The Capital News story written by Investigative Journalist Zander Sherman
UPDATE: MARCH 17/2021
On March 17, 2021, Justice Robert Punnett of the BC Supreme Court dismissed a motion by Capital Daily to grant its legal team access to unredacted court documents relating to the Saanich Police Department’s (SPD) investigation into the 2008 unsolved murder of realtor Lindsay Buziak.
(77) The substantive Application should be resolved and only then, if ordered, any Sealed Material released. The motion of the applicant is dismissed.
UPDATE:
Editor’s note: The final sentence of this story was updated on Dec. 3, 2020 to better reflect what can be concluded from the documents as they relate to the police investigation into the pre-paid phones.
Based on cell tower information, police appear to know the area where the phone was purchased, and where the person or people who used the phone are “mostly likely from.” Saanich Police determined the name of at least one person in possession of ‘fictitiously registered’ pre-paid phones allegedly used to ‘facilitate illegal activity in a covert manner,’ though nothing in the public record indicates whether police considered this person a suspect in Buziak’s murder, or ruled him out.
IN REGARDS TO THIS UPDATED DECEMBER 3RD STATEMENT BY THE CAPITAL DAILY EDITOR LET ME SAY THIS:
It would be easy for anyone trying to interpret redacted police files to misinterpret what was said by the police. It is most important to remember that what was documented in these police files years ago is old information and may, perhaps, appear incorrect compared to a more recent understanding of the case. Over time things change, new evidence is brought forward, and witness testimony changes. It would be easy to get caught up in an intersection and be confused by the flashing amber light. The report claims that the Saanich Police know the real identity of the person who bought the crime phone. And just maybe they do. But what if it was just someone from off the street that the killers paid to go into that convenience store and buy the phone – and who had nothing to do with the murder? If the media would have caught wind of this they would have run with it years ago. It would have made one hell of a story if it had been true.
The Saanich Police have always insistED there was only one crime phone.
In 2019, Capital Daily hired veteran journalist Zander Sherman to take a look at Vancouver Island’s most notorious unsolved case:
EXCLUSIVE: Unsealed police documents reveal previously unknown details about the death of Lindsay Buziak – Capital Daily
https://www.capitald…-2008-documents
COURT DOCUMENT STATEMENTS IN BLUE
CAPITAL NEWS ARTICLE: SHIRLEY ZAILO’S VISIT TO LINDSAY’S SONGHEES CONDO ON FRIDAY NIGHT
Police believe that Buziak provided the address of the now infamous Gordon Head house, 1702 De Sousa Pl., during an approximate 10 minute call. After hanging up, according to the documents, the caller may have used MapQuest for the purpose of “familiarizing themselves with the area” and “planning escape routes.”
At 7:15pm that evening, Shirley Zailo, the mother of Buziak’s boyfriend (and a colleague at Buziak’s Re/max Camosun office, showed up at the Vic West condo where her son and Buziak lived. The documents don’t say why Shirley was at the condo, but she apparently overheard a fifteen-minute conversation between Buziak and the caller. According to the documents, Buziak planned to meet the caller and her husband at the Gordon Head home at 5:30pm, just after the February sun had set. The couple would be flying in from Vancouver that afternoon.
Police files say Shirley showed up
at Jason & Lindsay’s Songhees condo at 7:15 pm on the Friday evening, but there is no explanation as to why she was there. Shirley Zailo’s story, told on Dateline, was that her and Lindsay took a long walk, then went for dinner and spent the evening together. Is it possible that her and Lindsay went for a walk and had dinner earlier? Not likely, because Lindsay spent the day with a close girlfriend and did not get home until shortly before 5:00 pm. Police files say that it was Lindsay who gave the clients the 1702 DeSousa address during a 10-minute conversation with them on the Friday evening. How would they know that? This information had to come from Shirley Zailo who just happened to be at Lindsay’s condo Friday evening and overheard Lindsay’s conversation with the client. That just seems too convenient.
Why would shirley and lindsay be going out for a walk after dark?
At 6:40 pm, just prior to Shirley’s 7:15 pm arrival, Lindsay made a call to a friend. Lindsay and her friend spent about 15 minutes chatting and not once did Lindsay mention to her friend that her and Shirley had been out for a walk, were going for a walk, going out for dinner, or even that Shirley might be dropping by.
The fact that Lindsay did not mention her meeting with Shirley to her friend seems very odd.
Shirley told Dateline that Lindsay was not nervous about the Saturday evening showing on DeSousa – Lindsay’s friends and co-workers say different. Shirley said on Dateline that on the Friday evening, Lindsay talked about how scared she was of her ex-boyfriend Matt. Lindsay’s friends and family say different.
Lindsay did not get the name of the client, the showing was after dark, on a new street, a quiet cul-de-sac with only one house built – with no one around? That is serious cause for concern. I question whether or not the police asked Shirley for a restaurant receipt to support her story? This would not be the first time that Shirley Zailo has been caught lying. And people that are known to lie can never be trusted. Especially not when it comes to a murder investigation.
ACCORDING TO THE DOCUMENTS Zailo tried to find the address using his vehicle’s navigation system, but it didn’t work, so he called Lindsay to ask for directions. The Buyers had apparently just arrived at the house and Buziak had to cut the conversation short: “Oh, I’ve got to go. They’re here.” Zailo then told her to text him the address. The text came soon after, and Zailo responded by letting Buziak know he was on his way. As has been previously reported, that last text was never opened.
IT MAKES SENSE THAT THE VEHICLE’S NAVIGATION SYSTEM would not pick up the address – because DeSousa Place was a new street, a subdivision developed a year earlier. Google maps only update ever few years.
Jason’S first call for directions to the house was to his brother, then Lindsay.
Just prior to Jason leaving SHC at 5:30 he was talking with Lindsay on the phone. Two employees standing outside SHC could hear Jason’s conversation as he was speaking loudly. According to Jason Lindsay said, “I’ve got to go the Mexicans are here”. Why didn’t Jason quickly ask Lindsay for directions before he hung up? Although it does not appear in the police files, Jason called Ryan shortly after 5:30 to ask him how to get to DeSousa Place. The called seemed odd to Ryan and to the people who he was with at the time. The real reason for Jason’s call is unknown and highly suspicious.
Why didn’t Jason call his mother for directions? As a seasoned realtor and manager of the Re/Max office she would know exactly how to get there. Not to mention her boyfriend Paul Bergshoeff was friends with the owner Joe DeSousa. The 1702 DeSousa Property had been listed on and off with different realtors over the previous year, but most of that time it was listed with realtors in Shirley’s own office.
A call to his mother would have made far more sense.
More importantly, Lindsay knew how to get to the house, so why is it that Jason didn’t think to ask Lindsay for directions when they were having lunch at Sauce just one hour earlier. If Lindsay was texting Jason directions from inside the house, this would have been a serious distraction while she was showing the home to the killer clients – and it certainly left her off guard if she was about to be attacked.
JASON’S RETURN TO THE CONDO ON FRIDAY NIGHT FEBRUARY 1ST 2008
Buziak was still awake around midnight when Zailo returned home from playing hockey. In another previously unreported detail, Zailo offered — as apparently he had done before — to do the showing for Buziak (he and Buziak had met at the same real estate tutoring course in 2006, and Zailo was and is a licensed broker). As well, Zailo reminded Buziak that she had received a similar call from a woman about a month earlier, and that the client’s $900,000 budget had been almost identical. But in that case, the mysterious call had ultimately yielded a sale. There’s no indication the two calls are connected, and Zailo appears to have brought it up only to reassure Buziak.
THE CAPITAL DAILY NEWS claims that Jason and Lindsay met while attending the same real estate tutoring course in 2006. Jason’s brother Ryan was attending real estate school about the same time as Lindsay & Jason.
It is interesting too that Jason reminded Lindsay that she had received a similar call from a woman about a month earlier – where the situation was very similar to the murder couple who called Lindsay and said that Lindsay had been referred to them. I’d like to know just what client Jason is talking about when he makes this statement because Lindsay did not have another out-of-town client that called a month earlier.
With probable certainty someone gave the conspirators the name of one of Lindsay’s past clients knowing that client would be out of town if Lindsay attempted to contact them. Interesting, because there just happened to be that one client who was out of town at that time, and who would be privy to that information other than Lindsay’s boyfriend Jason or his mother?
CAPITAL NEWS ARTICLE: LINDSAY’S TOSHIBA LAPTOP
The days leading up to the showing would also reveal an odd pattern in Buziak’s online activity. In their investigation, Saanich Police would closely examine Buziak’s Toshiba laptop, which Zailo voluntarily provided. Looking at Buziak’s digital life, the police noted that there were missing chat messages, though they were unable to determine when those files had been deleted. Facebook — still relatively new at the time — was another source of inquiry, and the Saanich Police noticed that from January 24, 2008 to February 3, 2008 — a span ranging from two weeks before Buziak’s death until one day after — “there were no messages from any of Buziak’s 700 friends …” (The messages being discussed appear to have been from Buziak’s “wall,” where friends could post messages seen by other friends). Given Buziak’s usual pattern of daily Facebook activity, investigators found this “very odd,” but it’s unclear what, if anything, they believe is responsible for the change.
Sgt Chris Horlsey said “Saanich investigators have scoured Buziak’s financial records and on-line social networking chats – even those that she deleted – and have found nothing to indicate any criminal or drug dealings that might lead to a motive in the slaying”.
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If you delete data from your computer, it does not really get deleted. Therefore the police would have been able to retrieve the information deleted. The police can retrieve files from any sort of storage device. The space that the deleted file took on your hard drive is just set available for other files. Those files are coming from somewhere and your computer will house records of what it’s been doing, what sites you’ve visited and what files you’ve downloaded and where they’ve been downloaded to. It is even possible to retrieve information from a USB if information has been deleted from there. Shirley is the most obvious person to want information deleted from Lindsay’s laptop. She is the one person who had something to hide. Remember, the main informant worked in the Re/Max Westshore office.
SGT CHRIS HORLSEY SAID “SAANICH INVESTIGATORS HAVE SCOURED BUZIAK’S FINANCIAL RECORDS AND ON-LINE SOCIAL NETWORKING CHATS – EVEN THOSE THAT SHE DELETED – AND HAVE FOUND NOTHING TO INDICATE ANY CRIMINAL OR DRUG DEALINGS THAT MIGHT LEAD TO A MOTIVE IN THE SLAYING”.
POLICE FORENSIC EXPERTS (or anyone really) can use software tools that brute force look for all the orphaned file segments.
There is an application on the Windows system that can recover erased files. There is also system restore that is a great tool for recovering something you may have accidentally deleted. Control panel – system restore, then choose the restore point – could be one week earlier, one month earlier but all your deleted files will return. The same goes for smartphones. Forensic experts can retrieve just about anything from any phone.
PREVIOUSLY DELETED CHAT MESSAGES WERE RETRIEVED BY THE SAANICH POLICE
If the Saanich Police did not retrieve the deleted chats, emails from Lindsay’s laptop that would mean they had not done their diligence. But that is not the case – the police did retrieve all the data that had been previously deleted by Lindsay or by whomever deleted those messages. The person who deleted the files from Lindsay’s laptop is probably not guilty of conspiring to murder Lindsay, but they most definitely had something to be concerned about. As for Facebook chat messages, anyone who knew Lindsay’s password could have removed those “chats”. And they could have done it from their own home. However, only someone in possession of Lindsay’s laptop had the ability to remove the stored information on her laptop, and that person would have to be someone very close to her.
CAPITAL NEWS ARTICLE – CRIME PHONES
According to the documents, the Saanich Police then immediately looked into the phone used to contact Buziak. It was pre-paid and had not been used to contact anyone but Buziak. The name used to register the phone was “Paulo Rodriquez,” which the Saanich Police determined to be a fake name.
Based on cell tower information, police appear to know the area where the phone was purchased, and where the person or persons who used the phone are “mostly likely from.” They also determined there were burner phones that had been used when carrying out the plan to murder Lindsay. Eventually, the Saanich Police would learn the identity of one or more of the persons who were using burner phones in carrying out the plan to murder Lindsay that Saturday evening on February 2/2008 — for now — that information remains blacked out in court documents
It would be easy for anyone reading redacted police files to misinterpret/misconstrue what was said by the police. It is most important to remember – that what was documented in these police files years ago is OLD information and may, perhaps, even appear incorrect compared to a more recent understanding of the case. Over time, things change, new evidence is brought forward, and witness testimony changes. It would be easy to get caught up in an intersection and be confused by the flashing amber light.
THE SAANICH POLICE CLAIM THERE WAS ONLY ONE CRIME PHONE.
The Saanich Police were never able to identify the owner of the crime phone. However, they may have learned the identify of other persons using burner phones who where also involved in Lindsay’s murder. Whoever was responsible for purchasing the crime phone may have been a stranger on the street who was paid to go into the 7/11 convenience store and purchase this pay as you go phone.
CAPITAL NEWS ARTICLE – LUNCH AT SAUCE
At Sauce, a now-closed restaurant in Downtown Victoria (the site is now occupied by J.R. Slims), Buziak is said to have eaten quickly, wanting to change before the showing.
This means that unless Lindsay changed her mind at the last minute she did not go straight to the Desousa house from Sauce. She went back to her condo at 68 Songhees to change, then continued on to the 5:30 pm showing. Or did she? That source of information came from Jason Zailo, and there is no one else to back it up.
REMEMBER WHAT DETECTIVE ROB MCCOLL SAID ON THE DATELINE SHOW WHICH AIRED IN NOVEMBER 2010.
“This is a criminal conspiracy of some significance and could involve a large amount of money, large amount of drugs. It could be that considerable wrong was done to whoever the financier was. One of the two people at the home could be the mastermind, and the money man”.
It makes sense that Det. Rob McColl and Det. Chris Horsley went on the Dateline Show because they knew that Leopoldo Rojo Beltran was going to be deported from the country and they had no grounds to keep him in Canada. On Dateline NBC they could appeal to a wider audience in the hopes that someone would come forward with new information.
There is a strong possibility THAT THE SAANICH POLICE SUSPECTED that leo rojo beltran was the owner of the crime phone.
However, they would have no way of knowing for certain. And do not forget that Leopoldo was deported from this country for the 3rd time in 2010. If he was a suspect in Lindsay’s murder the police would have had nothing to hold him on. And there lies a major problem. On December 3rd, 2008 Leopoldo Rojo Beltran had been one of several individuals arrested at Calgary as part of a sweep of arrests, the result of an approximate 1-year long CPS drug investigation named “HIGH NOON”. Leo was charged with possession of proceeds of crime. On June 9th the Crown entered a stay of proceedings in relation to the Criminal code charge. The CBSA was aware as early as April 20th/2008 that Rojo Beltran was in Canada and had information of his location.
[22] I am not persuaded by these arguments. The delay in prosecuting was explained in the Agreed Statement of Facts as the offender was a target in another ongoing investigation.
https://www.treaty-accord.gc.ca/text-texte.aspx?id=101323
Leopoldo Rojo Beltran had ties to the Mexican Cartel. He was married to Medardo & Miguel Franco Rivas’s sister and lived in Calgary at the time of Lindsay’s murder. Medardo and Miguel are good friends with the Delalcazar brothers in Victoria. but was no longer living in this country, it might explain why the police have not identified him as the owner of the phones. Not to mention they probably do not have the evidence needed to arrest him. No doubt there are serious jurisdictional issues when it comes to extradition.
Extradition shall also be granted for attempts to commit, or conspiracy to commit or being a party to any of the offenses listed in the annexed Schedule.
Remember too, Leo Rojo Beltran is NOT a US citizen. He is a Mexican National.
The crime phone was purchased at a Seven-Eleven convenience store on Davie Street in Vancouver’s West End in late November 2007 – and activated in that same vicinity approximately 48 hours prior to Lindsay’s murder. As the phone was purchased and activated in that same area, the buyer would be someone who either lived in the West End or frequented that area while doing their drug transactions. It is not surprising that they waited 2 months before using the phone. Drug dealers or someone planning to commit a murder would hold onto the phone for some time to ensure that the surveillance camera video where they made the purchase had been written over.
According to the Capital News Daily in the police files it says “the owner” of the crime phones travelled to the Island via BC Ferries. This easily could have been misinterpreted by the person interpreting the redacted police files. If Leo Rojo Beltran is the killer then it makes sense to think that he was the one who was in possession of the crime phone and most likely activated it. However, he may not have been the one who went into Seven Eleven and made the actual purchase. What the police believe and what is real is hard to know. They certainly have never made any of this information public and maybe that’s for a damn good reason.
ON FEBRUARY 2/2008 Detective Chris Horsley said:
“If we had the grounds to go forward to seek approval from Crown counsel, we certainly would have done so at this time”.
Chris Horsley’s statement is a clear indication, that in 2018, the police did not have a strong enough case to recommend charges to Crown Counsel. Without a doubt, the police know who conspired to murder Lindsay Buziak and they know who the couple is that entered the home.
BUT KNOWING IT AND PROVING IT ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
On Dateline NBC Dream House Mystery – which aired November 2010, Detective Rob McColl said, “This is a criminal conspiracy of some significance and could involve a large amount of money, large amount of drugs. It could be that considerable wrong was done to whoever the financier was. One of the two people at the home could be the mastermind, and the money man”.
McColl’s last sentence clearly suggests that the police know Leopoldo Rojo Beltran was the mastermind, the money man, and the killer that entered the DeSousa home that night,.
THE CONE OF SILENCE
The people who are involved in the conspiracy to murder Lindsay are not talking, for fear of retribution from Rojo Beltran – Edgar Ovidio Acevedo (Vid), Medardo, Miguel, and the Delalcazars. Remember, the conspirators lied to Leopoldo Beltran about Lindsay being the rat, and just maybe Leo is out for blood right now. Let’s not put the blame solely on the police. The weight of responsibility lies on the cowards who played their role in conspiring to murder Lindsay.
The Saanich Police do not have the power to lay charges, t
hey must have Crown approval. Saanich Police are just one small body who are involved in this murder investigation. The Victoria Police Department, RCMP and Home Land Security have also been involved. Then we have the Calgary Police Dept. who were heavily involved in the High Noon Drug Operation. So many bodies of law played their part.
There are a few blogs that accuse the Saanich Police of being corrupt. The police are not corrupt – they are handcuffed by a Canadian Judicial System that puts the rights of criminals before the rights of the victims. The police have limited powers. We are dealing with Federal Laws, Immigration Laws, and Judicial Prudence. It is a complicated mess and to blame the Saanich Police for everything is WRONG.
The crime phones were purchased at a convenience store on Davie Street in Vancouver’s West End in late November 2007 – and activated in that same vicinity approximately 48 hours before Lindsay’s murder. As the phones were purchased and activated in that same area, the buyer would be someone who either lived in the West End or frequented that area while doing their drug transactions.
If it turns out that the phone was not purchased by Leo Rojo Beltran, I suspect Edgar Acevedo (Vid) would be the guy. However, if that were the case, you would think that Vid would have been arrested and charged by now. Everything points to Leo Rojo Beltran being responsible for the purchase of the phone. Unfortunately he was deported from this country in 2010. He was under investigation in this case but there was no grounds to hold him at that time.
CAPITAL NEWS ARTICLE – CONTAMINATED CRIME SCENE
When the Saanich Police arrived, the documents show they took Zailo to the police station for an interview, checked the house to see if anyone was still inside, and began searching the area with a canine unit. The police dog deployed apparently searched along the property’s eastern and western perimeter, but not along the south, which was considered “contaminated” by the movements of police officers and first-responders (who presumably threw the dog off the scent).
Inside the house, police searched for a “knife or other sharp object,” hair and fibre evidence, DNA, and “blood splatter” evidence. They don’t appear to have found a weapon, but what they were able to determine from the other evidence — including the bloody footprints — is not apparent. The property owner, who had been in the home just prior to the showing, appears to have provided fingerprint and footprint samples so they could be eliminated from suspicion.
A first responder to the crime scene that night
contacted Lindsay’s father and told him the crime scene had been contaminated. That statement she made only fueled the attacks already being made against the Saanich Police. Any crime scene is going to be contaminated the minute police arrive on scene. The police did not know that Lindsay Buziak was dead until they entered the home and found her lying on the floor in the master bedroom. The police enter to investigate, the first responders enter to treat the injured party.
Jason Zailo and his friend Cohen had already contaminated the outside South side of the property before the cops and first responders ever arrived. Then they contaminated the inside of the home as they ran through rooms and up the stairs to the master bedroom. Remember, when Jason’s mother Shirley arrived at the crime scene about 30 – 40 minutes after Jason’s call to her, the yellow tape was already up and the area secured. Apparently, this was not fast enough for the first responder (driver) who sat in her vehicle while her partner went into the home.
Not only did this first responder accuse the police of not securing the crime scene, she attacked one of the lead investigators on the case. Always question someone’s motives. In this case, the first responder had an ax to grind with the Saanich Police – and she used it.
CAPITAL NEWS ARTICLE: ZAILO REASSURES LINDSAY ABOUT THE SHOWING
Buziak was still awake around midnight when Zailo returned home from playing hockey. In another previously unreported detail, Zailo offered — as apparently he had done before — to do the showing for Buziak (he and Buziak had met at the same real estate tutoring course in 2006, and Zailo was and is a licensed broker). As well, Zailo reminded Buziak that she had received a similar call from a woman about a month earlier, and that the client’s $900,000 budget had been almost identical. But in that case, the mysterious call had ultimately yielded a sale. There’s no indication the two calls are connected, and Zailo appears to have brought it up only to reassure Buziak.
There was a strong motive for Shirley’s visit to Lindsay’s condo on the Friday evening. She was there to keep Lindsay calm, and assure her there was no reason for concern. Lindsay had only 24 hours to live – and though Shirley may not have known how Lindsay would die, she knew that something bad was going to happen.
CAPITAL NEWS ARTICLE: BUZIAK RETURNS TO THE CONDO
Around 4:30pm, Buziak likely returned to her and Zailo’s condo. While she was getting ready for the showing, Zailo went to SHC Autographx, an auto shop five minutes from Sauce. The owners had apparently hired Buziak to help sell a property, and Zailo seems to have gone there to present an offer. While at SHC, Buziak called Zailo to tell him she was on her way to Gordon Head.
The documents also say Zailo then offered to meet her there, ostensibly to deliver the paperwork from the SHC couple — which may have required Buziak’s signature — but also to make sure she was okay. The documents say that Buziak agreed to let Zailo follow her, but still wanted to do the showing herself. As Zailo later told police, Buziak had a “very strong personality and liked to do things herself.”
JASON’S VISIT TO SHC AUTOGRAPHX
It is interesting to read the court document information about why Jason was at SHC that evening. The owners of SHC had not hired Lindsay Buziak to list any of their properties. From what I understand, Jason was at SHC that evening to list Nada Azouri’s condo at 2747 Quadra Street which she owned with her brother Claude Azouri. Nada was Joe Semren’s girlfriend.
The owners Joe and John Semren were Jason’s clients. Jason had sold Joe Semren a home on Lotus Street in Victoria in October 2007. He then sold Joe Semren’s condo at 2710 Grosvenor Road in January 2008. That sale was firm prior to Lindsay’s murder. John Semren made a land purchase on Rebecca Road in Shawnigan Lake and that was a private sale that Jason was not involved in.
The fact is, Jason Zailo was at SHC to list Nada & Claude Azouri’s condo. The listing date on the contract was February 4th 2008. Jason had no reason to be taking any contract to DeSousa for Lindsay to sign that evening. Even if Lindsay was to be included on the listing (which she wasn’t) she would not have needed to sign anything that night. Jason had promised Lindsay he would be at the house at 5:30 because he knew she was worried about meeting the mystery couple. He was 15 minutes late and Lindsay was dead.
CAPITAL NEWS ARTICLE:
On February 2, the day of the showing, Buziak stopped by Remax’s Chatterton Way office, where she worked. According to a receptionist whose identity is still redacted, the visit occurred between 3pm and 4pm, when we know Buziak was having lunch with Zailo. Regardless of the correct time, the receptionist said Buziak was feeling “really weird” and “freaked out” about the showing. Buziak appears to have provided the receptionist and another coworker with the phone number for “Million dollar” to see if they could find a record with other agents in Victoria. Nothing came back.
Not only was the receptionist and other realtors in that office saying that Lindsay Buziak was very nervous about the showing, she had shared those same concerns with friends.
It is unclear why police made statements to the press saying that Buziak was not apprehensive about the showing when everyone else said she was.
It is unclear why police made statements to the press saying that Jason Zailo had real estate documents for Buziak to sign because this was NOT true.
SGT. CHRIS HORSLEY SAID “ZAILO WENT TO THE HOUSE BECAUSE HE HAD REAL ESTATE DOCUMENTS FOR LINDSAY TO SIGN.
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It is well-know that police often make statements which are not exactly straight-forward. And often there is a strategic reason for what they do.
CAPITAL NEWS ARTICLE: PHONE CALLS LEADING UP TO LINDSAY’S MURDER
The plan to end Buziak’s life was put into motion with a phone call. It was the end of January 2008, several days before the fatal showing. As has been previously reported, Buziak thought the woman on the phone had a “strong Mexican or Spanish accent.” But in the documents, there’s no mention of it being fake. The woman on the phone said her husband had just been transferred to Victoria and they were in need of a million-dollar house.
Over the following days, there were 10 more calls between the Vancouver number and Buziak’s phone. If the “couple” provided a name, Buziak doesn’t seem to have told anyone or written it down. The nickname she assigned the number — “Million dollar” — offered no clues.
On Buziak’s list of Facebook friends, they quickly saw people who were “violent criminals and involved in the illegal distribution of drugs.” The names of those people are still heavily redacted, but the Saanich Police initially believed that Buziak’s association to them “may have played a role” in her death. The documents also mention Buziak’s four-day trip to Calgary in December 2007. Buziak was visiting her father, but also went out with friends. As has been previously reported, at least one of those friends was involved in a major drug bust after Buziak’s death. If those details are in the documents, they are still redacted.
Lindsay Buziak told friends and family that the woman’s name sounded fake, yet there is nothing in the court documents that suggest the accent was fake. That could be because the police know who the caller was – and that the accent was NOT FAKE, it was real.
Lindsay’s close friend Rianne Gracia told FRIENDS that her and Lindsay were talking on the phone from their homes around 8:00 pm on the Thursday evening. Lindsay said, “I have to go Rianne, the Mexicans are calling on my cell. I will call you back”. Rianne said that Lindsay never called back, and that was the last time she ever spoke to her friend. She said she shared that information with the Saanich Police right after the murder. Clearly there would be phone records to support Rianne’s claim that her and Lindsay were having a phone conversation that Thursday evening.
The reason the police may not have mentioned the woman talking with a fake accent is because they know that the woman was Mexican and spoke fluent Spanish.
The name of one of the people who Lindsay met up with in Calgary while visiting her dad is blacked out, however, one of the friends she met up with is no secret. Lindsay met up with her old high school friend Mitch Hawthorn. In the early fall of 2008 Mitch was arrested in a major drug bust in Calgary. He was a small player in that bust, and as for the Calgary HIGH NOON bust Mitch had no involvement.
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