There are alligators crawling across the metropolis of Gainesville, Florida. But they’re not the one predators.
On Sept. 20, 2020, Erika Friman filed a lacking individuals report after not listening to from her boyfriend, Christian Aguilar, an 18-year-old University of Florida freshman.
“The night before he was supposed to spend the night with her and he never showed up,” Det. Randy Roberts, of the Gainesville Police Department, informed “Floribama Murders,” airing Saturdays at 9/8c on Oxygen.
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Christian wasn’t at his house. His mother and father hadn’t heard from him and he wasn’t answering calls.
Roberts spoke with Pedro Bravo, a friend of Christian Friman, who had accompanied Friman to the police station. He mentioned that the day earlier than he and Christian had gone to seize a chunk after which to Best Buy to get a Kanye West CD.
“On the way back from Best Buy he picked up a hitchhiker,” mentioned Roberts, including that Bravo described the stranger as a person in his 50s or 60s with grey hair.
While seated within the backseat, the hitchhiker was fiddling round with some duct tape, in line with Bravo. After the hitchhiker received out, the 2 buddies argued over how Bravo was dealing with private points. Christian then requested to be set free of the automotive, Bravo informed sheriffs.
He mentioned he dropped off Christian on the aspect of the street close to a enterprise that offered four-wheel automobiles. It was adjoining to a wooded space.
Bravo claimed he by no means noticed Christian once more.
As the final particular person to have seen Christian, Bravo was key to the case. Detectives requested Bravo to indicate them the precise route he and Christian had pushed the day earlier than.
During his interview with police, Bravo mentioned he had suicidal emotions that he had wished to debate with Christian. In accordance with the Baker Act, Bravo was taken into custody for a 72-hour maintain to find out if he was a hurt to himself, Roberts informed producers.
A search group regarded for Christian within the woods close to the four-wheeler store. If he was injured, time was of the essence. Dangerous animals that inhabit the world embody alligators, water moccasins, and rattlesnakes, mentioned State Attorney Brian Kramer.
As detectives searched, in addition they thought of the chance that Christian had been kidnapped by the hitchhiker or an unknown third occasion.
The seek for Christian expanded to an air unit and a whole bunch of volunteers joined, together with Christian’s members of the family from Miami.
Det. Matthew Goeckel, of the Gainesville Police Department, decided that Christian’s cellphone had been deliberately powered down.The cellphone being turned off indicated a robust risk of foul play, mentioned Goeckel.
Two days handed and searchers turned up no hint of the lacking scholar or the hitchhiker.
Meanwhile, Bravo was launched after it was decided he wasn’t suicidal.
“He would say those things to the people around him in order to manipulate them,” Kramer mentioned.
Had Bravo tried to control the police? He was introduced again for one more interview to find out if he informed the reality earlier. His account of occasions saved altering. He claimed that after dropping off the hitchhiker, the disagreement with Christian got physical.
“I stopped the car … and I just punched him in the face,” he informed sheriffs in a recorded interview.
Bravo then mentioned that he “kept punching” Christian after he was out of the automotive: “I could see he was OK but he was not gonna get up anytime soon. And then I got in my car and left.”
Bravo’s obvious lack of concern raised a pink flag.
“There were things that were not adding up,” Goeckel informed producers.
Four days into the case, investigators dug deeper into the connection between Christian and Bravo. The younger males and Friman had graduated from the identical highschool in Doral, Florida. Friman had dated Bravo however had damaged issues off with him throughout their senior yr. Friman and Christian started courting after beginning school.
Bravo came upon by way of mutual buddies that she was courting Christian.
“The situation between Pedro and Christian was very strained because Pedro felt like he had tried to go behind his back to date Erika,” mentioned Roberts.
Detectives devised a solution to maintain Bravo behind bars to purchase time whereas they regarded for incriminating proof.
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“Pedro was arrested for failure to render aid, based on his statements about harming Christian and leaving him helpless,” mentioned Goeckel.
A search warrant was obtained for Bravo’s automobile. Inside detectives discovered a Gatorade bottle and a roll of duct tape. Dirt and limestone discovered on the automobile’s undercarriage was decided to be from Levy County in Gainesville.
On Oct. 12, two individuals in that space had been alerted to what they believed to be the scent of a decomposing animal. They had stumbled upon human stays in a shallow grave and contacted sheriffs. Only skeletal stays had been discovered, in line with detectives. Clothes discovered within the space matched what Christian was sporting.
DNA from a hip joint and dental data confirmed the physique was Christian Aguilar.
Duct tape discovered with the stays had been despatched to the crime lab, the place it was in comparison with duct tape from Bravo’s automobile. Analysts decided that tape at Christian’s burial web site was from the identical tape roll discovered within the automotive, investigators mentioned.
Detectives initially believed that Bravo acted in a match of rage. But evaluation of the Gatorade bottle revealed that it was laced with sedatives, which indicated the crime was premeditated, in line with “Floribama Murders.”
Bloody fluid from Christian’s lungs that seeped into the carpet indicated that he had most likely been strangled.
A search warrant was secured for Bravo’s house, the place detectives discovered a receipt for a shovel. They additionally discovered journals full of disturbing entries detailing Bravo’s step-by-step plan to win again Friman “by making Christian disappear,” mentioned Kramer.
Bravo was arrested on Sept. 28 for Christian’s homicide.
As police and prosecutors labored to solidify the case in opposition to him, they discovered that Bravo allegedly shared his plan with one other Alachua County Jail inmate to produce other murders dedicated to make it appear to be the killer was nonetheless at giant, in line with “Floribama Murders.”
“It kind of just makes the back of your hair stand up,” mentioned Kramer.
Investigators confirmed that the cellmate was telling the reality as a result of his information led them to the shovel used within the crime. The piece of proof fortified an already-strong case.
On Aug. 4, 2014, Bravo’s trial started. An entry from his journal was learn in courtroom: “ I am a monster for having hurt to Christian,” reported Gainesville.com.
Bravo, then 20, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
“We didn’t celebrate,” Christian’s grieving father informed producers. “There was nothing to celebrate.”
To study extra concerning the case, watch “Floribama Murders,” airing Saturdays at 9/8c on Oxygen. You can stream episodes here.