Mysterious Case files
The unsolved case of Lindsay Buziak
When you think of dangerous and life-threatening jobs, "real estate agent" is not likely to
come up high on the list.
And yet, at the cost of her life, Lindsay Buziak learned this brutal and shocking reality
about her occupation on February 2nd, 2008.
In this video, we will take a look at the details of the startling and cruel murder
of Lindsay Buziak. Which eleven years later remains just as baffling as when the investigation
began.
No discussion of an unsolved murder case would be complete without the speculative theories
proposed by investigators and web sleuths alike... we'll compare some of the most intriguing.
Lindsay grew up in and around the community of Victoria, British Columbia.
At the age of 24, she was a bright, friendly and attractive brunette.
Working in real estate was a natural and logical choice for someone with her charm and kind
demeanor.
Her relationship with successful realtor Jason Zaillo only made her promising future that
much more suitable.
Loved by family and friends, her father Jeff and mother Evelyn described her as popular
and caring. Which makes the mysterious circumstances of her unsolved murder that much more appalling.
January 2008
The chain of events begins with Lindsay receiving a phone call in late January 2008 from a woman
requesting to be shown a home.
Nothing is too suspicious about this on its own, however, a couple of odd details stood
out to Lindsay.
For one, the caller needed this new home urgently. She wanted Lindsay to show her a house and
to purchase this place within two days of the couple's arrival in Victoria.
Odder still was the excessive budget of $1 million.
Lindsay also noticed something ‘off’ about the caller's accent, something she described
as "a bit Spanish, but not really."
The mystery caller also had reached Lindsay on her personal cell phone - a number not
visible or known to new clients.
Lindsay saw no reason not to go forward with the showing.
However, she was not shy about her doubts and uneasy feelings.
She voiced these concerns to her boyfriend, Jason.
He encouraged her to move forward with securing the sale - after all, clients who were prepared
to readily spend $1 million were precisely the sort of people an up and coming realtor
should be excited to do business with.
However, still feeling unsettled, Lindsay convinced Jason to go to the showing and wait
outside just in case something off-putting took place.
It didn't take long for Lindsay to find the perfect property for the couple: a three bedroom,
three bathroom home at 1702 De Sousa Place in the affluent suburb of Saanich, BC.
It was completely vacant and move in ready - both specified preferences of the mysterious
buyers.
Lindsay confirmed a time with the woman for Saturday, February 2nd, at 5:30 pm.
The client, again with a phony Spanish accent that caused Lindsay to nickname the couple
'The Mexicans' - confirmed the appointment but mentioned that her husband would not be
coming and that she would meet Lindsay alone.
Febuary 2nd, 2008
The day of the showing, Lindsay and Jason enjoyed a late lunch together at a restaurant
called 'Sauce' a familiar meeting place where Lindsay was friends with her server.
She once again expressed her concern to Jason, despite the possibility of a fantastic commission
on the sale, the situation still made her feel unsafe.
Nevertheless, they agreed to go to the showing in separate vehicles and paid the tab for
the meal at 4:29 pm.
While Lindsay went home to change, Jason stopped by an auto shop to pick up a friend.
Security cameras recorded Jason's pit stop at 5:30 pm.
At this rate, Jason was already late for the showing, and he texted his girlfriend to let
her know he was running behind schedule.
She responded on her personal Blackberry with “okay I’ll see you in a bit I gotta go
the Mexicans are here” This would be the last text Lindsay ever typed out.
What happens next is a series of events strung together by cell tower records, eye witness
accounts, and video surveillance.
At 5:38 pm Jason responds with another update: "just a couple of minutes away" - which chillingly
remained unread and unopened.
Jason and his friend purportedly arrive on the cul-de-sac street at around 5:45 pm where
he told investigators he saw the front door open and a dark-haired man standing with his
back to Jason's vehicle.
Sticking to his plan of parking outside the home, he and his friend remain parked across
the street for about ten minutes.
According to Jason, he felt he was being too overbearing and nosey, so he drove the vehicle
further away to Torquay Drive, still within view of the house, and waited another ten
minutes.
A few minutes earlier, before Jason arrived, eyewitnesses at De Sousa Place observe a woman
with short blonde hair and a brightly colored pink, black, and white dress and a tall, dark-haired
man in a tan colored jacket speaking to Lindsay in the driveway of the property.
Lindsay accessed the lockbox and entered the home at 5:29 pm, according to the timestamp
on the device.
Lindsay's Blackberry phone pocket-dialed a call to a random number in her contacts at
5:41 pm - this is around the time investigators estimate the mysterious couple attacked Lindsay.
Inside the home, the crime scene tells the story of Lindsay’s final horrifying minutes.
The young woman had been stabbed more than 40 times.
Her injuries suggest that she was attacked from behind and by surprise, as there are
no defensive wounds present.
There was also no sign that she had been robbed or sexually assaulted.
The terrible mutilation that occurred suggested to investigators that whoever had carried
out and orchestrated this crime wanted very badly to hurt and kill Lindsay - probably
for very personal reasons.
Her body was discovered after Jason texted her "are you okay" and did not receive a response.
Leaving his vehicle, he attempted to enter through the front door, but found it locked.
Looking through the panes of glass in the door, Jason saw Lindsay's pair of shoes - this
strange and unnerving sight prompted him to call 911 at 6:05 pm as his friend searched
for another point of entry.
The friend found a way in through the backyard, and Jason hung up the phone to join him.
The two men made their way up to the second-floor master bedroom to find Lindsay in a pool of
her own blood.
Jason's companion phoned 911 again, the time is 6:11 pm.
By this point, emergency responders arrived, and paramedics pronounced Lindsay dead at
the scene.
A number of details suddenly appear strange and unsettling under scrutiny and new revelations
and possible connections have produced many theories over the past eleven years.
In their investigation, Saanich police discovered the following:
Regarding the couple, it was discovered that the phone used to make the initial call to
Lindsay was purchased in Vancouver months before the murder and had only been used to
contact Lindsay.
In fact, the suspected burner phone was only activated for use in January, registered
under the false name of Paulo Rodriguez.
Even more suspicious, the phone has not been used since Lindsay’s murder.
The crime scene produced no DNA evidence or fingerprints, and the weapon was never recovered
- these facts lead investigators and followers of the case to believe that the "couple" that
murdered Lindsay were professionals carrying out the heinous deed for someone else.
Someone close to Lindsay, who had intimate knowledge of her life and workplace.
Fingers were quickly pointed to Jason and his friend, who were taken into Saanich police
custody at the crime scene and separated for interrogation.
Both men were cleared, thanks to the CCTV footage confirming their location at the auto
shop before arriving at De Sousa Place.
Additionally, Jason passed a polygraph test.
This level of cooperation seems fitting, except for the fact that Jason has refused to this
day to provide a DNA sample.
This fact, coupled with a few other unsettling coincidences, have convinced several members
of the public that Jason Zaillo is not as innocent as he seems.
For one, several avid followers of the case, including Jeff Buziak, Lindsay's father
question Jason's decision to remain in his car, even after seeing the male suspect in
the front door and not receiving any more texts from Lindsay.
As if that were not enough, circumstances within the wealthy Zaillo family suggest that
Lindsay could've have been privy to information that her boyfriend's family may not have wanted
her to know - such as possible shady financial dealings and long-time friendships with local
"black sheep" personalities.
Unrelated to the Zaillo family, and perhaps the biggest curveball connection associated
with the case, is the theory that Lindsay was murdered for her alleged connection to
a drug cartel.
Perhaps not coincidentally, Lindsay reached out to a friend of her ex-boyfriend on a trip
to Calgary just weeks before and that same friend would be arrested and charged with
drug trafficking in what authorities have called the largest drug bust in Alberta, Canada's
history.
The friend, a man, named Erickson Del Alcazar, was arrested on January 22nd, 2008 as a major
conspirator and trafficker in the drug cartel.
Could this connection to a dangerous criminal be what cost Lindsay her life?
Prominent investigators Yolanda McCrary and Dwayne Stanton disagree.
In their statements made on the NBC Dateline episode about the murder, the seasoned detectives
have made statements suggesting that the brutal nature of the stabbing rules out the possibility
of a routine drug-related hit. Instead they say that the brutality indicates that this
was a personal, emotionally-charged murder.
Despite years without answers and no arrests for the murder, Saanich police have yet to
declare this homicide a cold case and have not requested the assistance of outside investigators.
This is alarming, considering the fact that the mysterious couple is still at large and
have not been seen since.
Jeff Buziak, Lindsay’s devoted father, has turned the search for his daughter’s killers
into an unyielding daily undertaking.
Making public appearances on the news, popular crime television shows, and on Dr. Phil.
Jeff also runs a forum-style website called lindsaybuziakmurder.com where the public can
submit tips and discuss theories.
The case was shaken up on this very website when an anonymous person posted the following
in August of 2017: "I killed Lindsey [sic] and stupid cops will never prove it.
Cut the phoney [sic] investigation.
It's done.
Go home losers.
Forget about her.
The street always rules.
**** die every day."
The legitimacy of this post is, of course, speculative. Lindsay's name has been misspelled,
and in the age of the internet, many people are not above this kind of attention-seeking
behavior.
This past February, Jeff’s friends and family commemorated Lindsay’s death with an annual
walk of remembrance, a yearly reminder of the tragic and cruel crime that was committed…
and the many years that have passed as it remains unsolved.
What are your thoughts on the Lindsay Buziak murder?
Was she killed by a vengeful and controlling boyfriend?
A victim of association with a dangerous drug cartel?
Or do the facts presented tell a different story entirely?
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