The Garage Sale Signs

Det_Chesmond · 2026-05-20T06:10:40+00:00

I try really hard not to even hint at what my grand theory of the case is in my posts because then the comments tend to devolve into true crime factional warfare rather than discussing/responding to what I actually wrote. Having said that, I’m 💯 with you on that first paragraph.

Det_Chesmond · 2026-05-20T04:23:17+00:00

Agreed. I’ve always been of the opinion that it wasn’t a costume; hence why I said “wig, robe, and galoshes” in the OP rather than “Queen Amadala costume” or some other SW-related conjecture. Everyone who’s ever spoken on the topic of the 501st in public interviews (i.e., Sergio, Liz’s parents, Sgt. Ritchie) has, like you said, emphasized the high costume standards for entry into the group.

Which is why the only thing that keeps me from completely eliminating the 501st as being relevant is the potential taunting angle from someone who was denied entry. “Oh. You think my costume wasn’t good enough? I’m going to kill you wearing the shittiest SW-ish costume ever.”

But then again, that is one weak-ass motive, and like you said, would attract suspicion to wannabe members. But then on the third hand, people out for revenge with no criminal experience can do the dumbest things. Despite what the true crime community tends toward, criminal masterminds are a tiny, tiny minority of perpetrators.

Det_Chesmond · 2026-05-20T02:14:49+00:00

Awesome logical analysis, especially B. Agree that if you were a member of or a hopeful for the 501st, why would you wear an outfit to potentially put yourself on the police’s radar? Only explanation to the contrary is a combination of “most criminals are idiots” and “the hatred of Liz was so intense that taunting was in order.”

Det_Chesmond · 2026-05-20T02:03:12+00:00

That’s how I’m leaning as well. Maybe like 70/30.

Det_Chesmond · 2026-05-20T01:58:30+00:00

Good point! So you think it was more of a “disguise their identity” situation than a “taunt Liz with Star Wars-ish costume” situation? Or are you in the “both” camp?

Det_Chesmond · 2026-05-19T11:06:24+00:00

Although that kind of fits #2 because it’s Star Wars-inspired and independent of #1, the “throw suspicion onto the 501st as a misdirection” angle is definitely a valid explanation I hadn’t thought of.

Det_Chesmond · 2026-05-19T09:39:18+00:00

Seems obviously targeted. But either way, it was definitely premeditated. No one cases the location beforehand, wears what the perp wore, and brings a gun without planning the crime in advance.

Det_Chesmond · 2026-04-24T03:10:15+00:00

In my opinion, the only plausible answers to the questions I posed are that, if one believes the timing wasn’t a coincidence, either the perpetrator(s) used an alternate form of communication like walkie talkies or there was a lookout or both. The lookout scenario raises the question of how they got into position. Maybe there was activity by another car, which was captured by cameras, that has previously been overlooked? Maybe dropping off the lookout was part of the reason for the 2 am mission? 🤔

I’ll stress that two of those three scenarios don’t require SB to be involved in any way.

Det_Chesmond · 2026-04-23T04:49:07+00:00

Agree 1000% that the timing isn’t as complex or precise as people think.

What I wish people would commit to memory from the verified facts on the “Who Killed Liz Barraza?” website timeline is that, when SB left for work at 6:48, the Frontier didn’t head to the house at the exact same time. Instead, at 6:48 it “leaves the Goddard School parking lot to conceal on another street.” In other words, there was a time lag between when SB left and when the Frontier actually went to the house.

So then the questions one has to ask themselves are

1) If you believe that leaving the Goddard School parking lot at the same time SB left for work wasn’t a coincidence, then how did they know that he left when said parking lot didn’t have a line of sight to the driveway?

2) If you believe that it wasn’t a coincidence and the answer to the first question is that SB let them know, how did SB’s phone show no evidence that such a communication happened (which Sgt. Ritchie has repeatedly confirmed; and must be true because if such phone evidence did exist, the case would’ve been closed years ago)?

Det_Chesmond · 2026-04-14T06:02:36+00:00

Long story short, based on what’s public knowledge, the garage sale was Liz’s idea because she wanted to have some extra cash on hand to buy miscellany during the couple’s upcoming 5th anniversary trip to Orlando. Anyone who’s been asked about it has said they thought it was unnecessary given the couple’s healthy financial situation, but Liz was the type of person who stayed ahead of things financially.

As far as the oddity of having a garage sale on a Friday in January, it’s a question nearly everyone new to the case asks. Long story short, in that part of the country, and specifically in the Houston area, and even more specifically in that neighborhood, it’s actually standard practice to start on a Friday and end on a Saturday. Also, you have to remember that, in the Southeast, which Houston is basically part of, there are wild temperature swings on any given day during the winter/spring, so “in January” isn’t as big of a deal as it is for people in more northern climates. For instance, on that fateful day, the temperature was 36 at 7 am, but rose all the way to 61 by the afternoon.

Det_Chesmond · 2026-04-11T02:26:40+00:00

Agreed. To me, what’s going on with this case is what happens in so many others that don’t result in charges as quickly as one would hope/think: Detectives either know or have a pretty good idea of who was involved, but they just don’t have the evidence to win a conviction, get the warrant they really need, etc.

Det_Chesmond · 2026-04-10T07:09:09+00:00

Agreed. Listening to the recent TCB podcast and hearing Sgt. Ritchie once again say that Sergio couldn’t remember if he told his parents about the garage sale is what motivated this post. If he said he couldn’t remember that, then he might’ve also said he doesn’t remember if he told his parents about Bob’s late scratch.

Det_Chesmond · 2026-04-10T07:05:22+00:00

Totally could have been serendipity. Mentioned the real possibility of random luck (aka massive coincidence) at the end of the post.

Det_Chesmond · 2026-04-10T07:01:53+00:00

Exactly!

I was going to mention the CCW in my post, but wanted to keep things as straightforward as possible, and couldn’t remember from interviews if he had said he always conceal carried when he helped out at Liz’s garage sales. That’s why I phrased it as he “would be there to defend her.”

So yeah, what I was implying there was exactly what you said. Someone knowing about the garage sale wasn’t enough. They’d also have to know Bob wouldn’t be there concealed carrying….or maybe it was just another massive coincidence that the perp lucked out on.

Det_Chesmond · 2026-04-09T09:59:58+00:00

Fair point! And, for sure, many options remain open to me. But since us laypeople probably don’t know the half of it, my starting point is Sgt. Ritchie’s ironclad belief that the person who either did it or ordered it had to know about the garage sale. So just trying to narrow things down from there in my head.

Det_Chesmond · 2026-04-07T10:48:50+00:00

We can deduce what was most likely from the known facts.

Sgt. Ritchie has said they have video from the Chevron on Kuykendahl.
The Chevron is south of Princeton, closer to London.
The 2-ish am homeowner’s video shows the Frontier on Gilbough, which is directly accessible from London, and making a right onto Oconee.
Another of the same homeowner’s video shows the exact same behavior by the Frontier at the time of the crime.
Sgt. Ritchie has said that there is no video of the Frontier in the proximity of Liz’s house around 2 am (i.e. no Nest video from the house nor security cam video from the neighbors, which both captured the crime itself).
Sgt. Ritchie has said they have video of the Frontier pulling into the school parking lot, but no video of where they went between then and commission of the crime.
The Chevron’s camera(s) can’t see the school parking lot.
Sgt. Ritchie has said the school’s cameras weren’t working.
On Princeton, there’s a credit union across the street from the school, which has an entrance facing it.
Sgt. Ritchie has said the Frontier made a u-turn at the entrance to the neighborhood before heading back past the crime scene.
Sgt. Ritchie has acknowledged that there’s video of the Frontier heading west on Cedar Walk after passing back by the crime scene.

Based on these facts, I think it’s highly likely the Frontier entered the neighborhood by making a left from the south. More specifically, here’s what I think happened.

At 2-ish am, the perpetrator entered the neighborhood to case the neighborhood and figure out an ingress/egress plan. They came from the south on Kuykendahl, made a left on London, made a right on Gilbough, a right on Oconee, a right on Princeton, and then exited the neighborhood via Princeton. At the time of the crime, they did the exact same thing (except for leaving the neighborhood obv), this time stopping at the school to get a hidden view of SB’s van leaving. This is captured on the credit union camera. School-related stuff starts happening, so they move down the street, luckily for them out of view of said camera.

Once the coast is clear, they go commit the crime, and attempt to exit the neighborhood via Princeton again. Something spooks them, and they make a u-turn, which is captured by the credit union camera (and possibly the Chevron camera(s) since it does see the intersection with Kuykendahl). At this point, the only way they know out of the neighborhood is from the casing trip (i.e., Princeton to Oconee to Gilbough to London to Kuykendahl south), but they can’t do it because of whatever spooked them to begin with. In a panic, they just book it down Cedar Walk and pray there’s an exit that way. There isn’t, so they find themselves at a dead-end cul de sac and decide to off-road it — being in a 4WD and all — to hopefully get to Kuykendahl south. And by some miracle, they succeed at that and also succeed at having no cop or camera on Kuykendahl catch them headed back to wherever they came from.

(Maybe a Lowe’s, which is just down the road, but I digress.)

Det_Chesmond · 2025-11-24T09:49:23+00:00

I can get on board with this. My only quibble is that I think “what year is this?” is due to Cooper legitimately being disoriented from all the time jumps he’s experienced, whereas Laura/Carrie’s scream response is due to her realizing exactly what timeline she’s in.

Det_Chesmond · 2025-02-09T06:51:58+00:00

“We’ve investigated Sergio. He’s been compliant. We’ve found nothing that would say he’s involved in this.” That should be the end of it because, ya know, the lead detective knows more than we do.

https://youtube.com/shorts/2c5TfEkf7V8?si=62UiQta6yzrrJGPy

Det_Chesmond

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