TUCSON, AZ — On Dec. 19, 1994, 6-year-old Esther “Lizette” Galaz went missing from the Rella Verde Apartments, previously located at 4141 E. 29th St., in Tucson. The following evening, her body was found less than half a mile northeast of where she went missing.
Thirty years later, her family still waits for answers. The initial investigation relied on witness testimonies as evidence, according to cold case detectives with the Tucson Police Department.
The murder happened before surveillance video became widely used and before advancements in testing DNA for evidence.
“She was last known to be seen by one of her siblings as she was walking out of their second-story apartment,” said Detective David Miller.
Miller told KGUN 9 that he was assigned Galaz’s cold case in 2014. Prior to taking on the investigation, the case had made little progress in finding the perpetrator.
“I just get angry about it, uh, because it hasn't been solved or anything…just kind of a dead end,” said Anthony Galaz, the older brother of Lizette. He remembered why he and his siblings never called her by her first name.
“My mom was Esther and the siblings, we all called her Junior. She did not like Junior,” Galaz said jokingly.
He was only 12 years old at the time when he lost his younger sister. His recollection of the incident reflects the varying accounts of what was said to have happened.
“What I was told is she was at her friend's house that was downstairs, around the corner,” he said.
Several stories flooded the media surrounding the case that shook the entire Tucson community. Witnesses, many of which were children, recalled seeing Lizette get into a vehicle after a man called her name.
According to detectives, witnesses said she was going to look for her mom, who had gone to a nearby convenience store with a younger sibling. Others said she was playing with other kids living at the apartments.
Anthony Galaz was at a friend’s house at the time he heard she went missing. He shared what happened from his perspective.
“She had left her friend's house. She never came home,” he told KGUN9. When asked for his thoughts on the witness statements, he said he didn’t know if that’s what happened because he wasn’t there. This was something he said he regrets, wishing he had been there to protect his younger sister.
“Who was that family? I don't even know the dad's name or the mom's name. I didn't even know her friend's name.”
He also questioned how witnesses recalled seeing a man call her name before she entered a vehicle.
“Yeah, that's what's weird too. We didn't have a whole lot of family coming to the house. A lot of them didn't even know where we lived or anything in those apartments,” he said.
As his questions remain unanswered, Detective David Miller said he is actively working on this investigation.
“Recontacting witnesses, recontacting people that were previously interviewed that may have, not withheld information, but didn't realize that they may have had important information,” said Detective Miller.
As with many cold cases, he added that any small detail could help move detectives in the right direction. TPD asked anyone with information that may have been in the area of interest to contact 88-CRIME. You can remain anonymous.
With or without answers, Anthony Galaz said losing Lizette is now a part of him forever. He described how he protects his son and doesn't let a day go by without thinking of his little sister.
“She used to love this fur coat that my mom got her for Christmas. She used to wear that everywhere,” said Galaz.
He said his family still hopes the investigation will lead to finding the person responsible for taking the life of 6-year-old Esther Lizette Galaz.
