Jeff Buziak is determined to preserve the memory of his daughter, Lindsay, who was murdered in 2008.
About 30 people gathered Thursday for the annual walk he organizes in her name. It took place nine years to the day that the 24-year-old real-estate agent was stabbed to death while showing a Gordon Head home — a still-unsolved crime that looked to have been a planned and perhaps for-hire killing.
The walk is held for two main reasons, he said.
“One, it’s to heal, for ... the family, the community and friends,” said Buziak, who travelled from his home in Calgary to take part. “And, of course, keep [the case] in the public eye.”
Despite the time that has passed since the death, the pain remains, he said.
“It doesn’t get any easier each year.”
The event, called the Walk for Justice, began at Royal Oak Burial Park and followed a 17-kilometre route that ended at Saanich Municipal Hall. The group made a stop along the way at the De Sousa Place house where Lindsay Buziak’s body was found.
Buziak said Lindsay was a beautiful young woman and a “shining light in the community.” He said he is frustrated that those responsible for what happened to her are still out there.
“I want the people to know, most importantly, that the people involved in Lindsay’s murder are in this community and walking free for nine years, while the rest of us — the community, the family, the friends of Lindsay — have basically been in prison.”
Buziak said he has an idea of who is behind the killing.
Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell, who saw the walkers off as a show of support, said Saanich police have worked hard on the case. “What the case really needs is it needs a lead, it needs another lead,” he said. “All the leads up to this point have been pursued and they’ve reached either a dead end or they’ve reached a level where the officers feel that they would not be able to achieve a result in court that would end up in a solid conviction.”
Buziak said he would like to see police paying more attention to the murder, and questioned whether anyone was working directly on the case. He said he has had some frank talks with police officials.
“As of now, we’re nowhere.”
Saanich police Acting Sgt. Jereme Leslie said the case remains open and active, although the investigation isn’t being carried out full-time. It is not considered a cold case, he said.
“Investigators work multiple files as the normal course of duty in the detective division,” he said. “All tips and leads are triaged appropriately as they’re received.”
Leslie said that while officers have been transferred into and out of the police effort over time, the main people have been there from the start.
“The key investigators have always retained continuity of the investigation,” he said.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Saanich police at 250-475-4321 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
