Family Of Slain Tomball Woman Offers $20K Reward For Killer

TOMBALL, TX — Elizabeth Barraza didn't have a mean bone in her body, but someone wanted her dead and police want to know who. On Wednesday, Crime Stoppers of Houston and the Harris County Sheriff's Office announced during a press conference that the $5,000 reward offered for information leading to her killer's capture has been increased to $20,000.

On Jan. 25, Barraza was setting up for a garage sale just before 7 a.m., in the 8600 block of Cedar Walk Drive.

Her father, Bob Nuelle shared that Elizabeth wanted to raise a little spending money for her fifth anniversary trip that she and her husband Sergio Barraza were taking that weekend.

Video surveillance showed a man or a woman, possibly in a dress or robe, come up to Barraza and for a few seconds spoke with her. The person then pulled out a handgun and fired three quick shots into Barraza's body.

Barraza fell to the ground, and the shooter stood over her and fired a final shot at her execution style, before fleeing in a dark colored 4-door Nissan Frontier pickup, police said.

Barraza was flown by LifeFlight to Memorial Hermann Hospital in what investigators described as very critical condition, but Elizabeth Barraza died from her injuries the next day.

"She was a simple, kind and generous person,"Nuelle said. "Someone within the sound of our voices can help us be sure that this murderer pays the price for their actions, and never takes another innocent life."

Elizabeth and Sergio Barraza were fans of Star Wars, and through fan club group known as the 501st Legion, entertained children and adults at area hospitals, and was referred to as a kind and giving person by her family.

"We never imagined a life without her. We still can't, and we never will," Nuelle said.

Her husband Sergio, who stood next to Nuelle, still appeared to be shaken by the news of his wife's brutal murder as he asked for the public's help in finding her killer.

Sergio recalled the moments before leaving for work, and the last works they spoke to one another that day.

"I'm just so happy that the last words I got say to my beautiful wife were, 'I love you.' Then she said, 'I love you, too,'" he said. "I don't understand how someone could do this to her. She didn't deserve to pass away like this. I had to trade our fifth anniversary for a funeral."

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said it is possible that someone in the neighborhood taking a morning stroll, or walking their dog may have seen the truck as it pulled into the neighborhood, or as they were leaving, and could provide information to investigators.

"Somebody out there knows something," Gonzalez said.

Anyone with any information is asked to call C rime Stoppers art 713-2232-TIPS (8477).

READ ALSO: Tomball Woman Dies A Day After She's Gunned Down Outside Home

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Image: Renee Schiavone, Patch

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