Why was 1702 DeSousa Place chosen as the murder house?
I wonder sometimes if too much is read into the choice of the murder houSE and the fact it was a Re/max listing beyond the clear opportunity it provided. The property had been on the market three times in the previous year with 3 different real estate firms. It was listed November 2007 with Re/Max Camosun, taken off the market just prior to Christmas, then relisted the 2nd week of January 2008 with the same two woman. An excellent strategy on the part of the realtors – the market slows in the month of December, so best to bring it back on as a fresh listing in the New Year. Anyone perusing the MLS ads online would know it was vacant and they could easily view the layout of the house and determine the best location to commit the murder without being seen from outside.
The new listing clearly shows the rooms empty.
It’s unlikely there was any unique Re/Max knowledge in the office about the property. The conspirators, or whoever was in control could have found it online after hearing that the “informant” was a real estate agent. They likely would have sent Vid or one of the crew to scope out the house for suitability to escape unseen. As it turns out the house was perfect for a fast escape. And the parking spot on the side of the house on Torquay was a perfect place to be dropped off and picked up.
In that regard, I assume the police have reviewed all previous showings of the house to find out who might have been through to scope out the space. What if the conspirators had identified the “informant” as a realtor? What “if” someone had told them it was Lindsay? Perhaps not knowing exactly how real estate works, the conspirators or whoever was in control – thought “she’s a realtor, a real estate listing is a great place to do the hit, she’s with Re/Max, so let’s find a Re/Max listing”. It would not surprise me if it was Cirilo Lopez calling the shots, his nephews and Vid the ones scouting out the area, and Beltran the one who met Lindsay at the house and murdered her.
There were only a handful of homes on the market at that particular time and the killers just happened to find one that was perfect for their purposes.
In police files obtained by Capital News Daily, journalist Zander Sherman it states that Buziak had emailed some suggestions to the client and that Buziak provided the address of the 1702 DeSousa Place home during a 10-minute phone call. The documents go on to say the caller may have used Map Quest for the purposes of “familiarizing themselves with the area” and “planning escape routes”. Remember that Lindsay was on the phone with the client for 15 minutes on the Friday evening, February 1st, the same time that Shirley Zailo had “dropped by” by her condo and overheard Lindsay’s conversation with the Buyer. It would make sense that Shirley told the police that Lindsay gave the clients the address during that 15 minute conversation. Lindsay was dead so she was not here to say different.
We know Lindsay spoke to her clients on the phone about 10 times prior to meeting with them on February 2nd and that she gave them the DeSousa address during the February 1st evening call. Lindsay was probably finalizing the meeting for the next night and told the couple that 1702 DeSousa would be the 1st home on the list. But it makes no sense that it would be the first time a discussion about the address came up. The conspirators had to be on top of their game and that would mean scouting out the area and the house days earlier.
They would have to have known what time the trades left the cul-de-sac and what time builder Joe DeSousa locked up and left the area. The neighbors directly across on Torquay were away on holidays. The neighbor to the rear of DeSousa house may have been a concern for the killers and that was most likely the reason the plan was to enter through the front door and leave through the front door. There was no room for error and this planning could not have been done in less than 24 hours. At least a few days was needed to ensure they had not missed a beat. The missing boards in the fence was never part of the escape plan, although at one time there was reason to believe it was. This murder has so many red herrings that at times it was hard to know what was real and what wasn’t.
At the time of Lindsay’s murder Vid Acevedo lived in his parent’s basement suite at 1323 McNair Street.
Just an 11 minute drive to the DeSousa house and very close to where the crime phone pinged off the towers at Finlayson and Cook. There is no lane access behind the Mc Nair property so it would not be easy to come and go unnoticed. It was said that “the murder couple” had stayed at Vid’s place the night before the murder so is it possible his parents may have observed some suspicious activity that night? However Vid’s mother owned a house in Guatemala and would sometimes go there during the winter months so it is possible his parents were out of the country, which would make the comings and goings that much easier for Vid and his friends. Living only 11 minutes away from DeSousa Place Vid would be very familiar with the Gordon Head area.
The Delalcazar brothers lived at 823 Carrie Street in Esquimalt, which is a 20-minute drive to the DeSousa property. The two brothers I see taking part in scouting out the DeSousa property would be Eldreigson and Emerson (Choy). Violent, short-tempered risk takers who would have been more than happy to participate. The eldest brother Edwardson (Sandy) keeps a low profile yet he is known to be the head of the family. Not sure about the youngest brother Jefferson (Jeff). Word is he is an irresponsible goof so likely he would not have been included.
According to a highly reliable source Miguel Rivas was in Calgary when Lindsay was murdered
this source is also certain that Medardo, who is Miguel’s brother/Leo’s brother-in-law was back and forth between Victoria and Vancouver a few days before and after Lindsay’s murder. With probable certainty this makes Vid, Eldreigson, Emerson and Medardo the ones following the orders of Cirilo Lopez or Leo Beltran. We also heard that one hour after Lindsay’s murder four people met up together and if this is true this would be the group.
THE DESOUSA FAMILY
Joe De Sousa’s parents immigrated to this country from the Azures in 1961. They bought their first home at 4327 Torquay Drive in the late sixties and that is where they raised their family. Joe’s dad passed away in 1989 and his mom just recently in 2020. Joe’s dad was a gardener and Joe himself a building contractor. Joe did not have the best reputation in town and was not liked by the trades people that worked for him. The Torquay property was subdivided in 2006 and subsequently 4 new homes were built in 2007-2008, the 1702 property being the home Joe built for his own family to live in. Joe and his wife still live there today.
Since Lindsay’s murder, accusations about Joe DeSousa’s involvement have never let up.
Joe knew Shirley Zailo, and he knew the neighbor at the back. Joe made a nasty remark about Lindsay to a very reliable source. Joe said, “the little bitch got what she deserved.” This statement proved to be true which leaves us to question why Joe would say such a thing. There is nothing to support the rumor that Joe took out fence boards so the killers would have an escape route, but it does leave one to question some of the things Joe did in the days leading up to the murder. Joe listed the homes he built with many different realtors, but never once did he give Shirley Zailo his business.
TIMES COLONIST JUNE 30/2010
“All DNA evidence extracted from the home, which had been professionally cleaned the afternoon of the killing was traced back to Buziak,” Det. Sgt. Chris Horsley said yesterday afternoon.
Why did Horsley say the DeSousa home was professionally cleaned that afternoon when it was actually Joe DeSousa’s wife who cleaned the home? The home was brand new, why in the world would a vacant new home need to be professionally cleaned that particular afternoon? Interesting too, that Joe told the Saanich Police that he had gone into the master bedroom just before leaving the house shortly after 5:00 and saw nothing unusual. Lindsay had called the listing realtor to let her know that she would be showing the home that evening, but Laurie DeCastri did not contact Joe DeSousa to let him know as there was a locbox on the property and no one would be there at that time.
Volumes of data from cell phone towers in Vancouver & Victoria to look for matches between the cell phone used by the suspect couple & any other cell phone transmissions but to date, police have not been able to find a match that might provide information leading to their identification. Horsley said that doesn’t mean the evidence doesn’t exist.
Why in god’s name would Joe DeSousa build a home with the intentions of selling it – then agree to let someone murder Lindsay Buziak in that home? That would be suicide, he would risk never being able to sell it and tell a huge financial loss if he did. It is about as crazy as suggesting that Shirley Zailo would plan to commit a murder using one of her own office listings to do it in. Then again, it would make for the most well-thought-out twisted murder plot in history.
EMAIL ADDRESS: murderondesousa@gmail.com