Elizabeth "Liz" Barraza was shot outside her Tomball, Texas home on the morning of January 25, 2019, while setting up a garage sale, and died the next day. The case remains unsolved as of the most recent reporting.
On the morning of January 25, 2019, Elizabeth Nuelle Barraza was shot at her home in Tomball, Texas, in the Houston metropolitan area. She died of her injuries the following day, January 26, after being transferred to a hospital. As of the most recent reporting, the case remains unsolved and has drawn international interest.
Barraza was born Elizabeth Nuelle to parents Bob and Rosemary Nuelle and had been married to her husband, Sergio, for nearly five years. On the day of the shooting, she had taken time off from her job as a data reporter for a pipeline inspection company to hold a garage sale on her driveway, which included items from her membership in the 501st Legion, such as a stormtrooper helmet. She visited a Starbucks at 6:08 a.m., and her husband left for work at 6:48 a.m. via Princeton Place Drive. Local surveillance footage showed a suspect approaching her at 6:52 a.m., apparently shooting her at point-blank range, standing over her momentarily, and then fleeing on foot. Poor-quality audio recorded by her Google Nest doorbell camera appeared to capture a conversation between Barraza and the suspect before the shooting.
Harris County Sheriff's deputies, Texas Rangers, and the FBI have investigated the case and reported finding no evidence implicating her husband. Nothing was reported stolen from the scene. Investigators identified a vehicle of interest resembling a dark-colored 2019 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X, possibly a Nissan Titan, which was recorded near the Barraza home around 2:00 a.m. and later in a nearby school parking lot at 6:48 a.m., shortly before the shooting. The vehicle was seen traveling south on Sandusky Drive between 6:57 and 6:58 a.m. after fleeing the scene. The suspect seen on video has not been officially identified but reportedly appeared to wear a loose robe with long hair worn down.
In the years following the shooting, a memorial bench was placed in nearby Burroughs Park in 2025. In May 2025, investigators confirmed that life insurance related to Barraza had not been paid out. A $50,000 reward has been offered through Crime Stoppers USA Houston for information leading to a resolution of the case. Barraza's father died in May 2026 and was posthumously honored in a service held at the memorial bench. Barraza had been an active member of Parents of Murdered Children and Crime Victims United.
The case has received media attention, including a 2022 segment on "On the Case with Paula Zahn" and coverage by NBC News and other outlets, as well as planned coverage on Unsolved Mysteries and podcast coverage including a three-part series by The Consult and episodes of Crime Junkie and True Crime Broads.
Elizabeth "Liz" Barraza was shot outside her Tomball, Texas home on the morning of January 25, 2019, while setting up a garage sale, and died the next day. The case remains unsolved as of the most recent reporting.
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