Mar 29/2026 Lindsay Buziak Murder – the compelling circumstantial evidence the Saanich Police have failed to acknowledge
CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE IS EVIDENCE OF FACTS THAT THE COURT CAN DRAW CONCLUSIONS FROM
It is not necessary that facts be proven by direct evidence. It may also be proved through circumstantial evidence or by a combination of direct and circumstantial evidence. Both are acceptable as a means of proof. Neither is entitled to any greater weight than the other. Lies, deception, and misleading police in an investigation could be identified as inferences that someone has knowledge of a crime. Or be involved in a crime.
Following the evidence is the best way to seek the truth. Sometimes inferences can be drawn from lack of evidence as well. Drilling down to the fine details is important.
LET’S FIRST TAKE A LOOK AT ALL THE CONNECTIONS IN THIS MURDER FOR HIRE MYSTERY
We have Lindsay’s boyfriend Jason Zailo & his mother Shirley, the manager of the Re/Max office where Lindsay worked. Shirley’s live-in boyfriend at the time of Lindsay’s murder was Paul Bergshoeff, Paul and Shirley just happened to be friends with Joe DeSousa & his wife Shelagh. Joe DeSousa of course is the owner builder of the home where Lindsay was murdered. Paul Bergshoeff owned the JJ’s Coffee House in Brentwood Bay and builder Joe Desousa was his partner. Shirley owned the commercial building which the coffee shop was located in.
Isn’t it odd that Joe DeSousa left the property just before 5:00, then came back again to lock up shortly after 5:00, just 20 minutes before Lindsay was to arrive. It’s hard to believe that he is not somehow involved in all this. Then shortly after the murder Joe said to someone, “the little bitch got what she deserved”. In 2012 Shirley’s boyfriend Paul returned to the Netherlands and before he left, he was telling people he was getting the out of town as he feared for his life. He left behind his ex-wife and two children who currently live in Sidney.
We have Cohen Oatman, the guy who Jason took with him that night to the DeSousa house. Oatman worked as a mortgage broker alongside Jason & Greg Martel, Greg, the guy who built a Ponzi scheme and is now on the run. We have the drug trafficker Ziggy Matheson, who Shirley rented a home to for many years. Ziggy was also good friends with Jason & Ryan Zailo. Then we have Chris Schwartz, another drug dealer friend Jason went to visit the night he was released from the police station.
Even though Jason & his mother lied to the Saanich Police Jason Zailo was cleared in 2009 and the rest of his family in 2010. Over the years they have continued to lie, and yet the police sit back and do nothing. Do the cops actually believe in their innocent or are they waiting for that once piece of evidence when they can take action and move in. For 18 years these players in the game have made a fool of the Saanich Police, and that sure as hell is not saying much for our justice system.
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 1/2008
Shirley Zailo tells police that at 7:15 pm that evening she arrived at Jason & Lindsay’s Songhees condo.
Shirley said that her and Lindsay went downtown for sushi then took a long walk. According to police documents Shirley claims that when she arrived at the condo, she overheard a 15-minute conversation between Lindsay and the buyer, with Lindsay providing the client with the address of the 1702 DeSousa home. Then the Saanich Police made it public that Lindsay was the one who had picked the DeSousa home to show and gave the buyer’s the address of the property even though they had nothing to go on except for Shirley’s word.
In other words, there is no evidence whatsoever to support that Shirley Zailo & Lindsay spent that Friday evening together. Shirley could provide no receipt from the restaurant, and as for talking a walk after dinner that’s about as crazy as it gets. Why did the Saanich Police consider Shirley a reliable witness when no one could back up her story? In fact, there is a credible witness that puts Lindsay in a different location at 7:15 that night. Interesting that the police never made that information public!
Imagine if that night never happened – it would also mean that Shirley made up the story of Lindsay being afraid of her ex-boyfriend Matt. But we already knew that didn’t we.
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 1/2008
JASON RETURNS FROM PLAYING HOCKEY AROUND MIDNIGHT
Lindsay was still awake and was showing outward concern about the upcoming showing on Saturday night. In an attempt to ease Lindsay’s worries Jason reminded Lindsay about a similar call she had received from a woman a month earlier and that the client’s $900k budget had been almost identical. According to Jason that call had yielded a sale. This story Jason gave the police was a lie. There was no mysterious out of town buyer that contacted Lindsay a month earlier looking to buy a home in price range of $900K. NO BUYER – NO SALE!
This statement Jason made is in the police notes. Does this mean that the Saanich Police believed Jason’s story? Wouldn’t they have wanted to see a contract of the purchase and sale for the home Jason was referring to? Wouldn’t the Saanich Police have wanted to speak to the buyer? If they had done so they would have realized Jason’s statement was not the truth!
FEBRUARY 2/2008
JASON & LINDSAY HAD LUNCH AT SAUCE ON WHARF STREET. THEY PAYED THE BILL AT 4:24 THEN LEFT TO GO THEIR SEPARATE WAYS.
Police documents reveal that Lindsay went home to change and Jason drove to SHC Autographx. Jason told the police that he needed to meet with one of the owners on a real estate deal. He had to pick up documents from them, then go to the DeSousa house where Lindsay would be. According to Jason Lindsay was involved in the transaction and her signature was needed. The story Jason gave the police was a lie. There was no real estate deal that Jason and Lindsay were working on that night, therefore Lindsay’s signature was not needed. In fact, Jason had no reason to go to SHC that night.
Could Jason’s visit to SHC have been a delay tactic, an excuse to ensure that he would not arrive at the DeSousa property at 5:30? Did the Saanich Police interview the owners of SHC? Did they ask to see the contract Jason claims he was involved in? Why did Sgt. Chris Horsley make a public statement saying that Jason Zailo went to the DeSousa property because he had papers for Lindsay to sign, then years later retract that statement and say that Jason was really going to the house because Lindsay had asked him to be there because she was worried about meeting the buyers alone.
FEBRUARY 2/2008
WHEN JASON ZAILO ARRIVED AT SHC HE PARKED HIS RANGE ROVER IN A SPOT SHERE IT WOULD BE IN FULL VIEW OF SECURITY CAMERAS
Can Jason explain why, when leaving SHC, he went directly to the passenger side of the vehicle, then slowly turned around and walked back to the driver’s side? When he did this, he looked up towards the camera, therefore the security cameras would have a picture of his face. Was Jason’s remote control not working that day? Did he need to open the door manually so his friend Cohen could get into the passenger seat? In the video it looks as if Jason is putting something into the back seat of the passenger side.
If that is what he was doing, did he have an explanation for why he couldn’t have put it into the back seat on the driver’s side of the vehicle? Did the Saanich Police ever question Jason as to why he went to the passenger’s side of the vehicle? As Jason was a frequent visitor to SHC did they ask him why he parked his vehicle out front, rather than the back of the building where he often parked his vehicle when visiting SHC Autographx?
FEBRUARY 2/2008
ACCORDING TO POLICE NOTES JASON HAD TRIED TO FIND THE DESOUSA ADDRESS USING HIS NAVIGATION SYSTEM BUT IT WASN’T WORKING.
That makes perfect sense because DeSousa Place was a new street and it takes Google maps 2 years to update new information. However, what I find most interesting is that in police notes Jason tells the cops that while having lunch at Sauce Lindsay showed him the MLS listings she was going to be showing the buyers. Did Jason not see that the directions to the DeSousa property were right there in the comments.
Jason had phoned Lindsay as he was leaving SHC to ask for directions to the house. Lindsay said, “I’ve got to go, the Mexicans are here”. (Jason’s own words on Dateline) A few minutes later Lindsay texted the directions to Jason from “inside” the house. At 5:38 pm Jason texted Lindsay back, I’m just a few minutes away. Why bother texting if you are just a couple of minutes away and why bother to rush if you are going to sit outside and do nothing when you get there. Nothing for 20 minutes!
We know that on route Jason made a call to his brother Ryan to ask for directions. What time did Jason make a phone call to his brother to ask for directions to the DeSousa property? The time should be after he ended his call with Lindsay and before he received Lindsay’s text giving him the directions to the house. Did the Saanich Police check the time stamp to confirm exactly what time Jason made the call to his brother Ryan? Did they compare the time stamp when Lindsay texted him the directions to the house? Most importantly, why did Jason call Ryan for directions? It was his mother who would know how to get there. After all she had been at Joe DeSousa’s home just 2 months earlier.
FEBRUARY 2/2008
IN POLICE STATEMENTS IT SAYS JASON RANG THE DOORBELL ABOUT 10 TIMES
When no one answered him and his friend Cohen ran around to the back of the house. Jason couldn’t reach the basement door as apparently there were no lights on at the back. The two returned to the front of the house then peered in the windows. When Jason looked through the frosted glass in the front door, he said he could see Lindsay’s shoes in the foyer. Then, when looking over the fence Cohen Oatman spotted a partly open door at the back of the house. Did Cohen not see the missing boards in the fence, for if he had, why not just enter the backyard through the opening in the fence. Instead, Jason lifts Cohen over the fence. Why in hell did Jason not jump the fence himself and be the 1st one into the house?
FEBRUARY 2/2008
ACCORDING TO A TRANSCRIBED SUMMARY OF THE 911 CALL THAT WAS MENTIONED IN THE POLICE NOTES
Zailo said he had seen two figures through the frosted glass in the front door window. At the time of the murder both Jason & his friend Cohen told the same story. Cohen’s account of the events has never changed but Jason’s has. How is it then, that years later Jason’s story changed? Now we hear that Jason actually saw the man and woman standing outside the front door- and that when they saw Jason turn into the cul-de-sac they turned around and went back inside. Who’s to say that wasn’t a signal of some sort to Jason.
Sgt. Chris Horsley told the press that when Jason arrived at the house at 5:15 and saw the man standing outside the front door, he assumed the showing was just starting and that was the reason he decided to wait in his vehicle until the showing was over. Why would Jason ever think that the showing was just starting. He had spoken to Lindsay at 5:30 and Lindsay was already greeting the clients. Did Jason really believe that Lindsay and the clients had been standing outside in the dark, in the cold of night for fifteen minutes? And did Jason not wonder where the woman was? Wouldn’t that have been the perfect time to get into the house and see just what was going on?
What did Jason’s buddy Cohen Oatman think about everything that went on that night? Was he that stupid that he didn’t pick up on the clues that were right in front of him. Did he not question why they had to sit outside for 20 minutes rather than go inside the house? Years later we would learn that Cohen either believed all Jason’s lies or Cohen himself was part of whatever was going on that night.
Why did Jason invite Cohen Oatman to join him for dinner that night. They weren’t playing hockey until 10:15 pm, so what were they going to be doing between 5:00 and 10:15? The time when Cohen was supposed to meet Jason at SHC and the time the hockey game started. After all, Jason had just finished a late lunch at Sauce at 4:00 so surely, he wasn’t planning on having dinner until much later. Seemingly Cohen was the sucker chosen to be Jason’s alibi, and he was the perfect choice because he wasn’t known to be too bright. Jason could have asked Greg Martel to accompany him, but let’s face it, Martel was too smart to be played like that.
Oatman was the perfect choice, and if anything went wrong in the planning that night Jason could have said to Cohen, keep your mouth shut or you’re a dead man. That’s of course if Cohen wasn’t involved in the plan to murder Lindsay too. Whoever was involved in the planning of Lindsay’s murder has made absolute fools of law enforcement. The longer this case remains unsolved just proves how inadequate they really are in their efforts to find justice for Lindsay.
Cohen Oatman was good friends with Greg Martel and that tells a lot about who Oatman really is. Cohen worked in Greg Martel’s mortgage office for a few years, then when Greg packed it up and moved to the US, Cohen went over and worked for Jason at his Modern Mortgage Group office. When Cohen was asked why he went to work with Jason, he claimed no one else would hire him because of all the publicity. Now that is such BS.
No mortgage broker office would have turned down a mortgage broker looking for a job. If you can sell mortgages, then you are in! So whatever reason Cohen chose to stick close to Jason Zailo it wasn’t because he couldn’t get hired anywhere else. Greg Martel was a liar, Jason Zailo was a liar and so was Cohen Oatman.
FEBRUARY 2/2008
THE POLICE DOCUMENTS SAY THAT JASON WILLINGLY GAVE UP LINDSAY’S LAPTOP WHEN ASKED
On Lindsay’s laptop investigators discovered missing chat messages. They noted that from January 24/2008 to February 3/2008 there were no messages from any of Buziak’s 700 friends on her Facebook wall. The documents say that the police found this odd, but they could not determine exactly when the messages had been deleted. The Saanich Police did not ask Jason for Lindsay’s laptop until 2 weeks after the murder, and that in itself makes no sense. So clearly, Jason had the laptop in his possession for two weeks before it was seized by the Saanich Police.
FEBRUARY 2/2008
POLICE DOCUMENTS SAY THAT JASON CHECK LINDSAY’S ARM FOR A PULSE AND THEN TRIED TO GIVE HER CPR
On the Dateline show which aired in 2010 Jason’s words were, “I touched her skin and I knew she had passed away.” Wait, did you touch or skin or did you check for a pulse, which is it? Does it make any sense that you would attempt CPR on someone you found lying in a pool of blood with their throat cut? Was there another logical explanation for Jason making sure he was covered in Lindsay’s blood? Was he trying to contaminate the crime scene, because he sure did a good job of it!
FEBRUARY 3/2008
SO, JASON, WHY DID YOU REFUSE TO GIVE SAANICH POLICE A SAMPLE OF YOUR DNA BEFORE YOU WERE RELEASED FROM THE POLICE STATION THE MORNING AFTER LINDSAY’S MURDER
Did your high-profile criminal lawyer Bradley Hickford advise you not to give a sample of your DNA? Did your mother advise you not to give a sample of your DNA? Or did you just make this most important decision all on your own? What were you thinking? You had already left your DNA all over the DeSousa house when you touched the front door handle, when you rang the front doorbell, when you touched the railing as you ran up the stairs, and of course when you touched Lindsay’s body as she lay on the floor covered in blood.
You obviously knew you were contaminating the crime scene, was this on purpose? Who are you protecting other than yourself? The Saanich Police sealed off your condo for 48 hours after the murder while they searched the place, didn’t they? Without a doubt the investigators would have left your condo with a sample of your DNA. A hair from your hairbrush maybe – a cup you left sitting in the sink, or even in the dishwasher for that matter. Were you concerned that your DNA might link you to another crime? Or that the police might be able to prove familiarity if they could put you in the DeSousa house prior to the night of the murder?
FEBRUARY 3/2008
IN THE LATE EVENING, THE DAY AFTER THE MURDER JASON CALLED HIS DRUG DEALER FRIEND CHRIS SCHWARTZ ASK IF HE COULD COME OVER & TALK.
Schwartz was a drug trafficker with a lengthy criminal record, and a man who had connections to the HA. When Jason arrived at Chris’s condo him & Chris went outside on the balcony where they could speak in private, away from the person who was inside the condo. Rather than stay home and mourn the loss of his girlfriend, Jason chose to make a visit to a guy who had charges for thefts, assaults and trafficking in narcotics. If his visit to Schwartz’s 4th floor 68 Songhees condo that evening had nothing to with Lindsay’s murder, then what the hell was he even doing there at that time of night?
Was he not concerned that the police would be watching his every move? Jason claims that Schwartz phoned and asked him to come over, saying he thought he might know who killed Lindsay. Chris Schwartz denies the allegation and says Jason called him and asked if he could come over. Neither of their stories ring true & once again we have two liars covering their tracks. Jason arrived at Chris’s place at 10:00 pm that night. The person who answered the door said Jason was cool calm & and displayed no emotion whatsoever.
Jason should have been a prime suspect at that time, and one would think the Saanich Police would have him under surveillance. But did they? Just who’s phone was Jason using when he made that call to Chris Schwartz? The police had confiscated Jason’s phone prior to him being released that morning. Jason’s mother claims that Jason put Lindsay’s friends’ numbers into her phone prior to his being released from the police station. Had Jason put Chris Schwartz’s name into Shirley’s phone at the same time?
In all likelihood, Jason would have known that his movements were being watched in the days following the murder. Could this visit to Chris Schwartz’s condo have been deliberate to give the appearance that he didn’t know anything and was seeking answers? Perhaps he wasn’t scared/rattled at all and isn’t it strange that he went to Chris to ask questions rather than to Ziggy. It certainly has established some distance between Jason and Ziggy. Or was Jason going straight to Chris’s place to check in. That of course would only have been if Chris was part of the overall plan to murder Lindsay.
The first 48 hours in any homicide investigation is critical and not allowing the prime suspect of their sight should have been a top priority. If the Saanich Police did not learn of Jason’s visit that night until years later, they most definitely could have missed evidence that could have played a key factor in the investigation.
FEBRUARY 3/2008
SHIRLEY ZAILO’S PHONE CALL TO LINDSAY’S FRIEND NIKKI THE MORNING AFTER THE MURDER.
Shirley claims that she accidentally called Lindsay’s friend Nikki, but she had meant to call Niki, her admin manager in the Re/Max office. But ask yourself, why would she be calling Niki at 4:00 am in the morning. Yes, it was the early morning hours that Nikki received that call. Shirley claims that Jason must have put Nikki’s number in her phone and that’s where the mix-up happened. However, their names were spelled differently, and Shirley should have known Niki’s number as the woman had worked at the Re/Max office for 15 years.
Why did Nikki say that Shirley spoke with an accent? Why did Shirley hang up on Nikki? Nikki had the good sense to trace the number back, and after numerous attempts Shirley answered the phone. Did the Saanich Police question the real motive for Shirley’s call? Did they check Shirley’s phone to see if it was just Nikki’s first name Jason had entered, or had he put in her last name too? Jason would have entered Lindsay’s friends name as Nikki; the admin manager’s name was spelled Niki.
The Saanich Police never once publicly came out and said that the call Shirley made to Lindsay really happened. Instead, they let the rumors spread that Nikki had imagined the call and that it never happened. BUT IT DID! The cops had the phone evidence and a statement from Nikki. Shame on the Saanich Police for not making it clear to the public that that call from Shirley Zailo really did happen. They continued to protect the Zailos at every turn, no matter how many lies they told.
In 2010 the Saanich Police cleared the entire Zailo family of having any involvement in Lindsay’s murder, and then for years after made a point of telling the public how co-operative the family has been. The family has never been fully cooperative and how dare the Saanich Police make such a statement when they know for a fact that Jason and his mother have told so many lies.
SEPTEMBER 17/2010 DATELINE NBC DREAMHOUSE MYSTERY GOES LIVE
The host Josh Markiewicz asked Jason Zailo, “what did you see when you arrived at the 1702 DeSousa murder house”? Jason replied, “I saw shadows through the frosted glass window in the front door”. Josh responds, “How many people did you see”? Jason hesitated then replied, “I saw two people”. No one ever questioned what Jason told Josh that day. But years later Jason’s story changed. He told the police that when he turned into the cul-de-sac, he saw a man and woman standing outside the front door, and when they saw him, they turned around and went back inside the house. (Chris Horsley/Crime Watch Daily Show)
Josh said to Jason, “there are people out there that say Lindsay was getting ready to pull the plug and move on. Is there any truth to that”? Jason responded, “there is none, there is no truth to that”. Jason’s mother Shirley told Josh that on the Friday night before the murder her and Lindsay had taken a walk and went out for dinner. She said that Lindsay told her that she was afraid of her ex-boyfriend Matt. Josh asked, “what did Lindsay tell you”? Shirley responded, “I can’t really remember, but she said she didn’t like the way Matt had treated her during their relationship”.
Lindsay shared with family and friends that she was definitely leaving Jason so what Jason told Josh was a lie. Lindsay’s friends and some of her family were shocked to hear Shirley Zailo say what she did, and everyone knew it was a lie. Lindsay was not afraid of Matt MacDuff, in fact, she loved him – she did not fear him. Is this a case of a mother trying to discredit an innocent young man in order to divert suspicion away from her own son?
Sabrina Unke, a longtime friend of Buziak, had also spoken out about the murder in an interview with Vancouver Island’s “A” Channel News. She and two other friends said that the realtor had been talking about breaking up with Zailo months before her death. In 2010, CHEK NEWS spoke with Lindsay’s friend Nikki. Her friend said that just before Christmas 2007, after a girl’s night out she and Lindsay returned to the condo Lindsay shared with Jason. Thinking Jason was asleep Lindsay shared with Nikki that she was planning on breaking up with Jason. 6 weeks later Lindsay was dead.
There is no plausible explanation for Jason’s actions the night of the murder or the days leading up to it. His actions demonstrate a total lack of concern for Lindsay’s safety at a time when she needed it the most.
THE SAANICH POLICE LIKELY KNOW THAT THE CROWN WILL NOT APPROVE CHARGES BASED ON CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE ALONE
That may be the reason why the Crown has never approved charges. It is a sad state of affairs if this is the case. The police need to arrest someone, because if just one suspect was arrested, other suspects just might come forward. As it stands now the conspirators and killers are feeling very comfortable in the knowledge that no one has been held accountable for this heinous crime. Yet the passage of time has not made it any easier on the family and friends who sit back waiting to see justice for Lindsay.
There was a paid informant/potential witness who was murdered in a targeted shooting back in the spring of 2021. This guy could have been a witness at trial, but someone made sure that would never happen. Never discount the possibility that there are other key witnesses out there who have information -and are just waiting for their chance to testify in a court of law. In all likelihood, with the way this case is going, there will other witnesses/suspects who will die before this case ever sees the inside of a courtroom. This is just so wrong on so many levels, and it is a real travesty of justice.
This is a high profile murder case yet no one is being held accountable. If the Crown insists on waiting until they have a guaranteed 100% win under their belt we can pretty much say good-bye to arrests, charges or convictions in this case. Crown Counsel claims they do not like to waste tax-payer dollars unless they are certain that they can secure a conviction in the courts. Perhaps the responsibility for so many unsolved murders in this province should lie with the Crown. In all but three provinces in this country the police have the authority to lay charges and make arrests. But not in British Columbia.
THE NOTION THAT ONE CANNOT BE CONVICTED ON CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE IS FALSE
Most criminal convictions are based on circumstantial evidence, although it must be adequate to meet established standards of proof. Circumstantial evidence is usually that which suggests a fact by implication or inference. Criminal courts in Canada do allow prosecutors to convict a defendant using just circumstantial evidence. In fact, this evidence is not considered to be inherently any less reliable than direct proof. It is equally admissible in court, and most criminals are convicted based on circumstantial evidence. This is because in many cases criminals do not tell anyone what they are about to do, so there is no one to testify to having direct knowledge of the crime that the accused may be involved in.
In fact, this proof is not considered to be inherently less reliable than direct proof. At one time inferences had to be taken from direct evidence of facts. Today it is now acceptable to pull inferences from circumstantial evidence, based on reasoning and inference drawing through probability. Types of circumstantial evidence includes physical, scientific, human behavior, and indirect witness testimony.
DIRECT EVIDENCE DIRECTLY LINKS A PERSON TO THE ACCUSED CRIMINAL ACTIVITY
Circumstantial evidence is not always as strong in proving guilt on its own it is often best served as corroborating evidence. Circumstantial evidence is evidence of facts that the court can draw conclusions from. There must be a lot of circumstantial evidence accumulated to have real weight.
- There must be more than once circumstance
- The facts from which the inferences ae derived are proven
- The combination of all the circumstances is such to produce a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt
Disclaimer:
All parties mentioned in this blog are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The opinions expressed are solely my own. This blog is created in the public interest with the sole aim of seeking justice for Lindsay Buziak and bringing the conspirators and her killer(s) to justice.
EMAIL ADDRESS: murderondesousa@gmail.com