Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
In a bizarre incident, Christian Aguilar, who went missing on September 20, 2012, was murdered by Pedro Bravo. Prosecutors alleged that Bravo was jealous of Aguilar’s relationship with his ex-girlfriend Erika Friman, per ABC7 Chicago. All three of them were from the same high school. They believed that he sedated his friend, strangled him to death with a belt, and then buried the body in a shallow grave.
Authorities began suspecting Bravo’s involvement in Aguilar’s as he was the last to see the 18-year-old. Oxygen True Crime reported that the day before he went missing, the two went to grab a bite and then to Best Buy to get a Kanye West CD. He detailed the events that followed but changed his version of the narrative multiple times.
Investigators later found evidence that linked Pedro Bravo to Christian Aguilar’s murder. As per ABC7 Chicago, these included duct tape, a bottle of Gatorade, blood stains, and a receipt for a shovel. Other evidence was journal entries about a step-by-step plan to win back Friman and make Aguilar disappear.
CBS News reported that Pedro Brave stood trial in August 2014, which resulted in a conviction for murdering Christian Aguilar, among other charges. He then received a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Bravo is now serving his sentence in the Okeechobee Correctional Institution, per the Florida Department of Corrections.
ABC 20/20 will look into Christian Aguilar’s murder of his friend Pedro Bravo in September 2012. The upcoming episode, titled “Killer on Campus,” will premiere on the network this Friday, March 1, 2024, at 9 p.m. ET.
Why did Pedro Bravo murder Christian Aguilar?
Erika Friman told ABC that she and Pedro Bravo began dating in Miami in their sophomore year of high school. They dated through the summer of 2012 until Friman had to leave for Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida. Then, she told Bravo, “I don’t see a future with you, and I don’t want to do long distance, and this doesn’t make me happy right now.”
After the breakup, she started seeing Christian Aguilar. All three had attended high school together, and Bravo and Aguilar had been friends. However, Bravo also enrolled at Santa Fe Community College and was reportedly still upset over losing her. They believed he was suicidal. Hence, Friman and Aguilar kept their relationship a secret.
During Pedro Bravo’s trial in August 2014, prosecutors alleged that he was distraught after learning that Erika Friman and Christian Aguilar were dating. So, he devised a plan to kill Aguilar to reunite with Friman. During an investigation, authorities found a detailed journal where he professed his love for Friman several times and wrote about winning her back. Additionally, he wrote about getting away with murdering his friend Aguilar.
According to ABC7 Chicago, as part of his plan, Bravo sedated Aguilar using a concoction of drugs in a Gatorade bottle. He then used a belt to strangle the latter. Authorities believed that the murder occurred inside the defendant’s SUV in a Walmart parking lot in Gainesville, Florida. They found evidence such as a cracked windshield covered in duct tape and blood stains on the car’s seats. Other evidence included a blood-stained paint can and shoes and several signs of a violent struggle.
Prosecutors also alleged that during the investigation, authorities found a mud-covered shovel behind Bravo’s apartment. They alleged that he likely used this shovel to bury Aguilar’s body. Surveillance footage proved that Bravo bought a shovel, duct tape, bandages, and sleep aids the night before Aguilar went missing. The victim disappeared on September 20, 2012. Over 20 days later, hunters found his skeletal remains in a shallow grave on the grounds of the Gulf Hammock Hunting Club in Levy County, per WUFT.
The trial ended with Pedro Bravo’s conviction on first-degree murder, false imprisonment, poisoning, tampering with physical evidence, giving false information on committing of felony, giving false information concerning a missing person case, and unlawful transportation of human remains, reported CBS News. Thereafter, a judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole and other additional terms.
ABC 20/20‘s episode on Christina Aguilar’s murder case airs on Friday, March 1, 2024.
