TOMBALL, Texas — A new bench now sits in a quiet corner of the expansive Burroughs Park in Tomball where nature and suburban life intersect.
It honors Liz Barraza, whose life brutally ended six years ago this month.
“This was like her park,” her father, Bob Nuelle, said.
Barraza’s parents and other loved ones helped dedicate the bench during a ceremony on Thursday. It’s the first so-called “We Remember Memorial” planned for Harris County Precinct 3 parks.
“And we’re hoping that events like this today will bring in more tips because that’s how we solve this,” Nuelle said.
“I’m so thankful and excited for other families that get to have this for their loved ones who might not be getting this attention,” Barraza’s widower, Sergio Barraza, said.
He’s since remarried but still wears a pin dedicated to his murdered wife. Liz, an avid Star Wars and Harry Potter fan, was fatally shot four times while setting up for a garage sale on the morning of Jan. 25, 2019.
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The crime was eerily captured on surveillance video as was a black Nissan Frontier believed to belong to the killer who wore a disguise and stole nothing.
“We’re just so hopeful and praying that this year the police will be able to solve it,” Sergio Barraza said.
Investigators said Barraza’s family and friends have been fully cooperative from the beginning and that, while unsolved, it’s not a cold case since they continue to work on it.
“I just did some interviews with some people I didn’t speak to the first time,” Sgt. Michael Ritchie with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office homicide unit said. “We’re working on a grand jury subpoena to subpoena some records that I want to look at. So, still, different things are happening.”
A tree previously planted for Liz grows next to her new bench. Like it, her family hopes new leads will also blossom.
“All it takes is this message to hit the one person that can call the tip line and solve the case,” Nuelle said.
There is currently a $50,000 Crime Stoppers reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.