Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Patrick Frazee's rodeo 'friend' to testify against him in missing mom Kelsey Berreth case; Little girl lost in cold woods after running from children’s home; Texas wife gunned down while raising cash for anniversary trip

Episode Date: February 8, 2019

The Idaho nurse who met Patrick Frazee at a rodeo and then began a relationship with the accused killer pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence in the investigation into missing Colorado mom Kelsey Berreth. This episode starts with the prosecutor sharing details of the plea deal. Nancy Grace discusses the search for Serentiy Dennard, the 9-year-old girl who ran away from a South Dakota children's home and is now lost in a snowy forest. Her panel includes forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan, New York psychiatrist Dr. Judith Joseph, Atlanta criminal lawyer Darryl Cohen, and Crime Stories reporter John Lemley. Syndicated radio host David Mack joins the panel to dog into the murder of a Texas woman who was shot to death while standing in her drive-way preparing a garage sale to raise cash for a wedding anniversary trip. The attack was caught on surveillance camera video. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. something that matters. And what matters the most? Protecting your child. What do you love the most in the world? Your children. I do. And I will do anything to protect my twins. Go to crimestopshere.com. It is a five-part series with action information that you can use to change your life and protect your child's life. Payment starting at $6.99. Give that as a gift, not another onesie or a plastic toy. Give them something that matters. Find out how to protect your child out and about at the mall, at the store, at the grocery store, in the parking lot, at home. Find out about protection regarding babysitters and daycare, even online cyber security. Oh yes, my children are online and you better bet I'm doing everything within my power to protect them. Payment starting $6.99.

I would much rather have that than yet another plastic baby doll or, God forbid, a toy gun. Just what I don't want. Join the Justice Nation. Crimestopshere.com Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, but first this CrimeOnline.com news update. I'm Alan Duke. The Idaho nurse who met Patrick Frazee at a rodeo then began a relationship with the accused killer pleaded guilty Friday to tampering with evidence in the investigation into missing Colorado mom Kelsey Barrett. Frazee is facing a murder charge in Barrett's disappearance as police believe she's

dead, although her remains have not been yet located. Lee admitted to tampering with Barrett's cell phone after she disappeared from Woodland Park, Colorado Thanksgiving Day. That phone later pinged hundreds of miles away in Idaho near Lee's Twin Falls home. District Attorney Dan May spoke to reporters a short time ago, right after Lee appeared in a Colorado courtroom to enter a guilty plea, part of a deal with prosecutors in which she will apparently testify against Frazee. As you saw this morning, Crystal Lee pled guilty to a Class 6 felony tampering with physical evidence. It carries a penalty in the presumptive range of up to 18 months in prison and the aggravated range up to three years in prison. And that's by state law. By state law law it is not a mandatory sentencing type charge so

that actually the judge has a choice of anywhere from probation on up to that three years if the judge finds aggravation in this particular case. We have postponed sentencing until after any hearings or trials are done on any other related matters certainly that would include the Patrick Frazee charges at this time he is presumed innocent unless until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt we have agreed though by our agreement that she will not be sentenced until after all trials are completed you heard the judge say that could be six months from now that could be two years from now it's we really don't, she is to appear in the future periodically through reviews. The court has allowed her to do that by phone in those reviews until such time as we get

up towards sentencing on her particular case. She did read into the record a factual basis, which is also required by Colorado law. I do have a copy of that but I assume you've all got that on camera and I don't necessarily need to repeat that. The judge at put certain terms of the agreement on the record such as she is required to cooperate in all cases, she is required to testify, if called upon to testify in all cases. And in particular, obviously, he referenced the Patrick Frazee case that is currently set for February 19th for preliminary hearing at nine o'clock. She is not allowed to talk to the press, that is actually part of our agreement, that she is not allowed to do that.

So she will be making no comments at all to the press or it'll be a violation of that agreement. Any questions that people have beyond that? Why did why did Crystal? She indicated on the record that she actually I'll give the specific phrasing that she said. She said, I moved the victim's cell phone with the intent to impair the phone's availability in the investigation. I had no right or authority to move the victim's cell phone that occurred between

November 24th and November 25th, 2018 in Teller County. And that's as much as she said today. What she stated today, she read a statement, you probably saw her holding it in there. She said, I learned that Patrick Frazee had committed a homicide on approximately November 22nd 2018 in Teller County I knew that law enforcement would be investigating that crime I moved the victim's cell phone with the intent to impair the phone's availability in the investigation I had no right or authority to move the victim's cell phone that occurred between November 24th and November 25th, 2018 in Teller County.

That's the statement she gave on the record today. Dan, where's the phone right now? Again, there's been nothing put on the record of where the phone is today, and I'm not going to comment on that. Can she help you locate the body? Again, there's been nothing put on the record, and I'm not going to comment on that. Why did you agree to the plea? She's asking why did we agree to a plea. I don't know that I can comment on that at this time.

I think it's a fair question. I'm just being cautious ethically because I think you and certainly others in the public may, it's a very fair question, one that I think the public deserves an answer on. I just don't think today's the date to answer that. I think that's a question I would feel more comfortable answering here in just, what is it, 10 days, two weeks, something like that. Can you give us an update on the search for Kelsey Barrett's body? His question is can I give an update on the search for Kelsey's body? Again, that's not something I can comment on.

It may be something you could ask the police department about, Woodland Park Police Department, but I have a very strong feeling that they're going to say the same thing I am right now, which they can't comment on. It was a little hard to hear in court. Can you go over what we do know about the three of them again, just from what was talked about? Sure.

It was put on the record that the summary was she did plead guilty to a Class 6 felony, tampering with physical evidence, that she is required to cooperate. The judge asked, was she required to cooperate with the investigators and prosecution at any time and it was indicated she is. The judge asked is she required to testify in the future at any dates that she's asked to testify and it was indicated she is required to do that. The judge noted on the record that she's not allowed to talk to the press as part of her plea agreement. He did state that sentencing will be postponed until after any cases that are involved in this case, and that that could be anywhere from six months to two years. Keep up with the Kelsey Barrett murder investigation at Nancy Grace's Crime and Justice website, CrimeOnline.com. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Authorities in Rockerville are searching for a nine-year-old girl who went missing earlier today. Nine-year-old Serenity Dennard was last spotted leaving the Children's Home Society on South Rockerville Road around 11.20 this morning. Dennard is 4'7", 90 pounds, with blue eyes and shoulder-length dirty blonde hair. She was last seen wearing a long-sleeved gray shirt with flowers, blue jeans and snow boots. Temperatures are expected to drop below zero tonight. If anyone has any information regarding her whereabouts, please contact the Payneton County Sheriff's Office at 605-394-6115. Where is Serenity Dennard? The little girl has been the focus of a search.

She disappeared without a coat. The sheriff claims it's, quote, unlikely she has survived the freezing temperatures, but we are holding out hope. This little girl, just nine years old, runs away from a children's home where she was staying without a coat. I can only imagine why she ran away from the children's home. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. With me, Joseph Scott Morgan,gan forensics expert dr judith joseph new york psychiatrist daryl cohen renowned atlanta criminal defense attorney former prosecutor but right now to john lindley crimeonline.com investigative reporter john what happened nancy

sunday morning serenity dinard was playing in the gym inside the Black Hills Children's Home. Serenity and three other children were being supervised by two staff members when one of the other children darted off, ran away. And as one staffer was running after that child, Serenity also took off in another direction because the remaining staffer was still supervising two other children. They stayed put and called for help rather than follow Serenity. Other staff soon arrived, but Serenity was long gone. That's when the children's home administrators called police. We are on the hunt for a little girl just just nine years old, who flees a children's home. You know, I've just been thinking about it so much.

And we have been supporting the United Methodist Children's Home for so many years, as well as the Murphy Harps Home for disturbed children that need extra help and I'm just wondering about her circumstances and why she would have run away take a listen to our friends at ko ta TV a desperate search continues in Pennington County search and rescue teams continue looking for nine-year-old Serenity Denard who ran from the Black Hills Children's Home on Sunday now in case you're not familiar with the children's home it's on South Rockerville Road between Rockerville and Keystone in a fairly remote mostly wooded area. She was

last seen late Sunday morning at the home near Rockerville. The search and rescue teams took three dogs and used handheld thermal imaging devices to search for any evidence of the girl. The search went until 10 o'clock Sunday night and started back up this morning around 6. They say more than 65 people, four dogs, and a Civil Air Patrol plane were searching the Rockerville area today. Alexis Tavila explains how the weather affected the search and how Denard ran away from the home.

We just learned deputies are now looking for a couple who may have seen Denard last. The couple was cutting wood near Foster Gulch and South Rockerville Road. They spoke with Children's Home Society staff Sunday morning just before Dennard was reported missing to police. The couple is described to be in their late 20s or early 30s and driving a pickup truck. About 65 search and rescue members, some with dogs, are scanning the Rockerville area, but the cold weather is still affecting the search. Straight out to Joseph Scott Morgan, professor of forensics, Jacksonville State University, and author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon. Joe Scott, what can they do now to try to find her? They better pray because this environment that she is in is hostile, very hostile, lots of snow, very, very cold. They've got the dogs out, and I

understand they brought dogs in from Colorado as well as eastern South Dakota to help search for this child, but the problem is that with the snow and the melting and the refreezing and all this sort of thing is going to create a problem relative to their ability to sense where she might be. My biggest concern for her, Nancy, is when she ran away, how was she clothed? And even if she was clothed appropriately to a certain degree, that can only last for a very short period of time. Well, I've got a big problem. I have a big problem that John Limley has not told me about. Daryl Cohen, former prosecutor, current criminal defense lawyer. This is what I'm learning in the last hour. As we find out that the little girl runs away from the youth home,

but the staff at that rural Pennington County facility call 911 over an hour and a half after she goes missing. The timeline of the little nine-year-old girl's disappearance has been confirmed by one of the spokespeople with the Pennington County Sheriff's Office. And the executive director, Bill Colson, who runs it, confirmed it. They've been reviewing the events of Sunday, and they have confirmed the 911 call was placed at 1226. When Serenity left the staff site on Sunday, they claimed they did a thorough search. But if the story was as Limley told us, which is he's getting from them,

they wouldn't have made a whole search of the whole grounds and waited an hour and a half. An hour and a half before they call 911? Nancy, what troubles me is I don't know how large the property is for someone or some ones in this instance to search the property and say, I can't find her. Clearly, in my view, this should have happened much earlier where the 911 should have gone out. But I'm also troubled by the fact that I suspect this girl has run away before and they found her in certain areas. So they were probably covering themselves and also thinking we're going to find her. We found her running away before and other kids as well. Why do you think this girl has run away before? You

don't even have a leg to stand on, Daryl. Every time a child is in, for instance, the Methodist home or some other facility, you think they're runaways and they're problems? Because I disagree. Well, I don't necessarily think they've run away. She may have hidden before. You just said that. This is not unusual. I don't like what you told me me so i'm going to go hide and i'll be back later and maybe i go a little bit further away and extrapolate that someone picked her up and maybe it's even worse than we perhaps think it is but there's all sorts of explanations we may never know well this is what else I know. Investigators determined someone heading to the children's home around 11 a.m. did see her. She was near a cattle guard in front of the home and heading north on South Rockerville Road. And that's my question to Dr. Judith Joseph.

I guess I need a psychiatrist because when you see a child leaving a youth facility alone why wouldn't you do something that was at 11 a.m uh you know auntie i work with children's all the time and and actually running away is quite common even in for kids who are not at children's homes you You know, children at this age have this. Really? Because nobody in my family and nobody I have ever known in my personal life has ever run away, ever. Well, you know, so there are different degrees of running away. There's running away and hiding. There's running away and leaving the home. There's running away because you have a plan. And I think it's telling that the other child was running away too at the same time because around this age group kids developmentally wanted to hang out

in groups and do what their friends are doing and so they really just start asking the other kids you know what was her plan because this is around the time in development when you want to do what your friends are doing and it is quite possible they before you know sometimes kids in homes like this run away just to act out or because they're feeling frustrated or because they have poor coping skills or sometimes they're in search of their parents. Who knows? Or because they're being mistreated in a home. Or because they're mistreated. I mean, this is a nine-year-old little girl.

And back to that, the people that saw her leaving by the cattle guard I don't understand why they didn't report it the tip line is six zero five three nine four six one one five repeat six zero five three nine four six one one five that's the Pennington County Sheriff's Office the search continues for missing nine-year-old Serenity Dennard in Rockerville, who was last seen at the Children's Home Society. Let's head to our Alexis Davila live near the ongoing search efforts. So Alexis, do we have any new information about Serenity? Pennington County Sheriff's Office is thanking the public for being able to find the couple who was cutting wood. They believe they were

the last people to see Serenity Dennard. Now they know, the investigators have talked to them and found out a little bit more details to understand a little bit more the timeline of what happened. Serenity was last seen on Sunday morning at 1045, and they saw her when she ran out of the facility across Rockerville Road and up into the hills. Now they've even added more people to the search and rescue team today. Yesterday it was 65, today it's more than 100. Now over here, I'm actually right beside the Gaslight restaurant where they're taking a little break to have their lunch, get warmed up a little bit, and try to face the cold once again. I've talked to a few of the newbies who have come, some are coming from Box

Elder, telling me that they're not even really prepared for this cold. They said they had the wrong shoes, they didn't have enough layers. So this cold is really something putting them behind and it's still a big problem with this search. They've also talked about that today. They're focusing on about a one mile radius around in Rockerville area, still close to the Children's Home Society. They are checking all the neighbors are going through hay piles, they're going wood piles, asking people if they can look into that to see if maybe serenity might be hiding in there. They are also asking the sheriff's office. It's also asking people who hunt if they can check their game cameras.

Maybe there might be any type of footage there that could be helpful to the search. I just don't understand how this little girl got that far away. You're hearing our friend Kelly Schmidt and Alexis Davila at KOTA describing the search for little nine-year-old Serenity Dennard. But now a shadow hanging over the search because there's a lot of confusion surrounding the timeline of her disappearance. Listen to KEVN-TV. We are learning more about the timeline from when Serenity went missing to when the police were called and search and rescue efforts really ramped up.

The first hours had a lot of moving parts, and there were some conflicting early reports. Here's what we know today. At 10.45 a.m. Sunday, Serenity was in the gym at the Black Hills Children's Home with two staffers and three other kids. One kid caused a disturbance, and a staffer attended to that child. Serenity then ran out of the building. The other staffer stayed with the two other children.

At 11 a.m., Serenity is last seen walking near the home. At 1226 p.m., a 911 call goes out and Pennington County Sheriff's deputy arrives at 1246. By 116, several deputies are on scene and the decision is made to bring in search and rescue. We reached out repeatedly to the children's home today to ask about the hour and a half between when they say she disappeared and the call went out to 911. No one would speak to us, but they did offer this statement. Our hearts hold out hope for the safe return of a wonderful little girl. We are grateful for the efforts of the Pennington County Sheriff's Office and all those who continue to search for serenity in these difficult winter conditions. The staff, the Sheriff's Office, had this to say.

They got things going on there. They got protocols and stuff that they do, so I can't answer all that. But what I can tell you is we responded as quickly as we could once we got the information. Once they get the information, John Limley, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter, it sounds to me, and to me the description is very murky, that they actually see Serenity run out of the building,

but they sit there on their bohonkas and do nothing. Instead of going after her, they say, oh, well, I had to stay with the two in the building. That's crazy talk. They could have sent the two to their rooms. They could have brought in somebody else and gone after her. Sounds to me like they just didn't want to go out in the cold. According to the Pennington County Sheriff's Office, as they've been able to tighten this timeline a little bit, as we've said, Serenity was last seen leaving the facility by the staff around 1045. It appears it was just minutes later that that couple that was cutting wood near Foster Gulch and South Rockerville Road. They saw her running away. This is just shy of 11 o'clock. They were most likely the last people to have seen Serenity.

And after a public plea, a couple of days later, the couple get in touch with the police department and they were able to interview this couple. And that's when they were able to actually make more sense out of what is otherwise a confusing set of circumstances and timeline. Again to Dr. Judith Joseph, New York psychiatrist. It took them days before they told police what they had seen. I mean, if you can add two plus two and get four, you know, when you see a child running away from a youth facility by themselves in cold temperatures without a coat, that something is wrong and they did nothing. It's amazing the power of denial and just shock sometimes and I don't know what they were thinking or or what they exactly saw that you

know most people probably would have notified authorities more a lot sooner than that and again we don't know why this child or away I don't know her motivations and a lot of times kids of this age have this fancy that they're doing something that they're really not equipped to do. And it didn't sound like she planned this escape very well. It doesn't sound like she had an idea as to how to survive these type of temperatures. And so you wonder what was going through her mind and whether or not the other kids in

the home know what her motives were. Atlanta defense attorney, Darrell Cohen, did any of your children ever run away? That's a yes, no. My kids didn't. My younger brother did. Where did he run to? And he ran away going back. He was going back to where we lived prior to our new home.

And they found him hours later. To Joseph Scott Morgan, you have a young son. Has he ever tried to run away? No, he has not. Neither have mine, but I'm sure you remember when he was nine years old, as I do. It's not that long ago. Mine just turned 11. And, of course, she wouldn't be equipped to know how to survive out in the cold.

Judith was wondering, would she know how to survive in the cold? I can't barely get mine to put on a coat to walk to the car to go to school in the morning. So of course, a nine-year-old little girl does not know how to survive in the cold. No, she doesn't. And, Nancy, we have military people that actually live in this particular area of the country. There's a big Air Force base up there. and evasion training that goes on in this area, specifically because of the hostile environment that this little girl is in. My thought is she is ill-planned, she is ill-equipped.

Unless she got to shelter somewhere within proximity of this place or hopped in a car with somebody, they're not going to have to look very far to find her. And I don't, it's a very, very difficult situation they find themselves in right now. Well, we also know, and correct me if I'm wrong, John, because I may not have it correct, did they not put out an Amber Alert? They were very clear in coming back, they being the Pennington County Sheriff's Office, that an Amber Alert is only connected with a suspected abduction.

And in this case, they have no reason to believe there is an abduction. So is that your wife telling me no, they did not put out an Amber Alert? They did not. It's been five days since nine-year-old Serenity Denard went missing from the Black Hills Children's Home Society. Several agencies have been working to help find her. Pennington County Search and Rescue were out for three days in the search. The cold temperatures and steep and icy terrain made it difficult for crews and animals who are involved. The extreme cold temperatures that we've had in the last couple of weeks are hard on everybody. It's hard on people, but it's really hard on the animals. Their feet get cold, they get cold, and we have to be careful that we don't keep them out too long.

Specially trained dogs from Iowa and around the area, including Pennington Search and Rescue, head out this weekend to work on recovery efforts. If you have information regarding Serenity Denard, please call 605-394-6115. That's the Pennington County Sheriff's Office, 605-394-6115. Hi, Nancy Grace here. Have you ever Googled yourself, your neighbors, somebody at work, a crush? 57% of Americans admit to keeping an eye on their own online reputation. 46% admit to using the Internet to look up somebody from their past. But Google and Facebook, the tip of the iceberg when it comes to finding personal information.

There's an innovative new website called Truthfinder. It's now revealing the full scoop on millions of Americans. Truthfinder can search through hundreds of millions of public records in a matter of minutes. Truthfinder members can literally begin searching in seconds for sensitive data like criminal, traffic, arrest records. Before you bring someone new into your life and around the people you care for, your children, consider using Truthfinder. What you find may astound you. Go to truthfinder.com forward slash Nancy right away to start searching. Truthfinder.com forward slash Nancy truthfinder.com forward slash

Nancy find the truth. Crime stories with Nancy Grace. We never imagined a life without her. A father's crying. I need justice for Liz. A husband's plea. I love you, Liz. Friday, January 25th, it was just before 7 a.m. A coward drove up, approached my daughter, and forever changed our lives. Elizabeth Braza shot dead in her driveway. She was setting up for a garage sale. The deliberate killing caught on camera and still today, very little answers. It is possible that it could have been a male dressing up as a female. It could have been a male with longer hair. Investigators say it's not clear whether Liz's murder was targeted or random, but they reminded us today that Liz had no known enemies. This woman, from what I can see,

did not have a mean bone in her body. She spent her adult life spreading love and cheer to all of those around her. May the force be with Elizabeth and we find her justice. Surveillance cameras actually capture the moment a Texas woman is gunned down in her own driveway by a mystery shooter dressed in a robe while she, Elizabeth Barraza, is setting up a garage sale. Caught on video, but still the killer at large. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. There's no doubt in my mind after reviewing that video, this was intentional. There was no robbery. There was no sex attack. Nothing.

This is what happens. You see Barraza, who's, this just breaks my heart. She's setting up a yard sale to try to raise money because she and her husband were going on an anniversary trip. They were going to have a celebration and she was trying to raise extra money for her wedding anniversary trip. And you see her, she's just 29 years old, outside of her tumble home. A black pickup truck pulls up and parks across the street. And it's very unique looking, the cab of it. I'm very surprised they haven't identified the make and model of that yet.

The surveillance footage captures the killer. It looks like a woman dressed in a light-colored robe. She gets out of the truck and quickly walks with purpose directly to Lil, Elizabeth Barraza, walks straight there. Now, Barraza's setting up the yard sale, and she turns, and she appears to freeze at the sight of this person. And she takes a step back when the person approaches her, they exchange a few words and only eight seconds pass before who we think is a woman lifts her arm and shoots Elizabeth at point blank range. And she fires three times, point blank range, right at Elizabeth's face. Elizabeth falls to the ground. then, listen to this, the suspect steps over her body and fires one more time.

That is deliberate. Dave Mack with me now, syndicated talk show host. Dave Mack, what more do you know? Well, what we do know is that the pickup truck has been somewhat identified as a black four-door Nissan Frontier. As you mentioned, there are plenty of security cameras in this neighborhood, and they picked up this camera, the truck, at another residence, almost waiting for Barraza's husband to leave home for work. He left at 6.48 a.m. Four minutes later, at 6.52, the truck is now in front of the home, where the woman, a parent woman, gets out and walks directly to Elizabeth. I'm watching the video again right now. You're right. Tell me that again. Daryl Cohen, Judith Joseph, and Joe Scott Morgan, listen to this.

So after the shooter shoots her three times, she falls down in her yard, comes over, stands over her, shoots her again. She sprints back to the truck and speeds away. But that part you were telling me about just before the shooting do you mind repeating that dave mack there are security cameras in that neighborhood and this truck was seen at another almost kind of lurking at another residence waiting for elizabeth's husband to actually leave the residence he left at 6.m. Four minutes later, this truck appears on the CC cameras in front of the home where the driver gets out and apparently walks directly to Elizabeth. So we've

got a little track here of the truck. And again, it has been labeled a Nissan Frontier, which is not that common of a truck in this area. So there are thoughts that they can track this black four-door nissan pickup truck but again 6 48 a.m her husband leaves for work at 6 52 this truck is seen pulling up it was seen on other security cameras in the neighborhood and they're still looking for other residents to look through their video camera surveillance to see if it was picked up in other areas but it looked like she was the the driver or the shooter here was waiting for the husband to leave and had to know what time this husband normally leaves for work. Okay, to Daryl Cohen, defense attorney, a renowned defense attorney actually, former prosecutor in inner city Atlanta. Daryl, it's on video. There is no doubt in my mind this was intentional,

and for them to say that she doesn't have a single enemy she may not know she has an enemy. Nancy this is a target this is a statement this case will not bring her back but they'll solve it by looking at her background looking at her husband's background perhaps even her father's background was she having an affair was her husband having an affair are they going to teach her a lesson this last shot is what troubles me more than the ones that probably killed her that was the one it's a statement you're never going to get away with this and she may have been doing something and her husband may have been doing it but they made a statement to her husband and i think that's where we're going to find

who the shooter was, male or female. To Joseph Scott Morgan, forensics expert, professor of forensics at Jacksonville State University and author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon. Joe Scott, it's amazing to me they haven't been able to enhance the tag on the Ford, excuse me, the black Nissan Frontier to once they get a tag number, they know who the car belongs to unless it's stolen. I'm very surprised about that. And also, it seems to me, since this is so deliberate, we'd have a better idea of who a potential perp is, but what forensics are they looking for right now, Joe Scott? Well, I think it's all going to go back to the truck right now. I've been watching this video loop, I don't know, since last night, just trying to pick up on little nuances of this thing. It's laid out pretty clear what has

happened. She's in very close proximity. There's going to be a lot of gunshot residue potentially that's coming out of the end of that barrel, but that's not the important thing here. What the important thing is going back to this truck, if I'm not mistaken, this is Texas, they've got front plates on this truck. And so I don't know, I think that if they get this thing up to the FBI, if they get this video evidence up to the FBI, they may be able to digitally enhance this. And this is another thing, and this is why it's so very important relative to everybody else in this neighborhood. Everybody has, many people have these little cameras on their homes.

My thought is that they need to scour this neighborhood and look for other videography of this truck passing around. It's already been reported that this individual has been circling around, you know, kind of like a shark around this neighborhood. And if you watch the very first part of the video before this individual shoots her and walks up to her and shoots her, you can see the headlights appear off in the distance. headlights never went off nancy they enhance in the photo for a second the vehicle is sitting there i guess just running and then the individual sprints back to the truck this this truck has been seen in other areas in this neighborhood i think that they can pull the plate off of this thing

we stand here before you today because our beautiful daughter Liz was murdered. She was a simple, kind, and generous person, happily living an amazing life of service. She was blessed with an incredible marriage to an amazing man. She spent her adult life spreading love and cheer to all of those around her. Sergio Barraza and Liz were good people before they met, but they made each other better and together they were awe-inspiring. Through their involvement with the 501st Legion and similar groups, they converted a passion for Star Wars into countless smiles on the faces of

sick children and adults desperately in need of them. They had so much fun together and brought laughter to those who met them. Never one's asking for anything in return. On Friday, January 25th, our daughter Liz set up for a garage sale at her home in Tomball. She was just hoping to sell a few things to make a little extra spending money for their fifth anniversary trip that they planned to leave on Sunday. My wife Liz was an amazing person. She was a beautiful person with the kindness of souls. She had such a big heart. Tragically, someone stole that away from us on the morning of the 25th. I just left for work that morning, and I'm just so happy that the last words I got to say to my beautiful wife was, I love you.

And she said, I love you too. She's going to be dearly missed by so many people she affected in her life. We devoted, Liz devoted, and I devoted so much time to charity with the 501st Legion. She helped kids in hospitals. We volunteer for community events. So many. It's just so sad that my wife passed away in the same hospital that we did so many hours of volunteering at.

You are hearing Liz's husband speaking. That's Sergio Barraza who would come up to this woman, setting up a yard sale in her front yard, gun her down on purpose. To Dave Mack, syndicated talk show host. Dave, I agree

with you. I've been reviewing all of the video, including that extra clip you told me about. The person, I think it's actually a woman, stood there leaning against the black Ford Nissan Frontier until the husband leaves, gets in, and drives over. It's so intentional. Dave Mack, what more do we know about Liz Barraza's murder? The police are still trying to track down the vehicle, this Nissan Frontier. We know that they, at this point, believe it's probably a woman that did the shooting, or it was a man dressed as a woman. We can tell that they were waiting. I say they,

the shooter was waiting for the husband to leave he left the house at 6 48 that we also see in that video and you mentioned this she actually elizabeth takes a step back when the woman approaches her obviously there's something said in that eight seconds at the very beginning part that made her take pause and she stepped back almost in fear a gut reaction here and then after a brief brief discussion the woman picks up the gun three times right there and then walks over her body and delivers what she believes is probably a kill shot and then runs back to the vehicle and takes off all of it on video. Hey, Nancy, if I could interject one thing here, I agree with Dave. When I was watching this thing,

this poor lady, she has, there is a sudden awareness. You can kind of pick up on it of her, and it looks as though her left hand, her left hand, because she's facing the perp, it looks as though her left hand slightly raises and extends, and there's something that passes between them. I don't know what it is. I don't know what it is. I don't know if this is an awareness, if something was spoken or something, but this woman, the perpetrator,

I say woman, whoever it is, raises the weapon to face level. Now face level, that first shot appears to me, at least in the initial video is fired directly into her face or at her neck. And then it just, and the woman begins to stumble back and there's three shots or two shots that are fired immediately after that.

And then of course she steps in for, for, you know, the coup de grace where she stands over her and fires down and purposefully does this. She had specific intent when she showed up to end this woman's life. And there was an awareness that passed between these two. And going back to what Daryl said earlier, I'm really wondering if there is some kind of histrionics that's going on here, some kind of preexisting relationship, something. I just can't imagine someone walking up to a defenseless woman that is setting up for garage sale, which I've done before at that time of day, and just opening fire on her. And it's not like a random stranger passing by and somebody fires a shot out of the window. She specifically walked up with intent, raised that weapon,

and fired at her. And she had her full attention when she did it. You brought up an interesting point, and I'm going to go to our psychiatrist, Dr. Judith Joseph, joining us from New York. Dr. Joseph, the fact that it was so early in the morning, I mean, at 645 in the morning, true, I've already been up a couple of hours by then, but my mind is not on murder unless I'm preparing for our content. But I mean, your mind to be thinking of murder and planning and carrying out a murder plan at 6.30 in the morning, aren't most people thinking of getting a cup of hot tea or coffee and getting their children to school?

Except if you're a murderer and except if you've planned this and it does, there's a premeditated element to this. This person waited until her husband left and then approached her and then shot her in an execution style manner. So that tells me that there was a lot of rage and likely this person knew her. And we know that about one in four people who are killed in this way, women in particular, are killed most likely by an intimate partner or someone that they've known intimately in the past. So this tells me there's a bit of jealousy or rage and the timing of this right before

her anniversary trip should not be ignored. People need to be looking at past lovers. They need to be looking at perhaps past lovers of her husband and whether or not there was some jealousy. They need to be looking at whether or not she had any conflicts or fights in the weeks leading up to this trip and leading up to her murder. Tells me that this person hated her, wanted her dead, and had been planning this. You know, listening to your train of thought to me is fascinating, Dr. Joseph. I want to go to Daryl Cohen, Atlanta defense attorney. Daryl, I just had another thought.

When Dr. Judith, when Joe Scott was talking about the time of the shooting, you know, 648 in the morning or 652, and Dr. Judith was talking about the details, what about this detail? That the killer was wearing a house robe and it's 648 in the details. What about this detail? That the killer was wearing a house robe and it's 6.48 in the morning. Do you think they just said, you know what? I'm going to shoot her dead. They woke up, they put on their house robe and left the house. Could it have been that spur of the moment? I don't think it was that spur of the moment nancy i think if you find the who you'll find out the why or if you find the why you will find the who i think i'm smelling an affair and i'm smelling that either the victim was having an affair or the victim's husband hold on hold on a moment daryl cohen i can tell you this much a woman is not going to be out in the front yard at 6 30 in the morning

setting up a yard sale to make money to go on her fifth and wedding anniversary trip that's having an affair if she's having an affair she'll say hey let's just drive through mcdonald's i'm fine with it okay no uh-uh no, it's not her. I can tell you that much, Daryl Cohen. I can, I can nip that in the bud right now. I don't, I don't know anything at all about any other parties or about as Dr. Judith Joseph said, who were these two with before they got married five years ago. But I can tell you, having a yard sale, in my mind precludes, you've got a lover, Daryl Cohen. Doesn't preclude it to me.

There's something going on. This is personal. This is not a random. I was going to shoot her, and I was going to send a message either to her husband or to my husband or my lover. That's what this is all about. I agree. It's got to be about anger. I agree. I think it's about anger, pure anger. And you know, I noticed another thing to Joe Scott Morgan, the Harris County Sheriff's office still says they're investigating whether it was random or targeted. Well, I hope they're listening.

I can tell them right now it was targeted. You don't need to investigate that anymore. The Crime Stoppers of Houston, that entity offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest or charging of the person behind this horrible murder. If you have information, 910-343-3609. Repeat, 910-343-3609. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.