VICTORIA -- The father of a murdered Saanich real estate agent is hoping an online petition to remove the Saanich police from his daughter's case will move the investigation forward.
The petition, launched on Tuesday by a woman in Indiana, had more than 1,600 signatures by 2 p.m. Thursday. It asks that the investigation in the unsolved murder be taken out of the hands of Saanich police.
"I have a passion for true crime so I listen to a lot of podcasts. I've seen the Dateline episode and I just couldn't let it go," said petition organizer Ashely Turner. "Lindsay was my age and it blows me away what she went through and what that family has gone through."
Lindsay Buziak's body was found in a home in the Gordon Head area on Feb. 2, 2008.
Turner reached out to Lindsay's father, Jeff Buziak, and asked how she could help solve the 12-year-old murder. After speaking with Buziak, she learned the details of Lindsay's murder and that there are still no suspects in the case.
"I can't imagine how something like this could happen and go unsolved for so long," said Turner. "We would like the file to be turned over from the Saanich Police Department and, if at all possible, go to the RCMP. We just want somebody else to look at it and get the case in someone else's hands."
Turner said when she told Buziak she wanted to start the petition, he said he was open to it. "I just grabbed the ball and took it," said Turner. "Our main goal here is to get Lindsay's case solved and get justice for the Buziak family."
Lindsay's father welcomes Turner's efforts, saying he's grateful for anything that will move the case forward.
"I hope it prompts a new authority that takes over this file because Saanich police are not going anywhere with it," Buziak told CTV News. "Since Lindsay was murdered we have had three mayors, four different police chiefs and four heads of her file and we have nothing."
Saanich police provided a statement to CTV News saying the department's joint investigation with the RCMP "continues to this day."
"In fact, the RCMP assisted the Saanich police by conducting comprehensive reviews of the Saanich police investigation in 2008 and again in 2019, where RCMP subject-matter experts worked at the Saanich Police Department," the statements said.
"We are currently moving forward with the recommendations of the most recent review. The Lindsay Buziak homicide remains an open and active investigation of the Saanich police, and we remain committed to bringing this file to a successful conclusion.”
The Change.org petition is also directed at B.C. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth, asking him to turn the murder file over to another agency.
"I think all of us want to see this case be solved. We know sometimes unfortunately it can take a very long time, " Farnworth told CTV News. "My experience with police departments around this province is often many years later a case will be solved because cases are never really truly cold and I think all of us want this case solved."
Farnworth said it is not within his authority to remove Saanich investigators from the Buziak case and assign it to another police agency. He said there is a separate police complaints process that people can access if they have concerns about the investigation.
"I have every confidence that this case is going to be pursued until the killer is found, convicted and brought to justice," said Farnworth.
