i just felt that she was finally at peace. she can rest now. >> rest for wendy, the kind young woman who loved animals and enjoyed playing dress-up and who fatally married a stranger, till death he did part. i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> this is dateline. >> i'm here in pain. i would give anything for christian to be here. >> they were new to college and newly in love. the whole world ahead of them. >> he grabs my chin and he pulls me up and just gives me a magical kiss. >> their secret romance would lead to something shattering

when christian vanished. >> oh, god. my young life went out the window. >> we were tense. we were nervous. we were scared. >> i'm starting to believe there was more to this than just a missing person. >> where was he? someone had something to hide. >> a lover's try anal. a circle of friends of was one of them a killer. >> this was planned on purpose. >> how could you do something so horrific? >> hello. welcome to dateline. high school seniors were like three peas in a pod. after high school, they even picked colleges in the same

city. then one of them went missing. as the hours past, the mystery deepens, they uncovered a hidden truth, one they believe might be a motive for murder. here is denis murphy with "circle of friends." >> remember going away to college? maybe your first time away from home. there were new friends to be made. >> oh, god. the first kiss was amazing. >> i thought he was just depressed. you just didn't take it that seriously. maybe we should have. >> for three florida teenagers, the decision they made as they started campus life had terrible consequences. >> it all seemed surreal. we thought this can't possibly happen. >> the story of our three begins in a high school near miami.

erica, pedro and christian were inseparable. a trio of friends wrestling through adolescents at doral academy. >> i moved there in 2006 for sixth grade. >> it was a special place. >> one from people all over the world, which was interesting. they had a lot of opportunities academically you don't get at an average high school. >> erica was smart, and pretty. she caught the eye of a cute guy in class, pedro bravo. >> he was a big clown. a funny guy. >> disruptive, act out in class guy? >> not really act out in class but he'd act out as soon as class was over and it was just to get the class going or

something like that. >> a rock solid student with an artistic flair. >> he could draw anything. >> robert lopez was a friend and classmate. >> anything from graphic comics up to picture art? >> right. they were very gifted. >> erica and pedro quickly became an item. teenaged lovers with adult dreams. >> we became in a serious relationship. we were a little more mature than others. we didn't go out and drink. we were focused on each other. >> another good buddy. christian aguilar. >> i met him through pedro. he was fun and funny. we were instantly good friends. >> a soccer player who hit the

books. the son of immigrants. plans to become a doctor. >> it sounds like you have to know how academically motivated he was. >> he was very driven. it wasn't that his family was pushing him. he wanted to make them proud. >> these three all doubled at prom together and posed in this snap shot in the waning days of high school. >> did you do a limo? >> we did do a limo. we all showed up and took plenty of pictures. it was fun. >> graduation from high school was one of those big paths crossing in the wood. christian that he was intent on pre-med got admitted to university of florida,

gainesville. >> all three friends wanted to be gators, only christian got in. erica headed to a different college in gainesville, santa fe. >> erica broke it off with pedro. she didn't want a long distance relationship. after all, they were just 18 years old. the big wide world ahead of them. >> is i wanted him to find someone and fall in love. i just didn't think they were the one for me. >> they were barely unpacked. pedro didn't want to be left behind in miami after all. as the fall semester started, he showed up in gainesville as his friend robert remembered. >> he just visited and ended up

signing the lease and enrolling for classes at santa fe college. >> could the relationship be renewed. if that was the hope, it was dashed with some awful news on september 21, 2012. >> we were tense, we were nervous, we were scared. >> christian never showed up at his dorm that night. he never answered his phone. >> it is not like christian to not answer or disappear. there was something wrong. >> christian aguilar had vanished. >> coming up, what could be behind christian's sudden disappearance. retracing his last steps. >> he tells me at some point they stop and pick up a hitch

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. three teenagers, all college freshmen. one, christian was a no show. >> it got later and later. i started calling our friends. i wanted to make sure. >> when did you go from worry to getting freaked out? >> honestly, all that night. i couldn't sleep. i passed by his dorm room to see if possibly his phone died, he couldn't answer. he wasn't in his dorm, where was

he all night? where was he staying? where was he sleeping? where was he? >> he hasn't come back to his dorm. erica and pedro together went to the gainesville police. >> we go to the window and explain. the lady pretty much laughs at me. >> she blows you off? >> i was like i hope this is not a serious thing. >> after all, christian wouldn't be the first college freshman to go off the grid for a bit. his friends were worried. the cops told them to go see if the campus police could help. >> the big thing i wanted to find out was had anybody been in contact with him. when was the last time. >> officer twin talked to the concerned pair. found out pedro was the last person to see him the previous

day. >> he walked me through the day. they go to the infirmary because christian had to get a flu shot and back to pedro's car. at that point, they go to best buy. >> pretty routine until he said they did something impulsive. >> he told me they stopped to pick up a hitch hiker. >> they drove around town a bit. >> they said, i want to get out of the car. christian said i want to get out of the car too. >> that's where the two parted. that neighborhood around the body shop raised alarms for officer peck. it had rough spots. >> some of the area is a high drug era and had gang activity as well. that concerned me. where they up there for that reason or in the process of

christian getting dropped off, did he wonder into something. >> i knew there is a large homeless community in gainesville and there still is. i was concerned about that. if he was in the woods somewhere and stumbled into a campground of homeless people and they decided to do something to him. that's something i thought of. >> a gang area, homeless camps and a mysterious hitch hiker. there seemed to be reason enough to worry. >> erika called his parents and told them christian was missing. >> what did you think? >> i was worried. >> that wasn't like christian. >> along with his brother, they jumped in the car. >> that was the most silent car ride together. >> what did that word missing

mean to you? >> maybe trying to be positive. maybe he went to a party. maybe he got injured. we couldn't tell. we don't know who he hangs out with. >> when police arrived, police had questions for alex and his parents too. >> we come into a room, an officer asked a few questions. what type of person is christian. does he drink or do drugs? >> what were you seeing in his parents at this period? >> confused. pain. >> they were all about to channel that pain into determination with more friends heading up from miami. >> i had a whole group of individuals who were now just as concerned and focused as i was to find christian. i didn't freely so alone. i felt we are going to find him. we can do this. >> christian's friends and family were hopeful. >> for officer peck, the case of

the missing student caught more wind. christian was trying to hide something. was his secret the key to finding him. >> there is something else going on here. would that identify him? i'm not sure. >> coming up. >> do you know christian? >> how do you know him. >> i was concerned i'd push him off the edge.

erika fareedman were at that police office. cameras were rolling. his team went to work tracing the missing student. they pinked his cell phone. it was off. checked university computers, christian had not logged on. >> we checked with the local hospital and with out notes froo the previous night. check with the city and county to see if they had any contact with them. >> no sign of christian everywhere. >> you are still calling and texting? >> i'm sending messages saying we are going to find you.

i love you so much. everything is going to be okay. trying to calm myself down. >> it was in those hours erika disclosed a secret. her secret too. since high school graduation and break up with pedro, she and christian had become more than friends. >> it was very exciting. we thought it was great. we thought this is us learning to get used to gainesville. it was like i had my best friend with me. somebody i could always turn to. >> who made the move for the first embrace? >> he did. he drove to my house. i see him. we hugged. we are there, i was nervous. i had all these butterflies. he grabs my chin and pulls me up and gives me this magical kiss.

>> you became a couple that moment? >> oh, yeah. we were like, is this happening? i was like, god, this is crazy. i can't believe this. >> in a matter of weeks, their young lives had changed completely. they were madly, deeply in love. >> what do you think of who of you had? >> something very rare. something you don't find every day. something amazing. i don't even now how to explain what we had. it was like not a care in the world because you are so happy. >> out of respect, they kept the romance from pedro.

>> yet they knew something was eating away since graduation. >> did he change at all? >> yes, as time went on. he was a little more withdrawn. he was just starting to keep to himself a little more. >> he was kind of depressed. >> we all go through it. >> buddy robert lopez noticed some alarming behavior. >> we went to this restaurant. the swamp. well-known in gainesville. our tab ran up to $70. we picked up the whole tab. we asked him why. he said, i won't worry about it. i won't need this money soon. >> that's when we realized ee not doing okay. >> was pedro suicidal?

all the more reason to keep their happy romance silence. >> i was concerned to push him off the edge. >> i didn't want him to go home thinking i'm dating one of our mutual friends. >> now the cat was out of the bag. >> at the police station that day, erica blurted it out. >> do you know christian? >> yes. how do you know him? >> his girlfriend. >> she goes on to tell me her and christian started dating but they didn't think they knew. >> how would pedro react to hearing that. >> the officer sensed something that seemed to be brewing. what that was wasn't clear. >> for now, everybody was focused on finding christian. >> they were like we are all in this together. he's our friend. we are trying to find out whatever we can to help locate

him. >> officer peck could see erika was becoming increasingly agitated. as the campus cop was chebing out the stories. he decided it was time to bring in investigators from the gainesville pd. the first thing they could do was talk to pedro bravo. >> coming up, a dramatic new include. >> we find christian's backpack. >> i overheard the officers discussing like a love triangle. h alka seltzer plus severe powerfast fizz. dissolves quickly. instantly ready to start working. ♪ oh, what a relief it is! so fast! special guest flo challenges the hand models to show off the ease of comparing rates with progressive's home quote explorer. international hand model jon-jon gets personal.

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amy coney barrett. she initially opposed filling the seat so close to the election. now back to dateline. >> welcome back to date line. where was christian aguilar? pedro said he dropped off his friend in a sketchy part of town was he telling the whole story. pedro would make an intriguing admission. >> college kids in a college town. that first whif of freedom can lead to irresponsible behavior. campus police had begun to

suspect something sin sister. >> when i first walked in, there was two girls in the lobby. erika and her sister. a male pedro was in an interview room. >> are you pedro. >> he was the last person known to see him. he topped the list of people. >> he wanted to hear mr. bravo's story from beginning to end so i could get a feel for what was going on. >> he's not missing for long. >> is me too. in the last 48 hours, when had you last seen him? >> yesterday. >> he rerun the account of had you they ran some errands. ran to best buy so christian could pick up the new kenya west

cd. >> that is them. >> he told the story of how they picked up a pitch hiker in a rough part of time. >> how old would you say he was? is. >> i'd say mid-50s. he had a bushy beard. >> how was he dressed? >> how and why he and christian parted ways that night. pedro revealed after dropping off the hitch hiker, they got into an argument about a girl. remember christian and erika had been trying to keep their new relationship a secret. this was about another girl in high school. >> i made a comment about this girl that he had had a crush on for three years. he got mad. he got silent. he told me to stop. stop the car.

he wanted to get out. >> i was angry at him too, so i stopped the car and said, fine, get out. >> he listened. described driving away, stopped at mcdonalds and going home to bed with no idea something had happened when his phone range at 4:00 am. >> i went back to sleep but i couldn't. i felt kind of guilty because i dropped him off. >> they searched his car for clues. they found something interesting. >> they found a reet of someone or him made a trip to mcdonalds during the night. >> mcdonalds where he claimed they had eaten. call it 7:00 p.m. and change. the receip was time stamped much

later. 3:51 a.m. much later. >> the back and forth started sounding. >> you leave things out, it makes you look like you did something bad. >> as for the story of the hitch hiker, the cops checked it out. >> they checked the surveillance video. we checked the area they dropped him and we check the the area to see if there was something that matched the description. couldn't find anyone. >> so was pedro hiding anything? was there was. just when it seemed the interview was ending, pedro decided to keep talking. one thing he left out. >> one thing i have to tell you. i have to tell you one thing.

that one thing was huge. in the scope, it was an argument. i made the comment about the girl. he came back with maybe you should go [ bleep ] yourself. that's when i turned and punched had imin the face. >> now i'm starting to believe there is something more to this than a missing person. but why. they decided they couldn't let pedro go home. they deprived him of providing medical care. bloodying his nose and leaving him on the side of the road. >> i had a suspicion. what could have happened?

what is pedro capable of? >> meanwhile, the search was only getting bigger and for his family and friends, more desperate? >> what is going through your head? it is me alex, i'm trying to find you? >> you feel so useless and help fus. >> posters are going up? >> we are hanging up posters and fliers. it was football season. >> they focused more and more attention on pedro bravo and his wobbly story. they executed a search of his apartment. what did they find stached way up in pedro's closet. we find christian's backpack hidden in pedro's back back in a suitcase. >> it was very well hidden.

we thought this is pedro trying to cover up. >> pedro has gone from being a person of interest to a suspect? >> yes. it was very quickly. it is hard to swallow something that huge. this is somebody you've known for so long. >> erika had to face the possibility that maybe she and christian hadn't been so good. maybe pedro had known and it sent them over the edge. >> i overheard the officers discussing like a love, jealous rage kind of thing, like a love triangle i think they had said. >> how did you bare up with that? is. >> i didn't want to think of that. i couldn't imagine somebody doing something so horrible. >> they processed his suv, there it was, blood. now they believe he hasn't just

punched out christian, they believe he killed him. a week after, he was charged with first degree murder. >> with the blood evidence, the backpack being hidden and him being away and not heard of for so long. we upgraded the charge to murder. >> pedro, your high school boyfriend is now charged with the first degree murder with the guy you are describing as the man of your life. >> yes. that's exactly what happened. very strange, strange life i have. >> there is an axiom, no body, no case. investigators hadn't found his body. what else were they finding out about pedro bravo. >> coming up, the case heads to court. the star witness. >> i didn't want to see him or be around him. i just wanted him gone. >> when dateline continues.

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>> as pedro bravo sat in jail, the search for christian continued. his family clinging to hope but fearing the worst. >> looking all day with people you are meeting along the way. a bunch of volunteers and police officers. >> just down this road here is where the two men found human

remains on friday afternoon. >> walking through some acreage came across a body in a shallow grave. it was christian. >> in a way, we were waiting it. we were just waiting for that phone call to happen. >> erika could not accept the news. >> you never want to hear that kind of news. at least we were able to find him. >> nearly two years after christian died, his high school friend on tile for murder. he pleaded not guilty. >> erika, your personal belief, do you believe pedro killed christian? >> yes. >> why? >> i think it was a mixture of jel si academically and involving me. >> christian, his new girlfriend erika and her ex.

>> mr. bravo's plan was not just christian. he's got to reunite with erika. >> the prosecutor painted a picture not just of a teen depressed over the breakup and depressed with getting erika back. the star witness was the object of his efforts. a very nervous erika. >> pedro barely looking at her. >> i came all this way, i miss you like crazy and i love you despite everything that's happened. maybe i'm stupid. i'm sorry. i'm so, so sorry. >> on the stand asking erika to read out loud sections of pedro's journal to show how

fixated he was. >> i will win her back. i want to give up everything to be with her again. >> it was the sight of an evidence bag containing christian's backpack. his personal stuff that caused erika to lose it on the stand. >> i got really emotional and thrown back. why do you have to bring this out and show me this? >> the prosecution wasn't done. despite their best efforts, they hadn't done a very good job concealing their relationship from pedro. >> he went into the facebook account and read conversations between erika and christian. >> christian was the romantic and he needed to go. >> we know he knew about it before they went off that day. >> this wasn't a crime of

passion. it was a cold, premeditated murder. >> he planned four days before. >> ease at home on his computer. questions like what is chlorofrom, can rubbing alcohol knock somebody out. and here buying a sleep aid product, 55 yards of duct tape. and a hunting knife and he bought a shovel at lowes. he used those to drug and strangle his friend in his car. >> they show the surveillance cam video of the suv. investigators believe inside the vehicle the murder is going

down. >> they sit there a long period of time and pull up a little further. >> when he leaves that parking lot, christian aguilar is dead. he murders him in the car. f forensics confirm that was christian's blood in the suv and even more intriguing ingredients in the trunk. empty gratorade with sleeping aid. >> those things together would cause someone to lose consciousness. >> once dead, he had to dispose. the tale of that was told by pedro's phone. his iphone had been on airplane mode more than five hours but he could see he used an app, a flashlight app 48 minutes.

he uses the flashlight and burries christian's body. using evidence that tied him without reasonable doubt to the murder. >> he had duct tape around his ankles. identified as being torn from the same piece of tape inside his windshield. >> when pedro was done burying his friend, he stopped at mcdonalds for that bite to eat and drove to a car wash. >> at 1:00 in the morning, we have pedro pulling up to a car wash and washing his vehicle for 12 minutes. tells me he's trying to get rid of evidence. when he got home, he washes closes and gets in bed in time to get the 4:00 call. >> who duct taped him? pedro bravo.

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the prosecutions portrait of pedro bravo was clear. so fixated on winning back his former girlfriend, he would kill anyone who got in the way. >> i didn't think pedro would deserve to walk the streets. i didn't think it would be safe for anyone to be out. i think he could be border line soesio path. >> but the defense have a flip side. >> 18-year-old honor student from miami. he had issues he wanted to talk to his best friend about. >> his best friend, that's what the defense said christian was. >> his lawyer said he never saw him as a romantic rival. he didn't know they were dating

until that day in the police station. >> do you know christian? how do you know him? >> i'm his girlfriend. >> about to hear from pedro him self. when he took the stand, jurors didn't see some psychokiller, love sick boy in a tidy suit. >> i graduated from doral academy. >> any distinctions? >> i graduated magna cum laud. >> he was desperate to rekind of his relationship. >> i still loved her and really wanted to get back with her. >> when it became clear she wasn't coming back. he told the jury he sank into a deep depression. >> basically i felt like a

failure. everything is a mess. i feel like i'm breaking apart piece by piece. >> that's why he made plans. >> chris was one of the people i could talk to. he had gone from the same thing. >> how did that man-to-man talk end up in a fist fight. >> pedro said it started after christian said something terrible. >> he tells me, why don't you go [ bleep ] kill yourself. >> i turned around and hit him in the nose with my fist. >> while you were driving? >> yes. that could explain the blood in the car. >> he said he pulled over and a fight ensued in the streets. >> he said he left the scene. >> all i could tell is that he didn't get up right away. he was still moving.

>> still breathing? >> yes. >> when you did this, did you have any malicious intent to kill christian aguilar? >> no. it was all spur of the moment. >> you decided to leave? >> yes. >> have you come to regret that decision? >> i feel like i'm going to regret that decision the rest of my life. >> he claims he fought that decision but didn't kill him. >> he said the only person he wanted to destroy was himself. that's when he said he decided to do it. take his own life. >> was this just suicidal ideation or were you going to act on it? >> i was going to act on it. >> so all of that preparation wasn't about murder, it was suicide. >> it wasn't meant for christian, it was meant for pedro himself. >> did you drink the concoction

in the bottle? >> yes. >> obviously unsuccessful attempt. >> but arguing his desire to end his own life was very real. >> combing the web. color fill, rubbing alcohol and sleeping pills because he was planning his own death. >> even brought along a shovel as part of his plan. >> i was going to dig myself my own grave. >> who is he? a killer without a conscience or a self-destructive love sick boy. >> prosecutors gave the juror something else to consider. some of the weirdest evidence to come from a jail house snich. >> michael angelo who cut a deal in exchange was a cell mate of pedro bravo. >> one day. he said he needed my help and slid a chip bag any my door.

to find someone on the outside to commit a series of murders suggesting that the real murder was at large. >> he wrote three to four people unfortunately must die. random individuals but preferenced. taz to incapacity. strangle to kill. and duct tape. >> plans to have it appear that christian was killed by a serial killer still out there. >> the trial would come to an end. the fate of pedro bravo in their hands. >> we all talked to each other. that day wasn't a day to celebrate. erica knew there would be soar owe all around. >> the jurors came back in less than four hours.

they found pedro guilty of murder in the first degree. >> a verdict the family wanted. there were no winners that day. >> about an hour later, he faced the judge at his sentencing. >> insisting to the end. >> i did not kill pedro bravo. >> i know in my heart what i did and i know god knows. >> the judge sentenced him to life without perol. >> the day after, christian's family made a visit to the place his body had been found. they've created the christian aguilar search and rescue foundation which supports the use of tracking dogs. >> and his brother graduating from university of florida in gainesville. >> i always followed that

example. now that is gone, so i have to follow my honor. >> erika got her degree in gainesville along with memories she will carry forever. she can't forget that fleeting moment she fell in love with christian. >> we weren't dating that long and had the death talk. what happens if tomorrow i'm hit by a car. he said i don't know what i would do without you. i said, i'll tell you what you'll do, you'll find somebody to live your life with. >> do you ever wake up in the morning and shake your fist and say pedro, why would you do this to me?

>> it is so difficult. it is not going to happen again. they are just memories. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. >> i'm craig melvin. >> inatalie morales. >> this is dateline. >> she was a phenomenal person. she loved those girls. they were sweet little twins. their pride and joy. i'm sorry. it is really hard. >> pretty, posed, perfect, her twins with her world. >> they were so precious. the three of them were a title unit. they were all she had.