garrison group had one either.

Liz had a life insurance policy through her job. In the event of her death, her beneficiaries would have received a payment of $250,000, doubling in the event of an accident or murder. A $500,000 life insurance payout aroused suspicion among investigators. It is unknown who Liz’s beneficiaries were, but it does make sense that it would be her husband. Liz’s father, Bob, said that he was the one who encouraged Liz to take advantage of all the benefits offered through her work. Sergio has yet to cash in the policy as of January 2025.

During the investigation, police learn that Sergio’s father, Oscar, had been dealing with marital and financial issues. Sergio’s mother had recently discovered that Oscar had engaged in multiple extramarital affairs, spending over $20,000 in the process. This had put a serious strain on both their personal and business ’finances. In fact, one of Sergio’s recent paychecks had bounced—an issue Oscar attributed to an accounting error. Oscar didn’t match the physical description of the suspect. He cooperated fully with the investigation, passing a polygraph test and providing access to his phone and financial records. Ultimately, investigators found no evidence of criminal activity. 

The Aftermath

After the murder, Sergio moved in with Bob and Rosemary for a time. The Princeton Place home was sold in August 2019. Sergio told reporters, “There’s a new family in it, and I want to see it be a place of love and kids and good memories for them, instead of what happened there.”¹⁰Wrigley, Deborah. Results of warrant could expose who killed woman setting up garage sale. ABC 13. 27 January 2020.

So, who had a motive to kill Liz? It seems no one. Over the years, public opinion has pointed to Sergio, the husband. “It hurts me. It’s sad,” said Sergio. When asked if he had anything to do with Liz’s murder, Sergio told KPRC reporter Corley Peel, “No, ma’am. I would never do anything like that. We had the best relationship. Why would I ruin that?” ¹¹Peel, Corley. FBI, Texas Rangers join investigation into Tomball woman killed while setting up for garage sale. Click2Houston. 8 December 2023.

“Everybody I ever talked to, the family, there has not been one person that said Liz had a bad bone in her body,” said Sgt. Jeff Thomas. ¹²Peel, Corley. FBI, Texas Rangers join investigation into Tomball woman killed while setting up for garage sale. Click2Houston. 8 December 2023.Police do believe that Liz was the target of the shooting, and it was not random. 

An Increased Reward

Sergio remarried a few years later. Both he and his wife have taken and passed polygraph tests. Sergio has continued to advocate for justice for Liz. Most recently, he spoke with Fox26 Houston, saying, “I’ve always kept Liz in my heart, and I always will. But I’ve kept going in my life. Trying to think of somebody who did this to her that might be close to me, that I might be friends with, that I might live with. I have no idea,” Sergio said. “I’ve not been okay with it, but just there’s nothing I can do about it. So I’ve just continued to show that I’m an open book to the police, that I’m here to do whatever I can to solve this.” ¹³DelasBour, Leslie. Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Barraza murder: Search for Tomball woman’s killer 6 years later. FOX 26 Houston. 28 January 2025.

In January 2022, Crimestoppers of Houston and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office announced a reward of $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Liz’s killer. The previous award of $20,000 was raised from donations from friends and family, members of the Star Garrison, and a donation from the Peter Mayhew Foundation, the actor who played Chewbacca in the Star Wars franchise. In December 2023, the Texas Rangers, the FBI, and the Texas Anti-Gang Unit joined Barraza’s case. 

“We need answers. Liz was a beautiful person with the kindest soul. I need justice for Liz. We all do.” - Sergio

Suspects and Warrants

Early in the investigation, police were able to obtain a geofence warrant. A geofence warrant allows law enforcement to obtain data from tech companies, which will allow them to see all devices active in a specific area during a set time frame. Unfortunately, this didn’t lead to any new information. Police are working on this investigation, which they say has never gone cold. Leads have been followed all the way to Miami and Mexico, but no arrests have been made.

Sergeant Richie of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office told local media in early 2025, “One thing I can say that we’re looking at is who else—who else would benefit? We all know we’ve investigated Sergio, the husband, and again, he’s been nothing but compliant. We have found nothing that would say he was involved.” Police have never named a suspect or person of interest in this case. Speaking directly to the killer, Detective Wyatt said, “I hope you can’t sleep at night and that you know we are never going to stop looking for Liz’s murderer; there is no time limit on this case.”

Liz Barraza: A Legacy of Love, Light, and Generosity

Elizabeth “Liz” Barraza was cremated. A bench was placed in Tomball’s Burroughs Park to honor her life and ongoing legacy. A tree was also planted in her name. An endowment in her memory has been set up at the Make-A-Wish Foundation by the late actor, Peter Mayhew.

Theories have run the gamut in this case. Police have always publicly maintained that they believe Liz was targeted and that she was the killer’s intended target. They do not believe this was a hitman who got the wrong person, a gang initiation, or a horrific act of random violence. Until this person is caught, the question lingers – why Liz?

“They may have succeeded in killing her, but she’s still a force to be reckoned with and continues to do good throughout this world.” Bob told reporters.

If you have any information regarding the murder of Liz Barraza, please contact the Houston Crime Stoppers. There is a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.