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Murder victim’s father sued for defamation by south Island real estate agent

Civil suit claims website posts have painted plaintiff Shirley Zailo as a murderer
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Pictured is a memorial at the home on DeSousa Place in Gordon Head where the body of then 24-year-old real estate agent Lindsay Buziak was killed after a home showing in February 2008. Buziak’s father is now being sued for a website he owns about the case. (Black Press Media file photo)

The father of a Saanich murder victim is being sued for defamation by the mother of his late daughter’s then-boyfriend.

Plaintiff Shirley Zailo, a Victoria realtor, filed a civil defamation suit against Jeff Buziak, the father of Lindsay Buziak, on April 25 over comments appearing on a website he owns. Another defendant, Jane Kavanagh, is also named in the suit.

In one of Greater Victoria’s high-profile unsolved cases, Lindsay, then 24, was showing a home in Saanich when she was stabbed to death on Feb. 2, 2008. Her boyfriend at the time, Jason Zailo, was the first to find her body though he was cleared as a suspect and no other suspects were ever named.

No response to the civil suit has been filed to the courts as of May 11. Zailo’s submission says posts on the website imply that she murdered Lindsay, planned and participated in the murder, and that readers are led to believe she’s evil, a psychopath and is guilty. It also points to posts purporting Zailo stabbed Lindsay.

The lawsuit claims those posts were authored by Kavanagh, using a fake name “Robin.” The posts range from June 2019 and October 2021.

READ: Regional policing would help solve major crimes, suggests Buziak memorial walker in Saanich

Zailo’s claim also alleges the posts infer she bribed the Saanich Police Department and that SPD is covering up facts to protect the plaintiff.

The website posts are false, malicious and defame Zailo, according to the court document. It says Jeff Baziuk, as the site’s owner and operator, was aware of the defamatory content and has failed to remove it.

The alleged defamation has been used predominantly for the purpose of harming Zailo and exposing her to hatred, ridicule and contempt, the lawsuit says. That’s caused her to be shunned, avoided and humiliated, and has increased Zailo’s mental suffering, the filing goes on to say.

The suit looks to hold Buziak and Kavanagh jointly liable for damages. It adds Zailo has lost income, and that her reputation has been damaged. Among the damages sought, Zailo wants the defamatory publications to cease.

None of the allegations in the suit have been heard or proven in court.

READ: ‘Her killers walk the street,’ Buziak father still seeks answers


jake.romphf@blackpress.ca. Follow us on Instagram. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.