Christian Aguilar was just 18 years old when his life was tragically taken from him. Christian was a college student with many goals and dreams for his future. He had so many people that loved him, including his girlfriend Erika Friman.
Christian and Erika were that type of couple that everyone strived to be. They were so happy and in love, and they thought they would be that way forever. However, on September 20th, 2012 this dream of living happily ever after together would never be able to become a reality.
Christian’s story impacted not only his family and friends, but also the community around him. The community at the University of Florida which he attended was never quite the same when Christian went missing and they later discovered what actually happened to him that day.
Christian Aguilar was born on February 20th, 1994 in Miami-Dade county in Florida. He grew up in Florida and graduated high school from Doral Academy Preparatory School.
Christian’s parents, Carlos and Claudia Aguilar, described him as being a shy and quiet young man, but extremely kind and caring when you got to know him well.
After finishing high school, Christian went on to attend college at the University of Florida where he began studying to one day become a biomedical engineer.
Christian was dating Erika Friman at the time of his death, and they had initially met in high school.
Christian and Erika were said to be extremely happy together and like the “perfect couple”. Erika described them as being “soulmates”.
Christian was an extremely smart and dedicated person. His life had only really just began. There was so much for him to look forward to still, but he’d never get the chance to live the life he deserved.
On September 20th, 2012 it was just a day like any other for 18 year old Christian Aguilar. He had made plans with his girlfriend Erika for later that day, but earlier on he was hanging out with a friend of his.
Christian had met up with Pedro Bravo, which was a friend of his from high school. The two got some food together and went to a nearby Best Buy store to purchase a Kanye West CD.
However, after Christian and Pedro met up to hang out that day, Christian never returned home and never met up with his girlfriend Erika for their plans later on.
Erika immediately knew that something was wrong so she decided to report Christian missing to the police. Police started working on this case instantly since he only seemed to have been missing for less than a day.
Investigators started by speaking with Pedro, because it became clear that Pedro must’ve been the last person to see Christian that day. But, according to Pedro the two had gotten into an argument regarding Erika and the way Pedro was handling his personal issues so he dropped Christian off on the side of the road and hadn’t seen him since.
The police then found out from Pedro that him and Erika actually dated for a few years while they were in high school. It was discovered that Erika actually broke up with Pedro right after graduation.
Christian was friends with both Erika and Pedro throughout high school so he did know that they broke up. However, when Christian moved into college at the University of Florida, Erika began attending a community college in the same area.
Because they had been friends for awhile Christian and Erika began hanging out together, and that’s when they both realized they liked each other and decided to start dating. Pedro found out about his friend dating his ex-girlfriend, and he was really angry about this.
Pedro even decided to transfer to the community college that Erika was attending at the time to try to rekindle things with her. However, Erika had already moved on with Christian and she wasn’t interested in seeing Pedro in that way again. This really upset Pedro, and he felt as if Christian had betrayed him.
Pedro told investigators that he reached out to Christian on September 20th and told him that he was having a really hard time with Christian and Erika’s new relationship and that he had been depressed for quite some time now. Christian, being the caring person he was, agreed to meet up with Pedro to make sure he was okay and try to explain to him that even though he was dating Erika now he didn’t want there to be any bad blood between them.
Little did Christian know, Pedro wasn’t depressed and upset about his new relationship with Erika. Pedro was angry, and he wanted his revenge.
Pedro told investigators that he dropped Christian off on the side of the road and hadn’t seen him since, but of course they didn’t believe this.
Police searched Pedro’s home and they actually found Christian’s backpack hidden underneath a suitcase. They also found a journal Pedro kept that detailed his obsession with Erika and desire to win her back.
Police then began looking into Pedro’s movements in the days leading up to Christian’s disappearance. Pedro was seen on surveillance cameras and various stores buying a shovel, duct tape, sleeping pills, and a knife.
This is when the police knew that Pedro Bravo had to be involved with Christian’s disappearance, they just weren’t exactly sure how yet because he continued to deny it.
Three weeks after Christian disappeared, his remains were found in the woods. Christian was buried in a shallow grave in Levy County, Florida. He was found face down, with his wrists, ankles, and neck all bound in duct tape.
The police then arrested Pedro for the murder of Christian, but he was still denying all involvement so the case went to trial.
The police finally were able to piece together what happened on September 20th, 2012. It’s believed that Pedro already had Christian’s murder planned out before hanging out that day. Pedro offered Christian a sports drink when he got into his car that he had mixed sleeping pills into prior.
Christian accepted the drink, and eventually passed out. It was then that Pedro pulled into a Walmart parking lot and moved Christian’s sleeping body to the back seat of his car. He then strangled Christian for a moving strap until he died.
Pedro then drove his car to the woods and used the shovel and duct tape he bought previously to dispose of his body. Pedro buried Christian, and left him there thinking he would be able to get away with what he had just done.
In August of 2014, Pedro Bravo was found guilty for the murder of Christian Aguilar. Pedro was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Pedro has maintained his innocence ever since.
Pedro Bravo is still in prison today at the Taylor Correctional Institution in Perry, Florida. Although Pedro still claims he is innocent, all of Christian’s loved ones know the truth.
Pedro killed Christian because of jealousy. He couldn’t get over the idea of his ex-girlfriend that he wanted back so badly now being in a happy relationship with his friend.
Erika Friman has since said since her boyfriends murder
“This was a person we knew. This was intentional, it makes it all so much worse. It’s like the knife just turns in your heart kind of thing.”
Christian Aguilar’s family and friends were absolutely devastated about his tragic murder. However, they take comfort in knowing that Pedro Bravo will never be released from prison. Pedro will never have an opportunity to live a normal life because he took that opportunity away from his own friend due to jealously.
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