Lindsay Buziak’s mother ‘begging’ for tips about daughter’s 2008 killing

Lindsay Buziak’s mother is making a rare public plea for evidence in her daughter’s 2008 stabbing death.

The mother of slain Vancouver Island Realtor Lindsay Buziak says she believes there are people with evidence about her daughter’s killing, but they may be too scared to come forward.

Evelyn Reitmayer made the rare public statement in a YouTube video posted Sunday. It was shared on the day Buziak would have turned 42, she said.

“I’m frustrated and desperately seeking answers. I don’t know where else to turn,” Reitmayer said. “I’m hoping by creating this video, my message will reach people who can help.”

Buziak was stabbed to death on Feb. 2, 2008, while showing a home in Saanich. No charges have ever been laid.

“Police have told me that there are people who could provide the evidence necessary to convict those responsible, but they are afraid or reluctant to become involved,” Reitmayer said.

“Please, I’m begging you to contact the police.”

She said the Saanich Police Department (SPD) recently told her it had reassigned the investigators on her daughter’s case.

On Monday, a spokesperson for the department said the investigation is still active.

“In prolonged investigations, it is standard practice for investigators to be periodically reassigned,” Insp. Drew Robertson said in a statement.

“These reassignments are part of routine operational adjustments and do not reflect any change in the status or priority of a case.”

A former homicide detective said cold cases are never closed, but they’re dormant once all investigative avenues have been exhausted.

“You get to a point, sadly, where everybody that can be interviewed has been interviewed (and) every forensic test has been done,” said Mark Mendelson, who worked for the Toronto Police Service.

“It’s a frustrating, horrible position for homicide investigators and for the family of this young woman.”

In 2021, SPD said it had created a new team to take a fresh look at the case. It included members from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States.

“We believe people familiar with the circumstances surrounding this case remain in the community,” an SPD spokesperson said at the time.

Police cannot compel potential witnesses to talk, Mendelson said.

Reitmayer’s comments have prompted a fresh wave of news stories, which Mendelson said could help.

“It doesn’t matter how small of a tidbit of information you may have — the police want to hear it,” he said.