CHRISTIAN AGUILAR - 18 years old (2012)/ Charged: Pedro Bravo - Gainesville, FL

Foul play suspected in disappearance of UF student

By Cindy Swirko
Staff writer
Published: Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 6:18 p.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 6:18 p.m.

http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=GS&Date=20120922&Category=ARTICLES&ArtNo=120929845&Ref=AR&Profile=1139&MaxW=198&border=0

The father of a missing University of Florida student said his son was beaten by a friend and left in an area of northwest Gainesville, adding that a suspect was taken into custody for an involuntary mental health evaluation but has not been arrested.


Christian Aguilar, 18, was last seen at 6 p.m. Thursday near Streit's Motorsports on Northwest 13th Street north of 39th Avenue.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120922/ARTICLES/120929845/1139?Title=Foul-play-suspected-in-disappearance-of-UF-student

Christian Aguilar Missing: Suspect in Fla. student's disappearance bought a shovel and duct tape, police say

09/27/2012




Christian Aguilar

(Credit:
CBS Miami)
(CBS/AP) GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A student under arrest in
the case of a missing fellow University of Florida student bought a
shovel and duct tape just days before the victim disappeared, police
said Wednesday.
Pictures: Univ. of Florida student missing
Christian
Aguilar, 18, was last seen Thursday at a Best Buy store in Gainesville,
police said. He was with Pedro Bravo, also 18, who faces a third-degree
felony charge of depriving a victim of medical treatment. Bravo was
arrested Monday and was being held on $100,000 bond.
Bravo
purchased the duct tape and shovel "several days" before Aguilar went
missing, Gainesville police said during a briefing Wednesday. Police
also said Bravo gave conflicting stories about a fight the two had and
was no longer speaking to investigators.

"It is his
right, but we believe he is the only person who knows the whereabouts of
Christian," said Gainesville Police spokesman Ben Tobias. "It's
frustrating because he knows where he is."

Police planned to continue their search for the missing student "until we run out of fresh information."

"With every day that goes forward, the odds and likelihood are less and less" of finding Aguilar, said Tobias.

Bravo
and Aguilar attended the same high school in South Florida before
moving to Gainesville, about five hours north of Miami. Police also said
Bravo may have picked up a hitchhiker sometime Thursday.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57521409-504083/christian-aguilar-missing-suspect-in-fla-students-disappearance-bought-a-shovel-and-duct-tape-police-say/

Police are seeking leads to find missing UF student Christian Aguilar, who graduated from high school in Miami-Dade.



Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/25/3021077/police-seeking-leads-in-missing.html#storylink=cpy


Gainesville police will continue their search Wednesday for
missing University of Florida student Christian Aguilar while they try
to locate a hitchhiker seen with “a person of interest” in the case.
After
searching all day Tuesday by helicopter and with bloodhounds along the
Interstate 75 corridor, police said they had found no concrete sign of
Aguilar, an 18-year-old freshman from Miami-Dade who was last seen on
Thursday. Late Tuesday night police said they were processing a shoe
found by volunteers, but added it did not appear to be the type worn by
Aguilar.
Detectives were still poring over cellphone records and
other data to better pinpoint Aguilar’s travels before his
disappearance, said Officer Ben Tobias, a Gainesville police spokesman.
Aguilar’s cellphone is no longer active.



Aguilar, who graduated from the Doral Academy Preparatory School
last year, was last seen around 3 p.m. at a Best Buy in a shopping mall
on Archer Road, southwest of the campus.
Police have identified
Pedro Bravo, a former Doral Academy classmate, as a “person of
interest.” Bravo, also 18, gave police conflicting stories about a fight
he had with Aguilar on Thursday night. Bravo told police that he left
Aguilar in the parking lot of a motorcycle shop, police said. Police
searched the parking lot but found nothing.
Bravo was arrested Monday on charges of “depriving a victim of medical care.” He is being held on $100,000 bail.
Police said Tuesday that they are also seeking information about the
hitchhiker whom Bravo picked up sometime that day. Among those in
Gainesville helping in the search for Aguilar is the girl said to be at
the center of the conflict between Aguilar and Bravo.
Erika
Friman, who broke up with Bravo and recently began dating Aguilar,
rejected the idea she was the reason the one-time best friends fought.
“I
don’t think this has to do with me,” Friman, a student at Santa Fe
College, told Miami Herald news partner CBS4. “Pedro didn’t approve at
first of me dating Chris, but I think he came to accept it ...it was
like whatever makes me happy.”
Friman and Bravo had dated while
students at Doral Academy, where all three graduated in June. Friman
said she is baffled and “confused” by Aguilar’s disappearance. “I want
Chris back safely.” At Doral Academy, students and teachers have become
consumed with the search for Aguilar. Some have already made their way
north to help, including the school’s principal, two vice principals and
close to a dozen teachers.
On Tuesday night, students held a
vigil and have launched an intense social media campaign on Twitter,
Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #helpfindchris.
They are
sporting the phrase on their arms and palm of the hand. Students also
are collecting funds to help finance the Aguilar family’s stay in
Gainesville.
The search for Aguilar will continue Wednesday, police said.
Miami Herald staff writer Luisa Yanez contributed to this report.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/25/3021077/police-seeking-leads-in-missing.html





Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/25/3021077/police-seeking-leads-in-missing.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/25/3021077/police-seeking-leads-in-missing.html#storylink=cpy

Christian Aguilar Search: Sweetwater Authorities Head to Gainesville to Join Search for Missing UF Student


Mayor, police chief and officers head to Gainesville to continue search

10/02/2012
http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Christian-Aguilar-Search-Sweetwater-Authorities-Head-to-Gainesville-to-Join-Search-for-Missing-UF-Student-172263411.html

View more videos at: http://nbcmiami.com.

As Gainesville police close the volunteer operation for Christian Aguilar, friends ask: What do we do now?

10/04/2012

For two weeks, Carlos Aguilar made desperate pleas to the public
to come to Gainesville to help find his 18-year-old missing son.
Hundreds
answered the call, traveling from different corners of Florida, some
from out of state. The volunteers scoured miles of terrain and bushy
undergrowth in Gainesville, where University of Florida freshman
Christian Aguilar was last seen alive.
As of Thursday, Aguilar,
who graduated from Doral Academy Preparatory School in West Miami-Dade,
remained missing. But the massive volunteer coordination effort will
soon end.



Gainesville police have said that as of 5 p.m. Friday, they will
no longer be coordinating the volunteer effort to find Aguilar, who is
presumed dead.
Investigators will continue the search, but
emphasized they want any evidence found at this late date to be handled
only by law enforcement.
For those who dropped everything to find
Aguilar, the news served as another grim reminder that the 18-year-old
still had not been found, despite their best efforts.
Aguilar’s high school friend, Pedro Bravo — charged with
first-degree murder in Aguilar’s disappearance and presumed death — is
being held at the Alachua County Jail without bail.
“What are we
supposed to do now?” asked Nicole Montero, who graduated from Doral
Academy with Aguilar and had gone twice from Miami to Gainesville to
search.
“Now we feel really helpless,” Montero, 18, added. “We can’t do anything else. Now it feels kind of like it’s really over.”
But
Gainesville police say it’s not over. Investigators want those trained
in search and recovery to continue to look at specific areas based on
leads from the police’s Criminal Investigations Bureau.
Police spokesman Officer Ben Tobias said there is “a mountain of data” that investigators are sifting through.
“Anything
that is found at this point of the investigation will be considered
evidence — and we can’t risk the integrity of that evidence being
handled by anyone but law enforcement,” Tobias said in a statement.
When
the search began, police had to cover a wide swath and the best way to
do that was with “area and grid” searches, Tobias said. As of Thursday,
most of those areas had been covered.
“The search areas are becoming more limited and exact,” he said.
Investigators are still following leads, including those given by nearly a half-dozen psychics.
But they have not found Aguilar.

Alyssa D’Bazo graduated from Doral Academy with Aguilar and Bravo.
Though she was studying at the University of Central Florida in Orlando,
she made the trip to Gainesville to help with the search.
She
returned to Orlando Sunday but kept following the news for updates. She
heard about the closing down of the volunteer post online Thursday
evening.
“I guess that’s appropriate,” she said, “but I still want to help.”
But as each day passed, without word of Aguilar being found, staying hopeful got harder.
“We just want to find him in any sense because his family sure does
need closure,’’ she said. “We’re just hoping to find Christian and see
what happens with Pedro.”
Bravo and Aguilar, both 18, had been
friends back when they both graduated from Doral Academy. After
graduation, Aguilar enrolled in the University of Florida and planned to
study biomedical engineering. Bravo enrolled in Santa Fe College, and
also intended to study biomedical engineering.
But when Aguilar
began dating Bravo’s ex-girlfriend, who also lived in Gainesville and
was studying at Santa Fe, the two had a falling out.
They seemed
to reunite Sept. 20, at least according to evidence gathered by police.
Aguilar and Bravo were caught on surveillance tape entering a Best Buy
store in Gainesville.
Aguilar has not been seen since.
Bravo later told police he beat Aguilar and left him bloody and barely breathing in a parking lot.
Police found blood in multiple spots in Bravo’s SUV, and Aguilar’s backpack hidden in the closet of his apartment.
To report tips related to the Aguilar case, call 352-393-7670.
Miami Herald staff writer Ina Paiva Cordle contributed to this report.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/04/3034777/gainesville-police-shut-down-volunteer.html

10/08/2012


An Alachua County grand jury Monday returned first-degree murder
and kidnapping indictments against Pedro A. Bravo, 18, in the
disappearance of his friend, Christian Aguilar, 18, a University of
Florida student.
Augilar has been missing since Sept. 20.
Aguilar's
family sat in a row in the courtroom Monday when the indictments were
read. They were close, shoulders touching, and they wore white T-shirts
that said "help find Chris" on the back.
Although Aguilar's body has not been found, State Attorney Bill Cervone said he's confident in the case.
"There will be a continuing effort to find him," Cervone said, "a kid his age does not fall off the face of the earth."
Cervone
said there is no new evidence in the case, but that some details have
been sharpened up, although he declined to say which.
Bravo reportedly told police he beat Aguilar unconscious and left him in a parking lot on Northwest 13th Street.
Aguilar
was last seen with Bravo in a Best Buy store on Sept. 20, police said.
Police, family and friends have been searching for Aguilar since he
disappeared that same day.
Bravo bought a shovel and duct tape several days before the altercation with Aguilar, police have reported.
The
men were friends in Miami, and both moved to Gainesville. Aguilar was a
freshman at UF and Bravo was enrolled at Santa Fe College.
The next step of the process, Cervone said, would be an arraignment, in
which the defendant generally enters a plea of not guilty. In Alachua
County, he said, first-degree murder cases could take about a year to go
to trial. As for Bravo, Cervone said he is under no compulsion to talk
or help find Aguilar.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20121008/ARTICLES/121009578/1002/news?p=1&tc=pg

The Investigation is going on in this case the dead bodies can leave some clues to catch the murderer.

10/14/2012
Christian Aguilar's family speaks after body is discovered outside of Gainesville

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --The Aguilar family has received some closure in a
search that's gone on for over three weeks. On Friday, a body matching
the description of missing 18-year-old Christian Aguilar was found on
hunting grounds in Levy County, according to The Gainesville Sun. Forensics have not confirmed the identity, but on Saturday the Aguilar's told the media they believe it is their son.

"We, as a family, believe that Christian has been found and our prayers
have been heard," said Carlos Aguilar, father of missing Christian
Aguilar. "Until the authorities give us the confirmation and at that
moment we are going to have, like we say, the honor to take Christian
back home."

Christian Aguilar was last seen on September 20th. His best friend,
Pedro Bravo has since been charged with first degree murder. Reports say
Bravo told Gainesville Police he had an altercation with Aguilar, beat him, and left him somewhere. For weeks hundreds of
volunteers across the state travelled to Gainesville to assist in the
search.

"The search is over so they wanted to thank all the people that went out
there for weeks and walked around the woods and risked their own health
to do it and the people that prayed and that did everything," says
Patrick Sessios, a volunteer who helped in the search.

Sessios' daughter also went missing in Gainesville over 20 years ago and
after what he experienced, he wanted to help the family find Christian.
"I was so hopeful that they would get this closure because I haven't after 23 years and I probably never will," said Sessios.

Students spent the afternoon expressing their condolences on a mural
that stretches across part of Southwest 34th Street near the University
of Florida Campus. They painted their sorrow and showed just how much
the Gainesville community has come together during this tragic time.

Pedro Bravo is being held without bond.
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/article/277966/3/Aguilar-Family-Speaks-After-Body-is-Discovered

Posted on Friday, 09.28.12

Missing Teen

Here’s what I know about Pedro Bravo: A roommate’s observations

 

Pedro Bravo

By Erik Skipper
For the Independent Florida Alligator

In a world buzzing over cellphones and high-speed Internet, ultra-fast networking, social media and text messaging, one can easily believe that he or she is always “in the know.” We crave news and thirst for more information. We desire it now ...

Well, here it goes: My name is Erik, and I’m Pedro Bravo’s roommate.

Pedro was a randomly assigned roommate, and he seemed like a pretty nice kid.
He was quiet, thoughtful and courteous.

Three or four days a week he just wasn’t here, but when he was, he kept to himself. He was like a ghost. He stayed in his bedroom and always shut his door.
When he came out it was to refill his cup, eat a quick snack or make himself something to eat. He rarely washed his dishes.

He enjoyed watching “Futurama,” “Family Guy” and really anything on Comedy Central. He was very artistic and enjoyed keeping a journal. Pedro never said much about it, but I was curious, so I would look.

I saw pictures of hearts; red and pink hearts, shattered hearts, hearts in tiny pieces, broken hearts. Next to his illustrations there was usually a caption — perhaps even a poem.

Several reporters have asked me if his behavior before the incident was odd, suspicious or unusual. It wasn’t. It was Pedro. I lived with him, but I hardly knew him.

The first time the investigators came by was Friday night between 11 p.m. and midnight. I had just finished cooking dinner and was cleaning up, when I heard a knock at the door.

I told a friend to answer it.

When asked by the officers if Pedro was home (which he was not), he called me downstairs.

After 30 to 40 minutes of interviewing, I had so many unanswered questions.

Was my roommate OK? Was he safe? Was he missing?

Or was he a suspect in a potential homicide? Was he dangerous? Should I feel threatened — should I leave?

I’m still here.

I’ve been asked “off the record” if I think he did it. Sadly, I know as much as you do. I don’t know either. But nevertheless, here’s what I do know:
I saw Pedro for the last time Thursday afternoon, between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

I was sitting at my living room table eating lunch when he came out of his bedroom. He was wearing the same exact outfit as the one depicted in that surveillance photo taken at Best Buy: dark, navy-blue jeans and a black shirt.

He said goodbye and left.

I stayed at the apartment until 5 p.m., when I left for an event at UF.

Pedro hadn’t returned.

After the event was over, I came back to my apartment, and by then it was between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. According to my other roommate, Pedro came back between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.

He didn’t stay long.

He walked quickly up the stairs and disappeared into his bedroom — no hello, nothing.

In less than five minutes, he left, walking back down the stairs with his backpack.

My roommate vaguely remembers what he was wearing, or if he appeared to be dirty, muddy or sweaty. I keep the apartment very clean, vacuuming almost every day; I didn’t see anything suspicious.

Because of my tough schedule, I didn’t go to sleep until early Friday morning — 4 a.m.

Still no Pedro.

That Thursday, Pedro put a question on the little white board attached to our fridge asking how much the tickets were for Saturday’s football game. I answered the question.

By the time I woke up Friday morning, after only five hours of sleep, there was a new question, a question — again — asked by Pedro: How many tickets can students buy? –Pedro.

In other words, Pedro came home between the hours of 4 a.m. and 9 a.m. and left.
Christian Aguilar was last seen at 6 p.m. on Thursday near Streit’s Motorsports on Northwest 13th Street. His cellphone was shut off at about 8 p.m., according to reports.

Since then, police officers, detectives, forensics units and reporters have been in and out of our apartment.

A receipt for a shovel, dated Sept. 16, was found in Pedro’s bedroom. They’ve been back and forth, searching for anything, clues, evidence that could lead them to the whereabouts of Christian.

On Saturday evening, after returning from the football game, I found something suspicious in our washing machine.

It was one outfit, the same outfit that he was wearing that last time I saw him. It was washed, but it was still damp.

I’ve been asked a lot about his bedroom — what it looked like, what was in it.

It was usually messy, but the last and most startling thing I saw was a quote on his white board, which read: “Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one’s head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace.” — Oscar Wilde

Erik Skipper, an economics sophomore at UF, wrote this for The Independent Florida Alligator. The article was published on Friday.




http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/28/3024788/heres-what-i-know-about-pedro.html#storylink=cpy

Pedro Bravo’s lawyer to request later deadline




Alligator File Photo



Posted: Wednesday, November 13, 2013 1:39 am |  Updated: 1:04 am, Fri Nov 15, 2013. 


Chris Alcantara, Alligator Staff Writer

With almost two months left until Pedro Bravo’s defense team is supposed to finish collecting depositions, the lead attorney told an Alachua County judge on Tuesday afternoon that he needed more time.


Michael Ruppert, who represents Bravo in his ongoing murder case, said during a case management hearing at the Alachua County Courthouse that he planned to file a written motion to extend the Jan. 14 deadline so he and his team could interview additional witnesses scheduled for later that month.

“We have a slew of depositions in January,” he said.

State prosecutors objected the motion. Judge Robert K. Groeb, who will replace Judge Denise Ferrero in overseeing the case in 2014, will review it and make a decision, said State Attorney’s Office spokesman Darry Lloyd.

Bravo, the 20-year-old former Santa Fe College student accused of kidnapping and murdering UF student Christian Aguilar, has already appeared in court a half-dozen times since 2012.

On Tuesday, he emerged from a side door in the courtroom, handcuffed and wearing a red jumpsuit. He glanced at a group of people, including his parents, sitting behind him.

Aguilar’s family and several supporters, who drove more than four hours from Miami, wore white “Justice for Christian” T-shirts and sat quietly on the opposite side of the room during the brief hearing.

More than a year after Bravo’s arrest, a trial date has yet to be set.

Although Tuesday’s hearing resulted in another delay, Carlos Aguilar, Christian Aguilar’s father, said he and his family are frustrated with the case’s slow pace as it moves into 2014.

“I understand this is part of the system. We don’t want appeal after appeal,” he said. “Nothing is going to bring Christian back, but I’ll still be looking for justice.”

David Kiliszek, Carlos Aguilar’s 31-year-old cousin from Broward County, agreed.

“It’s overwhelming … when all the defense is telling you is that they need more time,” he said.

Bravo’s next case management hearing is scheduled for Jan. 14.

Aguilar, an 18-year-old UF biomedical engineering freshman, was reported missing Sept. 20, 2012. A month later, two hunters found his half-buried body in a wooded area 40 miles southwest of Gainesville.

Gainesville Police arrested Bravo four days after Aguilar’s disappearance. Bravo has since been charged with kidnapping, homicide, lying to police, providing false reports, mishandling human remains, tampering with physical evidence, and poisoning food and/or water with the intent to kill or injure a person, according to court records.

He remains in custody at the Alachua County Jail.


http://www.alligator.org/news/local/article_55b12a10-4c2e-11e3-8fe0-001a4bcf887a.html

Trial for Pedro Bravo in Aguilar slaying scheduled for Aug. 4


The entrance of Parker Boulevard off State Road 24 near Cedar Key where the remains of missing UF student Christian Aguilar, at top, were found. Pedro Bravo, at bottom, has been charged with his murder.
File photos


By Chris Alcantara
Correspondent


Published: Friday, January 31, 2014 at 5:29 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, January 31, 2014 at 5:29 p.m.

Almost a year and a half after his arrest in the disappearance and slaying of his friend, Pedro Bravo will have his day in court late this summer.

Bravo, the 20-year-old former Santa Fe College student and Miami native accused of kidnapping and killing University of Florida freshman Christian Aguilar in 2012, will go to trial Aug. 4, State Attorney's Office spokesman Darry Lloyd said Friday.

Alachua County Judge Ysleta W. McDonald held a hearing with Brian Kramer, assistant state attorney, and Michael Ruppert, Bravo's defense attorney, on Friday at the Alachua County Courthouse, where they agreed on the trial date and scheduled a pretrial conference for July 16, Lloyd said.

"Now there's a concrete date for a trial; everybody will be moving toward that, which is a good thing," Lloyd said, adding that he expects the trial to last about two weeks.

Bravo faces first-degree murder and kidnapping charges, among other felonies, according to court records.

State Attorney Bill Cervone and prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against Bravo, Lloyd said. If Bravo is convicted of murder, under Florida law, he could face life in prison without parole.

Aguilar, 18, was last seen alive on Sept. 20, 2012, walking with Bravo into the Best Buy store off Southwest Archer Road.

Four days later, in the midst of a city-wide search and with no body yet recovered, the Gainesville Police Department named Bravo a suspect and arrested him.
Less than a month later, two hunters found Aguilar's half-buried corpse in a hunting area about six miles west of Otter Creek in Levy County.

Since his arrest, Bravo has appeared in court more than a half-dozen times for case management hearings. He remains in custody at the Alachua County jail.

In Bravo's recent hearing on Jan. 14, Ruppert updated McDonald and prosecutors on his progress in taking depositions from more than 100 witnesses in the case.

After Friday's hearing, Ruppert will need to submit a list of witnesses, primarily of experts, to the court by May 15, Lloyd said.

Ruppert had not returned phone calls seeking comment by late Friday.

Bravo is scheduled to appear in court for another hearing Feb. 18, according to court records. However, Lloyd said that hearing might now be canceled.

With a trial set almost two years after his son's slaying, Carlos Aguilar, 46, said he plans to schedule time off work and decide how he'll bring his family to Gainesville to attend the trial.

"For me, this was excellent news," he said. "At least when we get to two years (after Christian's death), we will know the results."




http://www.gainesville.com/article/20140131/ARTICLES/140139855?p=2&tc=pg

Pedro Bravo murder trial proceedings moving along



Ryan Jones, Alligator Staff
Pedro Bravo walks in for a case management hearing at the Alachua County Courthouse on Tuesday. Another case management hearing was scheduled for April 22.


Posted: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 12:34 am |  Updated: 12:35 am, Wed Feb 19, 2014. 

 
Julia Glum, Alligator Staff Writer


At about 2 and a half minutes, Tuesday’s hearing in the Pedro Bravo case might have been its shortest yet.

After lawyers confirmed that taking depositions is going well, Judge Ysleta McDonald set another hearing for April 22. The trial of Bravo, the 20-year-old former Santa Fe College student accused of killing UF freshman Christian Aguilar in 2012, is due to start Aug. 4. Pretrial hearings are set for July 16th.

Those are the days Christian’s dad, Carlos Aguilar, is focusing on.

“It’s a relief to know the date,” he said. “Hopefully, by the end of August, everyone will know the truth, and everybody will be able to say justice was served.”

But Tuesday’s hearing just served as a check-in on the attorneys’ progress.

In January, defense lawyer Michael Ruppert told the judge that his witnesses numbered more than 100. State Attorney Brian Kramer previously explained the need to travel to collect some of his depositions, and Tuesday he said he has set up dates to do so.

With these developments and the announcement of a trial schedule, Aguilar said he can see “the light at the end of the tunnel.”


http://www.alligator.org/news/crime/article_73413cb4-9927-11e3-a9f6-0019bb2963f4.html

Witnesses Take The Stand In Case Of Murdered UF Student

August 5, 2014 5:45 PM
Eliott Rodriguez

MIAMI (CBSMiami) –  Witnesses took the stand Tuesday in the trial of a South Florida man accused of killing a former high school pal in Gainesville.

Pedro Bravo, 20, is charged with first degree murder in the death of University of Florida student Christian Aguilar. Both he and Bravo were Doral Academy graduates.

The first witness called up by prosecution was Aguilar’s dad, Carlos, followed by his mother.

Prosecution and defense also gave their opening statements on Tuesday.

During his opening statement, prosecutor Brian Kramer told the jury that ‘this was a tale as old as time’ and ‘this is about the elimination of a rival fueled by jealousy, hatred and anger’.

Among the items presented to the jury was Bravo’s journal/sketch book in which Kramer claimed he obsessed over his ex-girlfriend Erika Friman who was now going out with Aguilar.

One passage read, “All this time, all these girls I’ve seen, all who talked to me and I still want you. Its been so long and I still want you. You were mine and I was yours, now I am just yours.”

Another noted “I want to give up everything to be with her again.”

CLICK HERE to watch Elliot Rodriguez’s report

Kramer said the journal entries and computer searches he performed were proof that he planned to kill Aguilar.

Among the computer searches Bravo reportedly performed were ‘what murders get solved’, cutting veins, and anesthetics.

Kramer also told the jury about the drugs and duct tape Bravo bought at Walmart the day he searched Google for chloroform and anesthesia.

Bravo, a former Santa Fe College student, is accused of killing Aguilar, 18, sometime after the two were captured on surveillance video at a Gainesville Best Buy on September 20th, 2012.

Kramer said Aguilar was killed in Bravo’s car in a Walmart parking lot by strangulation; it took 13 minutes.

Prosecutors say he may have strangled him with a belt found in the backseat over Aguilar’s DNA. There was also an empty Gatorade bottle in the car.

“This bottle contains dyphenhydromine and acetaminophen. Those are the same contents of the Zquil that is cut open and of the Equate that has been separated and emptied. That is planning to poison someone, ” said Kramer.

It wasn’t until October 12th, following a massive volunteer search, that Aguilar’s body was discovered by hunters deep in the woods. His body was half-buried in Levy County, an hour from the UF campus.

“It wasn’t enough to murder Christian Aguilar. He had to make him disappear because he had a plan. For 22 days in late September, Pedro Bravo’s plan was a success. Chris disappeared,” said Prosecutor Brian Kramer on Tuesday.

The state also made connections from Bravo to Aguilar’s grave.

Police later found blood in Bravo’s SUV and Aguilar’s backpack hidden in his closet. They also found a receipt showing Bravo purchased a shovel and duct tape just days before Aguilar’s disappearance.  Kramer then pointed out that duct tape was found next to Aguilar’s foot and his wrists are bound to his neck with tape as well. He added that Bravo revealed the location of the shovel to an inmate who turned it over to investigators.

The same limestone found on his tires was found on the shovel he had bought days before.

Kramer wrapped up his opening statement just before noon.

In his opening statement Bravo’s defense attorney, Michael Ruppert, told the jury that Bravo and Aguilar got into an argument in a wooded section near where his body would later be found.  He said Aguilar told Bravo ‘why don’t you just kill yourself’.  The two fought and Bravo left Aguilar bloody but conscious.

Ruppert said while his client may have been suicidal and depressed over his ex-girlfriend, he did not have premeditation to kill.

“Pedro was wrong for getting into a fight with his friend. Pedro was wrong for leaving his friend in the condition that he was in but he did not kill Christian Aguilar, and he had no premeditation to kill Christian Aguilar,” said Defense Michael Ruppert.

Bravo, who was 18 at the time, stands charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping, poisoning and other crimes. He is not expected to testify during the trial.

The state is not seeking the death penalty. Bravo could face life in prison

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2014/08/05/opening-statements-tuesday-in-case-of-murdered-uf-student/

Interrogation tapes played in Pedro Bravo murder trial

Man accused of killing friend heard defending himself to investigators in interrogation

Author: Terrell Forney, Reporter,
Published On: Aug 11 2014 06:02:51 PM EDT   Updated  2 h

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -

Court adjourned for the day in the trial of Pedro Bravo, the young man accused of killing a University of Florida student.

The police interrogation tapes were played in court Monday and jurors got to hear Bravo defend himself to investigators.

"I see him, I shove him," Bravo told investigators. "(I) punched him once in the nose."


It was the first time Pedro Bravo's voice was heard describing the bloody brawl he said he had with UF freshman Christian Aguilar on the day he turned up missing in September 2012. Bravo initially told police he was only in a verbal argument with Aguilar, but as hours ticked by, the teen changed his story to a violent confrontation.

Detective: "So you strike him -- one time?"

Pedro: "One time in the back."

Detective: "OK, so you strike one time. Blood or no blood?"

Pedro: "He was already bleeding."

Detective: "So you strike him with the other hand right?"

Pedro: "Right here on the cheek."

Bravo was suspected of killing Aguilar from the beginning after giving cops conflicting statements and vague information about simple questions.

Detective: "How did you get turned around, where did you turn around?"

Blood was found in Bravo's sports utility vehicle and Aguilar's book bag was found in Bravo's closet -- a book bag Bravo said he "forgot to mention."

Aguilar's body was found weeks later in a shallow grave. He had poisoned and strangled to death.

Bravo denies killing Aguilar, who was dating an ex-girlfriend of his, but he said he came upset when Aguilar told him "you should kill yourself."

Detective: "What was the comment?"

Pedro: "You should kill yourself, you should do it."

Bravo faces life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder.


http://www.local10.com/news/interrogation-tapes-played-in-pedro-bravo-murder-trial/27416304

His attorney lies in court and says he didn't kill Christian.  Yet the details coming out in this trial are gruesome.  He planned to murder a few more people in the same manner so as to throw suspicion off of himself.  The details of his plan are mind boggling. 

This murder was planned far in advance.  The cold bloodedness of Bravo is sickening.  He followed Christian from Miami and it looks like if he couldn't win his girlfriend back, his intent all along was murder.

I guess they are not going for the DP because of his age, but they still have that option.  They impaneled a DP jury which is interesting since the state claims they will not seek the DP.

Jury Watches Police Interview In Pedro Bravo Murder Trial
August 11, 2014 5:32 PM






GAINESVILLE (CBSMiami) – The jury in the murder trial of Pedro Bravo got chance to hear what he told police about the disappearance of his friend Christian Aguilar in his own words.

Bravo is accused of strangling Aguilar, 18, in September 2012 because of his obsession with his former girlfriend Erika Friman.  Bravo, Aguilar and Friman all attended the Doral Academy.

Monday morning after listening to a police forensics expert testify about the dirt found on Bravo’s car, University of Florida police Sergeant Stephen Wilder was called to the stand.

Wilder conducted the second interview with Bravo after Aguilar’s disappearance. On the video, Bravo tells Wilder that the last time he saw his friend the two discussed his depression and his wanting to commit suicide. He said Aguilar tried to talk him out of it.

“He’s one of my good friends and he’s one of the only people who could help me,” said Bravo.

“He’d gone through the same thing and I knew he’d be there for me,” he added.
He said at one point they picked up a hitchhike and then dropped him off.

CLICK HERE to watch Ted Scouten’s report
Bravo said they got into a heated argument and Christian wanted out of the car so he dropped him off.

“I made a comment about this girl he liked for three years (not Erica), he got mad and told me to stop the car,” said Bravo.

“I was angry and stopped the car and said ‘fine, get out’,” added Bravo.

Bravo originally told police he and Christian had a verbal argument, then he said it turned physical.

“I was sitting here in the car, and I remember he said something and I just punched him across the face.”

Bravo said that’s when he kicked Christian out of the car, but the detective was still not buying it. He’s afraid it’s even worse.

“How many times did you hit him,” he asked Bravo.

“Once. Just once,” said Bravo later adding, “I don’t want him to be found a skeleton by his parents and not be able to have a funeral.”

Under questioning as to whether police would find Aguilar alive, Bravo’s story changed.

“I stopped the car, I got out and started a small fight with him and then I left,” said Bravo.

Then his story became more defined.

“I pushed him out of the car, then I got out of the car then I kept punching him,” said Bravo. “I really hope he’s okay. When I left the scene it was me, I was just there whaling on him, then I kept going until I could see he was okay but he couldn’t move anymore. Then I drove away.”‘

Aguilar’s body was found dead weeks later, partially buried in a wooded section.   Investigators believe he was poisoned in the back of Bravo’s SUV and then strangled, possibly with a belt.

After leaving Aguilar, Bravo told Wilder “I was really mad and annoyed. I didn’t care to look back.”  He said he later regretted not going back.

Bravo said he had trouble sleeping that night. He said he took four sleeping pills and went to bed. He said he woke up in the middle of the night, checked his phone and went back to sleep. Bravo said he then woke up around 3 a.m. and the power went off. He said he later got a call from Erika asking if she had heard from Aguilar.

“That’s when I learned he did not make it back to his dorm room. His roommate called and said he was not there. The last I saw of him, I dropped him off,” said Bravo.

“I couldn’t get back to sleep, I kind of felt guilty, I dropped him off and left him. What if he didn’t get back to his dorm,” said Bravo.

“I just really hope he’s lost,” Bravo told Wilder. “I’ll be happy if he’s lost.”

When asked how he felt about Aguilar dating Friman, Bravo replied “Well she deserves the best” and ” I don’t have a problem with them dating.”

Bravo told police he had duct tape in his car because of a cracked windshield.
He added that said Friman told him that Aguilar had called his father after he dropped him off.

Wilder testified that after interviewing Bravo, his department contacted Gainesville police and got them involved.

Aguilar’s body was found in October 2012.

Last week, Mark Trahan, a Gainesville Police Department Crime Scene Investigator, testified that he found traces of blood on the bottom of a paint can and a shoe insole from inside Bravo’s car.   He added the shovel Bravo bought to bury Aguilar was found under a boardwalk in an apartment complex.

CLICK HERE to watch CBS4’s noon report 
Prosecutors also played security footage from Walmart and Lowes appearing to show Aguilar purchasing the shovel, and other items, including a knife.

The state also showed video stills showing an SUV similar to Bravo’s coming in and out of his apartment complex multiple times around one o’clock the next morning – after Aguilar vanished.

Friman testified Aguilar had concerns about meeting her ex-boyfriend. Friman told the courtroom she was shocked when Bravo moved to Gainesville from Miami and lied to him about dating Aguilar so she didn’t “push him over the edge.”

According to Friman, she assisted with arranging a meeting between Aguilar and Bravo so that Aguilar could help Bravo work through depression.

Friman said she and Aguilar had plans later that night for dinner, but he never showed.


http://miami.cbslocal.com/2014/08/11/jury-watches-police-interview-in-pedro-bravo-murder-trial/

Posted on Friday, 08.15.14



Pedro Bravo found guilty of first-degree murder of Christian Aguilar

 
Prosecutors said Pedro Bravo killed University of Florida freshman Christian Aguilar by poisoning and strangulation, jealous over the relationship Aguilar had with Bravo’s ex-girlfriend.

Related Content

• Pedro Bravo, charged with killing Christian Aguilar, takes the stand
  

By Audra D.S. Burch
aburch@MiamiHerald.com

GAINESVILLE --  Pedro Bravo was found guilty on Friday of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole in the killing of University of Florida freshman Christian Aguilar after a two-week trial that centered on jealousy, rage, unrequited love, suicide and, ultimately, murder.

Bravo stared straight ahead after a court clerk read the verdict aloud in Alachua County Criminal Justice Center Courtroom 1B. Both the Aguilar and Bravo families were present, both in tears. Sentencing immediately followed the verdict, with the Aguilar family addressing the judge.

Carlos Aguilar, the young man’s father, went first: “Our life was destroyed on Sept. 20, 2012,” the day the UF freshman went missing.


Claudia Aguilar, his mother, spoke in a broken voice about Bravo, who had been a high school friend of her son’s: “He made the most terrible decision for me and my family.”

Their younger son, Alexander, who now attends UF, also addressed the judge. “It’s been agonizing — so much pain and agony. I am now a student at the University of Florida. I would have loved to spend time with my brother here but that is never going to happen. I trusted the jury and they didn’t fail me.”

And then Bravo spoke, too, refusing blame. “It doesn’t matter what anyone says. I know in my heart what I did. I did not kill my friend.”

Alachua County Circuit Judge James Colaw was unmoved, piling an additional 40 years on top of life in prison without possibility of parole. “This is your day of reckoning,” he told Bravo before announcing the sentences.

Along with first-degree murder, Bravo, 20, was convicted of false imprisonment, poisoning, providing false information to law enforcement officers and other charges.

As Bravo was sentenced, he looked toward his mother in the courtroom. She was weeping and made the sign of the cross.

Prosecutors said Bravo killed Aguilar by poisoning and strangulation, jealous over the relationship Aguilar had with Bravo's ex-girlfriend, Erika Friman. He then drove about an hour to Levy County and dumped his body in the woods.

After nine days of testimony and more than 1,000 pieces of evidence on both sides, the jury — eight women, four men — deliberated more than three hours. Though Bravo took the stand and testified for more than two hours on what happened on Sept. 20, 2012, they concluded Aguilar’s death was no accident.

The verdict, almost two years after Aguilar first disappeared, marks the end of a tragic chapter that started with panicked phone calls from Gainesville and distraught parents on a relentless search for their missing son. On Friday night, Aguilar's father, Carlos — who attended trial everyday with his wife, younger son and two dozen family members — found long-awaited justice.

In an interview before the verdict, Carlos Aguilar spoke about finally seeing the case reach a trial. “The reality is the verdict will not bring my son back. But Pedro was held accountable. I promised Christian at his burial that there would be justice.”

Aguilar, 18, was last seen entering a Gainesville Best Buy with Bravo to buy a Kanye West CD. When he went missing, the Gainesville and Miami communities united to find him, searching for 22 days across much of the college town.

Aguilar’s skeletal remains were discovered in a shallow grave in woods in Levy County, about 60 miles from Gainesville. He had been bound with duct tape.

Police found blood in Bravo’s SUV, as well as Aguilar’s backpack hidden in Bravo’s apartment. They also found a receipt showing that Bravo had purchased duct tape and a shovel in the days before Aguilar's disappearance. Bravo was arrested within days.

Bravo’s lawyers had painted a picture of a young man tormented and ready to die. He had cut his wrists, written about his own death in journals and letters and was involuntarily committed for mental health reasons by police, all as he struggled with the breakup from Friman.

But prosecutors said Bravo was the smart, nefarious mastermind behind a plot to kill Aguilar.

The three young people had attended high school together at Doral Academy Preparatory School.

During Bravo’s sentencing, the judge ordered him to have no contact with the Aguilar family or with Friman.

Friman, who testified during the trial, was in court for the verdict. “I am relieved. I am exhausted. It’s been a long two years but I feel like the weight has finally been lifted off of us.”

Afterward, Carlos Aguilar said he’s not ready to forgive. “Not yet, because Pedro Bravo didn’t show any [remorse]. He did not admit his guilt.” .



http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/15/4291209/closing-arguments-begin-in-trial.html

He's still claiming he's innocent even though he bought his murder kit in advance and had written plans to murder other people so it would look like Aguilar was killed by a serial killer.  He's evil.  He committed this murder when he was 18 and has never shown a flicker of remorse.