March 3/2025 Lindsay Buziak Murder Who conspired to murder Lindsay. The Mexican Cartel – or the home boys Ziggy Matheson Zailo crew?
February 2009
Police released a sketch of a Caucasian woman with short length blonde hair and a general description of a male suspect, Caucasian, six-feet tall with dark hair. They said the man might have been wearing a light medium colored jacket.
February 3/2010 Times Colonist
Saanich Police said the killers were planning the murder in late 2007, which was when a cellphone was purchased in Vancouver, exclusively for murdering Lindsay Buziak. The phone was activated in January 2008 and travelled from the Vancouver area to Greater Victoria sometime in the 24 hours leading up to Buziak’s murder. The phone was registered to a Paulo Rodriguez. In all, the Saanich Police had conducted 1471 interviews, 752 tips, and executed 130 search warrants. It was at that time that Lindsay’s family put up a $100,000 reward which would be good for 6 months.
The theory that the cartel came up with this masterful plan to get Lindsay to an empty house makes no sense at all.
They would have had absolutely no control over the situation on the ground. Lindsay could have shown up with a friend, or a few people for all they knew. How did they know her boyfriend wouldn’t join her? How would they know Lindsay wouldn’t insist on meeting them at an office or public place first?
How would they know Lindsay wouldn’t have another agent show up on her behalf? How would anyone know exactly what they would encounter at the house at that exact time, and after creating such a complex plot to get here there? The only logical conclusion is she was manipulated into doing the showing alone and the killers were in contact with the conspirators who could guarantee she was going to be alone?
FEB 2/2010 SAANICH POLICE PRESS CONFERENCE
Whether it shows a family reaction to the SPD’s misleading statements about the reward, or diligent follow-up by journalist De Rosa, is not made clear, still, an article appearing in the Times Colonist, (the day after other news stories emanating from the second “anniversary” press conference), reveals the truth. It quotes, once again, Lindsay’s uncle Art Reitmayer:
Family Offers $100K to solve Lindsay Buziak’s Murder – YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=saanich+police+2010+press+conference
October 2010 Dateline NBC Dreamhouse Mystery
The experts who appeared on the Dateline NBC show which aired October 2010 were Yolanda McClary, retired crime scene investigator, Dwayne Stanton retired homicide detective Washington DC, and Alan Jackson, former Las Angeles prosecutor. All the experts agreed, Lindsay Buziak’s murder had nothing to do with drugs. All agreed that Lindsay was targeted in a scheme well thought out and artfully designed. They believed Lindsay’s murder was very personal, someone very close to her, and perhaps someone in the same business.
It was only one week before the Dateline show aired that the Saanich Police announced they had exhausted all avenues and were looking for help. Then when the experts on Dateline tell millions of viewers that they believe the killers/conspirators were someone very close to Lindsay, someone she knew, and probably in the same business, the Saanich Police go out and make a public announcement clearing the entire Zailo family. So, they have exhausted all avenues, don’t know who the killers/conspirators are, but are now sure it wasn’t the Zailo’s. Why did they bother to go on the show if they had no intentions of taking the advice of the experts. Do you see the insanity in all this?
Here’s what makes no sense at all.
The police made a public statement saying that the murder was being planned in late 2007, and they also said that the phone was purchased 3-6 weeks prior to the murder. If that’s the case, then why for all these years have the Saanich Police been trying to convince the public that Lindsay’s murder was a result of the Calgary Drug Bust, and those guys thinking Lindsay was a snitch? The bust did not happen until January 16th, 2008, so why in the hell would these characters be planning to murder Lindsay in 2007? Does anybody see the connection here, because I sure don’t.
Maybe when the cops learned the crime phone had been registered in the name of Paulo Rodriguez, they decided there had to be a Mexican involved. Of course, why not, it’s got to be the Mexicans. Next thing we hear it’s not just one Mexican – it’s the entire Mexican cartel who are responsible for Lindsay’s murder. It’s important to remember too, that there were only two people arrested in that first bust in Calgary. Erickson Lopez Delalcazar and his friend Graham Scott Taylor. Neither were Mexican. The other 14 arrests weren’t made until months later.
It all makes sense though doesn’t it. Right after the murder Jason set the plan in motion to set up the Delalcazar’s. He tells the cops that Lindsay’s ex-boyfriend Matt was friends with the Delalcazars, that Lindsay’s good friend, the receptionist in the Re/Max office was dating Vid, one of the guys connected to the bust. And let’s not forget that Lindsay had been to Calgary to visit her dad for 3 days, December 14th to the 17th. The cops fell hook, line and sinker for what Jason told them, and they were tripping over themselves trying to get their Skechers laced up to run and chase that lead in Calgary. A dead lead that went nowhere!
Seemingly, the Saanich Police ate up Jason’s every word and decided it was the Delalcazars, a few Caucasians and one lone Mexican they needed to nail. Actually, it may have been 3 Mexicans, one Croatian, and an Englishman, who really knows.
So, for the next full year Saanich focused all their attention on a drug bust that will likely in the end have nothing to do with Lindsay’s murder. Did they get the Mexican? Well, one Mexican, Leopoldo Rojo Beltran, was arrested in December of that year, and yes, he had played his part in that Calgary drug operation. He was a small-time player though and did no time. Unfortunately, they had no evidence to arrest him for the murder of Lindsay Buziak, any more than they had enough evidence to arrest any of the others involved in that drug operation. Not long after, Leo Beltran was deported from this country and is now living in the US.
Just what were these cops doing during their undercover sting in Calgary to catch the Mexican guy? What about Alycia Faithful LeBrun, were they following her around too? Alycia was whooping it up at the Calgary Stampede with friends in July that year. Luckily, she wasn’t busted until after the Stampede ended. That Alycia was a real party girl, and she knew how to have fun. Pictures show her riding the wild bronco in the local pubs in Calgary. Unfortunately, her ride ended when she was busted in September 2008.
Poor Alycia got 4 years for her part in the Calgary Bust operation, all because she was the one who rented the stash house in Calgary and the one who’s fingerprints were found on the bricks of cocaine in the safe. I wonder if the cops were following her around at the Calgary Stampede, or perhaps they were busy chasing the Mexicans at the Klondike Days celebration up in Edmonton. Alycia did take a polygraph and pass though, clearing her from knowing anything about Lindsay Buziak’s murder.
What about the story the cops told the press?
That right after Lindsay’s murder, the guys involved in the bust were waking people up in their beds in the middle of the night trying to figure out who ratted them out. Well of course they were, they’d just lost 8 million dollars and knew that it would have to be paid back. Angry, sure they were. Wouldn’t we all be upset if someone took the 8 million dollars, we had worked so hard for. I wonder if Vid’s ex-partner Angele, the mother of his child was one of the women that was woken up in the middle of the night.
Vid had dumped her months earlier, so he would have reason to suspect her as being the rat. She wasn’t the rat though. In the summer of 2008, Vid beat that poor girl so badly that she had to spend a week in the hospital. Broke her nose that time too. Poor Vid though, for that beating he was sent to jail for a few weeks and was not able to attend his sister’s wedding in August. For all the drug dealings, assaults, and other crimes that guy committed, he has never done serious time. Just like the Delalcazars, he was always back on the streets within a few hours/days.
You got to wonder about that too eh. That crew never got more than a slap on the wrist, or a few months’ probation at best. It’s highly likely they had some cop or judge in their back pocket who was more than willing to trade their freedom for his weekly snort of cocaine. Well Vid’s dead now, so there are lots of things we will never know. As for his ex-Angele she’s living with a Hells Angel now and no doubt feeling safe/protected. She should be watching out for those stray bullets though.
If the police believed the killer was a Mexican guy, why did they tell the media that Lindsay met with two Caucasians? The witnesses described the killer couple as Caucasian, yet the cops are sticking to their story that Lindsay was murdered by a Mexican couple. As we all know, there are Mexicans who do look Caucasian, and there are Mexicans who have blonde hair. I do wonder about those witnesses though, because we’d always heard they only got a quick glimpse of the couple from behind.
So how can you tell if the couple was Caucasian if you didn’t get a good look at their face, the bare legs of the woman in the short dress/skirt maybe or just because she had blonde hair? Damn it, it gets so confusing doesn’t it. No damn wonder the Saanich detectives are so lost. After all, Paulo Rodriguez was the guy who bought the phone, so the killer had to be Mexican – didn’t he?
Remember what Jason said on the Dateline Show in 2010.
He saw shadows through the frosted glass in the front door as he turned into the cul-de-sac. If that were true, why did he give a statement to the police after the murder, saying he saw the man and women coming out the front door, then turn around and go back inside. Was there an independent witness that was able to describe what the woman was wearing, because as far as I can see, Jason has been the only one that gave the police a description of what the woman was wearing that night.
The one witness, a man driving by was only able to describe what the male suspect was wearing and did not get a good look at the woman. Interesting too, the man driving by told the police that the guy was wearing a long coat, contradictory to Jason’s description of the man wearing a classy two-tone brown jacket just below the waist. Seems like the cops took Jason’s description over the witnesses as that is the information the police put out to the public. You just have to wonder where these cops got their pinstripes.
Meanwhile back at home
Was Zachary Scott Matheson, the career drug dealer, ever questioned after Lindsay’s murder? Was his girlfriend, the stripper who worked at Monty’s showroom ever questioned? I mean, where were those two the night of Lindsay’s murder? We’ve never heard if Ziggy had a solid alibi for the evening, but then again why would the cops even think to question this guy. Just because he lived in Shirley Zailo’s rental property, was a known drug trafficker, had been charged in Kevin Black’s murder, and arrested 7 times in the previous few years doesn’t make him look suspicious – does it?
Not only that, but he was also busted in 2013 while living in Shirley Zailo’s rental property for trafficking in cocaine/heroin. He received a 6-year sentence for that offense but of course was out in 3 1/2. None of this makes him a bad guy though, after all he wore a suit when he appeared in court.
Zachary liked hobnobbing with this supposedly reputable real estate family, as in his mind it gave him some sort of status. He also seemed to enjoy all the vacations they included him in. I have to wonder about that 2007/2008 Whistler/New Years’ trip they all went all. If the police say the crime phone was purchased 3-6 weeks prior to the murder who’s to say that Ziggy didn’t stop in downtown Vancouver to buy the crime phone on the way back to Victoria? For sure, Ziggy could have passed for a Mexican and called himself Paulo Rodriguez. It is common knowledge that Shirley’s sister was/is a heroin addict, and I have to wonder just who supplied her with the heroin. Could her supplier have been the adopted smurf?
Did the cops think to question Jason’s drug dealer friend Chris Schwartz, who Jason went to visit the minute he was released from the police station? I guess there was no need to question Ziggy, after all Jason had already told them where they needed to look, and before they had time to think about Ziggy, they had probably booked their first-class airline ticket to Calgary and were in their limousine on their way to their airport.
Did the Saanich Police ever get a search warrant for Ziggy’s house?
If they had, they might have found the weapons that Ziggy used to hide inside the wall of his garage out back. Not just there, but also in the wall behind his couch in the living room. Easy access for the guy if someone came storming in. Ziggy’s girlfriend was a gem, apparently, she used to make pizza & serve beer for the boys when Jason & Ryan would come over to watch the hockey games with Zig. Some say that Ziggy did not own the house, that Shirley did, but would Ziggy have told his girlfriend or anyone else for that matter the truth about who really owned the house?
Yes, he just might have, but it certainly wouldn’t have been a smart move on his part. Ziggy had no respect for women, and certainly not this bimbo stripper/pole dancer one. She could have overheard a conversation too, that led her to believe that Shirley owned the home. That dumb ass girlfriend was lucky he didn’t kill her – Ziggy was well-known for killing off people who didn’t follow orders or girls who cheated on him or robbed him of product. The cops were never able to put Ziggy away for long, truth is they were afraid of the guy.
Then there was Ziggy’s adorable little brother Jimmy Lepine.
Just like his big brother Ziggy, he was committing crimes shortly after he arrived in Victoria from Toronto in the mid 90’s. Just little stuff you know, assaults, break & entering’s, mischief, home invasions, theft over $5,000. In 1999, Jimmy was charged with attempted murder after stabbing a guy multiple times. The guy survived and Jimmy was able plead guilty to the lesser charge of aggravated assault.
He received 7 months in the joint on that charge, then was back on the street committing more crimes the following week. Jimmy was a heroin addict who just couldn’t get clean, and let’s face it, it’s a little hard to do when you’ve got your big brother trafficking the cocaine & heroin you are using. If the Zailo’s were friends with Ziggy & his mother, and we know they were, you can be damn sure they were friends with little Jimmy too. Unfortunately, little Jimmy overdosed/died while living in a room house in Surrey in 2018.
It’s amazing that the Saanich cops never thought to sniff out the Ziggy Matheson angle before they headed off to Calgary. Some believe there was a cop involved who was doing everything possible to make sure the Zailo’s & Ziggy players were well protected. In other words, a cop who deliberately led the investigation in another direction. I really don’t believe that theory, but it’s out there and cannot be ignored. His initials are AS and we will be talking about him sometime in the very near future.
And let’s not forget about one of Shirley Zailo’s besties, Sgt. Tyra Reid from the Saanich Police Dept. On Facebook Tyra says to Shirley, “well u look dynamite my friend.” Nothing like having close friends inside the department if you want to keep up with what your friend knows about Lindsay Buziak’s unsolved murder.
January 31/2021 Saanich cops make a public statement into the investigation of Lindsay Buziak.
However, here we are 4 years later with no arrests, just nothing! Recently we’ve heard how wonderful this new team is and how hard they are working. Then why haven’t we seen results? Why haven’t they caught that Mexican or are they now looking at the possibility that maybe the Caucasians are the conspirators who hired the Mexican. Maybe they didn’t even hire a Mexican, maybe he/she was a Caucasian. Just what the hell are they doing inside that building?
I wonder if the cops ever tried phenotype testing if they have any DNA? There was a recent 20/20 show where they figured out who murdered a young girl after they tried everything else for 2 years. The composite sketches the lab came back with was a 100% match to the killer in every detail…looks, eye color, blood type, etc. It was amazing and it only cost them about $2500 US to do it.
Using deep data mining and advanced machine learning algorithms in a specialized bioinformatics pipeline, Parabon —
with funding support from the US Department of Defense (DoD) — developed the Snapshot Forensic DNA Phenotyping System, which accurately predicts genetic ancestry, eye color, hair color, skin color, freckling, and face shape in individuals from any ethnic background, even individuals with mixed ancestry. Each phenotype prediction is made with a measure of confidence, including those that can be excluded with high confidence.
CeCe Moore’s Genetic Genealogy model and Parabon’s proprietary Snapshot Forensic DNA Phenotyping System in close collaboration with Law Enforcement, has produced a record number of perpetrator identifications, convictions and exonerations without equal anywhere. Another lab in using the Phenotyping System is Othram Labs in Texas.
June 20, 2024
The rise of consumer genealogy websites—think Ancestry.ca or 23andMe.com—has created a surprising new industry: investigative genetic genealogy, or IGG.
That’s when databases of DNA samples from regular citizens are used alongside genetic evidence from cold-case files to solve seemingly unsolvable crimes from decades past. Leading the exciting new field is Toronto Police Service Detective Sergeant Steve Smith, who’s spent the last five years becoming a genetic genealogy expert, thanks to a $1.5-million grant from the provincial government in 2022.
Recently, Smith’s team used IGG to identify and arrest the suspect of two 1983 murders in Toronto. The Niagara Regional Police Service also used the tech to locate a suspect in the 1999 murder of a 26-year-old Torontonian. Here, Smith talks about how cold cases became his passion, new developments in the rapidly evolving field, how much it costs to solve a cold case and, of the 70 or so files he’s currently working on, the one he’d most like to solve. This Cop is Cracking Cold Cases With DNA – Macleans.ca
Investigation into the Murder of Lindsay Buziak 08-2682
The new investigative team is examining all possible suspects. Investigators continue following up on every tip and lead we receive. Investigators are reviewing and retesting evidence, including items from the crime scene as well as digital evidence. Technology not available at the time of the crime has allowed us to develop new investigative leads. As many of you have likely seen in the media lately, advancements in fields such as genealogy and DNA analysis has led to resolution in many other cases.
Investigators are out conducting interviews related to this case. We thank those people who have already been interviewed, as we anticipate speaking with you again and appreciate your patience. For those we have not engaged with previously, we know there is likely information that has not been shared.
We believe people familiar with circumstances surrounding this case remain in our community. It is sometimes the case that people who may have knowledge initially do not come forward due to their close relationship with those who may have been involved or out of concern for their reputation and standing in the community and among friends.
We recognize relationships change over time as do people and their perspectives. It is not too late to come forward. Further, there are times when people are unknowingly brought into a situation by the person or persons responsible. Rest assured we have the ability to filter out innocent people and those whose role in the events was inadvertent. Investigation into the Murder of Lindsay Buziak 08-2682 – Saanich Police Department
EMAIL ADDRESS: murderondesousa@gmail.com