family suffered another blow when 25-year-old loghan went missing. weeks later, her lifeless body was found in the spokane river. her death was ruled a suicide. and so, the wave of sorrow that began with the loss of chanin starbuck , a lovely woman, continues to ripple through though she loved best. the children. >> they were her world and no matter what happened, what was said, what has been done she loved them. she wants them to be successful and have good lives. >> she did not deserve the way her life ended on a cold december morning. mber morning. this is "dateline". i am here in pain and so hurt and so sad. i would give

anything for christian to be here. >> reporter: the whole world ahead of them.>> he grabs my chin and pulls me up and he gives me this magical kiss. >> reporter: their secret romance will be to something shattering when christian vanished. >> my young life went out the window. >> it was tense and we were nervous. we were scared. >> am starting to believe there may be more to this than just a missing person. >> reporter: where was he? did someone have something to hide. a lovers triangle. a circle of friends. was one of the may killer? >> this was planned in on purpose. >> how could do do something so horrific?

welcome to "dateline". high schoolers erika friman, pedro bravo and christian aguilar who likes 3-piece in a pod after graduation , the even picked colleges in the same city. then one of them went missing. last seen in a dangerous area of town. as the hours passed, the ministry deepened. then investigators uncovered a hidden truth. one they believed might be a motive for murder. here is dennis murphy with "circle of friends". remember going away to college. maybe your first time away from home. their new friends waiting to be made. the tingling of possibilities.>> the first kiss was amazing. >> reporter: sometimes disappointment when things did not work out. >> i thought he was depressed. we did not take it that

seriously. you know. maybe we should have. >> reporter: for three florida teenagers, the decisions they made as they started campus life had terrifying, legal consequences. >> it all seems so surreal. we are told, this cannot possibly be happening. >> reporter: the story of our three begins at a high school near miami. not quite hogwarts but they were as inseparable as they were. a trio of friends, laughing and wrestling through adolescence together. at the royal academy, a charter school for high achieving smart kids. >> i was there in 2006 for sixth grade. for erika friman rolla academy was a special place. >> i met people from all over the world and they had a lot of opportunities academically. but i don't think you get an average high school. >> reporter: eric it was smart, up late and pretty and she loved everything from skydiving to shakespeare.

and in her sophomore year she caught the eye of the cute guy in class, pedro bravo. >> he was a big clown. he was kind of a funny guy around people. he was always making jokes. not really acting out in class but he would act out as soon as class was over and it was just to get the crowd laughing or this or that.>> reporter: patron was a rocksolid student with artistic flair. his journals were full of sketches and doodles the friends thought showed real talent. >> he could draw anything. anything you wanted. >> reporter: robert lopez was a friend and classmate. >> anything from graphic comics to picture art. >> he was very, very gifted in that sense. >> reporter: erika and pedro became an item. teenage lovers, but with adult dreams. >> we were in a pretty serious relationship. we are a little more mature than the average. we did not go out and drink. which is very focused on school and each other.

>> reporter: another sharply focused classmate was there buddy christian aguilar. >> i met him through pedro and he was awesome and funny and he was nice and we instantly were good friends. >> reporter: christian was a soccer player who hit the books. the son of colombian immigrants became the all-american boy. video games, kanye west wrapping in his ears and plans to become a doctor. >> it sounds although to understand christian you have to understand how academically motivated he was. >> he was very driven and it was not like his family was pushing him. he wanted to make them proud. >> reporter: the three high achieving musketeers all doubled at prom together and pose for the snapshot. >> reporter: did you do a memo? >> we did and we all showed up and we took plenty of pictures. you know. it was fine.

>> reporter: for a lot of american kids, it was for these three. graduation from high school is one of those big paths crossing in the woods. of auto-ped, what are you going to do next? let's be friends forever kind of goodbyes. >> mr. christian aguilar. >> reporter: christian , pursuing premade, got admitted to the selective university of florida in gainesville. >> was he happy? >> he was so happy. he was ecstatic. >> reporter: although three friends wanted to be gator and had usf as a top school, only christian got him. it was headed to a different college in gainesville. santa fe. the pitcher plan to take classes there his home in miami. and his graduation neared, or life decisions. erika broke it off with pedro. she did not want a long- distance relationship. and after all, they were just 18 years old. and the big wide world was ahead of them both. >> i wanted him to find someone and fell in love with them and live a normal life.

and i did not think he was someone for me. >> reporter: they were barely unpacked and classes to starting, when a sudden change of plans. pedro did not want to be left behind in miami after all. as the fall semester started, he showed up in gainesville as his friend robert remembered. >> you just visited gainesville and that was the intention was just to visit. and then he ended up signing a lease and enrolling for classes in the fall. at santa fe college. >> reporter: maybe there was life after hogwarts for pedro, erika and christian. could differentiate be renewed? survive a foul power move up the interstate from miami. if that was indeed the hope, it was followed with some awful news on. >> it was tense and nervous. we were scared. what could've happened? >> reporter: christian never showed up at a storm that night and was not answering his phone. >> it is not like christian to not answer.

it is not like him to disappear. there was something wrong. >> reporter: christian aguilar had vanished . what could be behind christians sudden disappearance? retracing his last steps, a rough neighborhood, and a curious stranger. >> he tells me at one point they stopped to pick up a hitchhiker. >> when "dateline" continues. lot , that helps heal your skin from within. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. ask your eczema specialist about dupixent. nexium 24hr prevents heartburn acid before it begins. get all-day and all-night heartburn acid prevention with just one pill a day. choose acid prevention. choose nexium.

type 2 diabetes? discover the ozempic® tri-zone. ♪ ♪ i got the power of 3. i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. i'm under 7. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. i'm lowering my risk. adults lost up to 14 pounds. i lost some weight. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. living with type 2 diabetes? ask about the power of 3 with ozempic®.

rsv can severely affect the lungs and lower airways. but i'm protected with arexvy. arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. rsv can be serious for those over 60, including those with asthma, diabetes, copd and certain other conditions. but i'm protected. arexvy is proven to be over 82% effective in preventing lower respiratory disease from rsv and over 94% effective in those with these health conditions. (♪♪) arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine.

the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. arexvy is number one in rsv vaccine shots. rsv? make it arexvy.

three teenagers all college freshmen in gainesville, florida, longtime friends. but now one of them, christian was a no-show for meeting with his circle of friends. did not pick up the phone. not so much as a text. >> it got later and later and it started calling friends and i just wanted to make sure, had to sing christian. >> when you don't get text back, when you go to worry too getting freaked out? >> honestly come all that night. i couldn't really sleep. i went by his dorm to see if his phone died and he could not answer. is find out wet. i was thinking of all the different scenarios and he was not in his dorm. where was he on night? where was he staying? where was he sleeping? where is he? >> reporter: the next morning, still nothing from christian. he had not come back to his dorm room so erika and pedro, her ex-boyfriend, went to the gainesville police. >> we go to the window and

explain the situation and the lady pretty much laughs at me. >> they are blowing me off. >> yeah. this lady better hope there is nothing wrong here. i was so upset at that point because i wanted someone to pay attention and this is a serious thing. >> reporter: after all christian will not be the first college freshmen to go off the grid for a bit. maybe taking a break from his studies, crashing at another dorm. but his friends were worried and the cops told them to go see if the campus police could help. >> the big thing i want to find out, has anyone been in contact when was the last time they contacted him, where was the last time anyone was in contact with him. >> reporter: to the officer talked to the concerned pair and found out that pedro was the last fantasy christian the previous day.>> he walked me through the day. and once he meets christian they go and get a flu shot. then they go back to pedro's car which is parked on campus. and that at that point they go to best buy. >> reporter: said pretty routine

trip until pedro told him they decided to do something a little impulsive. >> he tells me they stopped to pick up a hitchhiker. >> reporter: pager told the officer that they drove around town. >> eventually the check is i want to get out of the car and shortly after, christian center want to get out of the car. pull over. >> reporter: that is where the friends parted, near this auto body shop a few miles off campus. the neighborhood, around the body shop raise alarms for officer tech. it has some rough spots. >> some of the area is known to be a high drug area. and have some gang activity as well. so the kind of concerned me. are they up there specifically for that reason, or in the process of christian getting dropped off, did he run into something or wander into a bad area? >> i knew there was a large homeless community in gainesville and there still is. i was a little concerned. if he was in the woods somewhere and he stumbled into a campground of homeless people and, you know they decided to

do something to him. that was one of the options i thought of. >> reporter: a gang area, homeless camps and mysterious hitchhiker. seemed reason enough to be worried. erika called christian's parents, down in miami and told them that christian was missing. >> what did you think? >> i knew something was wrong. >> was that worrying for you? his behavior was not at all christian. >> that was not christian. >> reporter: along with christian's brother alex, they made a long drive up to gainesville. >> i could say that car ride was in a silent. we did not talk. we do not know what to say. >> what did the word missing mean? >> missing, me trying to be positive, was him, maybe you went to a party and maybe he got injured and maybe he got into a car accident. we cannot tell because we don't know who he hangs out with. >> reporter: once they arrived, police had questions for alex and his parents.>> it is a small room and we have an officer who gave us a few questions.

asking what type of person discretion. as you normally like this? would usually go out, does he drink or do drugs? >> what are you seeing in christian's parents. >> confused, pain. there was pain in their eyes. >> reporter: but erika said the role about the channel that pain into determination, with more friend setting up from miami. >> i had a whole group of individuals who were now just as concerned as i was. just as focused as i was. just is driven to find christian and i did not feel so alone . i felt we will find them know we can do this. >> reporter: christian's family and friends were hopefully return up and soon. and for officer peck, the case of the missing student got more baffling when he caught wind of a secret. christian had been trying to hide something. was his secret the key to finding him? >> there is something else going on that i am not aware of, but what exactly that is, i am not sure. >> reporter: coming up.

>> i was concerned i would push them off the edge. when "dateline" continues.

pete g. writes, "my tween wants a new phone. how do i not break the bank?" we gotcha, pete. xfinity mobile was designed to save you money and gives you access to wifi speeds up to a gig. so you get high speeds for low prices. better than getting low speeds for high prices. right, bruce? -jealous? yeah, look at that. -honestly. someone get a helmet on this guy. xfinity internet customers, ask how to get a free 5g phone and a second unlimited line free for a year. switch today!

erika friman and pedro bravo were at the police station, trying to

-- the cops track down their friend christian. >> i cannot wait to see you again. everything will be okay. trying to calm myself down. >> reporter: it was in the hours inside the campus police station that erika disclosed a secret that christian had been keeping. it was her secret also. since i school graduation and her breakup 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 how to get used to gainesville. and it was like i had my best friend with me. it was somebody who i can always turn to, somebody i always did turn to and somebody that was always going to be there for me. >> who made the move for the first embrace?>> he did. he drove to my house and i see him and instantly we hug and i am there and i am nervous and i have not been this nervous at all these butterflies in my stomach and he grabs my chin and he pulls me up and he gives me this magical kiss. >> you became a couple that moment. >> yeah. and we felt like, is this really happening? is this still really happening? i kept pinching myself. god. this is crazy. i cannot believe this. >> reporter: and in a matter of weeks their young lives, she and christian had changed completely. they were madly, deeply in love. >> what you think the two of you had?

>> something very rare. something you don't find every day. something amazing. something -- i don't know how to explain what we had. it is like not a care in the world because you're just so happy to be with that person. >> young girls on love sometimes with being above but this does not sound like that. >> no. no. this was something you clicked on every level. >> reporter: but out of friendship and respect they kept the new romance a secret from pedro, erika's ex- boyfriend. get his friends knew that something was eating away at pedro, ever since graduating from high school. he had been any kind of funk. >> did he change at all? >> yes. as a matter of fact. as time went on, he kind of was a little more withdrawn. he was just starting to keep to himself a little more. i thought he was just depressed, you know. we all go through it and we all feel like, my gosh. >> reporter: buddy robert lopez had noticed odd, alarming

behavior. >> we went out to this restaurant. the swamp. it is well known in gainesville, right next to the football stadium. in our tabron up to $70 and he picked up the whole tab and we asked, pedro, why would you pay for the whole tab you're paying for your classes out-of-pocket. he said, yeah, i will not need this money soon. expected that give you an in sight? >> that is when we realized, you know, he is not doing okay. >> reporter: was pedro's recital? all the more reason for erika and christian to keep their happy romance quiet. >> i was concerned i would push him off the edge and i did not want him to go on that night knowing that i was dating one of our mutual friends and him saying, you know, i'm just going to end my life right now. >> reporter: now with christian's disappearance, the cat was out of the bag.

at the university police station that day, erika blurted out with pedro in the room. >> she goes on to tell me that her and christian had started dating but they do nothing pedro knew about them dating. >> reporter: how would pedro react to hearing that? the officer sensed that something seemed to be brewing in a circle of friends. what that was was not clear. for now, everyone was focused on finding christian. >> they were all feeling like we are all in this together and we are all worried about christian. he is our friend and we are trying to find out and do what we can to help locate him. >> reporter: officer peck could see that erika was becoming increasingly agitated . so as the campus cop was checking out the stories these two friends had told him, he decided it was time to bring in investigators from the gainesville pd. and the first thing they want to do is to talk to pedro bravo.

coming up. a dramatic new clue. >> we find christian's backpack. >> reporter: where with this discovery lead? >> i overheard police officers discussing like a love triangle. >> reporter: when "dateline" continues. lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. rsv can be serious for those over 60, including those with asthma, diabetes, copd and certain other conditions. but i'm protected. arexvy is proven to be over 82% effective in preventing lower respiratory disease from rsv and over 94% effective in those with these health conditions. (♪♪) arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain.

arexvy is number one in rsv vaccine shots. rsv? make it arexvy.

this is a news update. three americans accused of trying to overthrow the democratic republic of congo's president in may, was sentenced to death. the u.s. government has not declared them wrongfully convicted. russia and ukraine exchanged more prisoners saturday in the second swap in today's. ukraine's president said all ukrainians returned, were from the military. kyiv and moscow frequently changing prisoners since russia's invasion in 2022. for now, back to "dateline". welcome back to "dateline". i am craig melvin. where was christian aguilar?

pedro bravo told campus police he left his friend in a schetchy part of town after dropping off a hitchhiker. but was he telling the whole story? as investigators turned up the heat, pedro would make an intriguing admission. once again, here is dennis murphy with "circle of friends". >> reporter: college kids in a college town. that first with the freedom can lead to less than responsible, even reckless behavior. but in the case of missing freshmen, christian aguilar, campus police have begun to suspect something sinister may have happened . so they called in a veteran detective from the gainesville pd. >> when i first walked in there were two girls sitting in the lobby. which was erika friman at her sister. there was a mail, which later i found out was pedro bravo, in an interview room. >> reporter: since pedro was the last person known to have seen christian, he top the

list. >> i wanted to hear mr. brothers story from beginning to end exactly as he told you pd so i could get a feel for what was going on. >> in the last 48 hours one have you seen christian? >> yesterday. >> reporter: pedro repeated the account of the last day hits in his friend how they had run errands, grabbed a bite to eat, swung over to best buy so christian could pick up the latest kanye west cd. that is them around 3:00 p.m., smiling as they walk through the store. and again he told the story of how they picked up a hitchhiker in a rough part of town. >> i will be the key was? >> i would say mid-50s but i cannot tell because it up big white, bushy beard with him. i was a 50s. >> how else was he dressed? any hat?

>> a cowboy hat. >> reporter: detective roberts pressed pedro about how and why he and christian part of was at night. he revealed after dropping off the hitchhiker, he and christian got into an argument about a girl. but it had nothing to do with erika. remember, christian and erika had been trying to keep their new relationship a secret. this was about another girl from high school altogether. >> i made a comment about this girl that used to have a crush on for three years and he poured his heart out to her and it did not work out. and he got mad. it was some of for a few minutes and then he told me to stop. stop the car and he wants to get out. >> what did you do? >> i was angry at him and i stopped the car and i said, fine, get out. >> reporter: the investigator listened with a skeptical heiress pedro described driving away and stopping at mcdonald's and then going home to bed. with no idea something had happened, until his phone rang at 4:00 a.m. and erika told him that christian was missing. >> i got up and tried to go back to sleep at a could not. like, i felt kind of guilty

because i dropped off along the road. what appears lost? >> reporter: pedro let them search the car for any clues and bingo. they found something interesting. >> they found a receipt showing the someone, or someone using his vehicle had made a trip to mcdonald's during the night. >> reporter: mcdonald's, were pedro claimed he had eaten right after christian had jumped out of the car. call at 7:00 p.m. and change and yet, the receipt was timestamp much later. 12:54 a.m. more than five hours later than he told them.>> you went to mcdonald's in the middle of the night but maybe you forget, you forgot something else? >> reporter: the back and forth with the detective started sounding more like an interrogation. >> you leave things out. it makes you look like you did something bad.

>> reporter: says for the story about the hitchhiker, the cops checked it out, but could not come up with anything. >> we check surveillance video in the area where they said he dropped him, and looked and did not find anybody. we checked area businesses to see if there was someone like that that match the description of the hitchhiker and did not find anyone.>> reporter: was pedro bravo hiding something? >> is there anything we need to change about where you went at what times and things like that ? >> reporter: there was. just when it seemed the interview was ending, pager decided to keep talking. there was something he had left out.>> this is one thing i have to tell you because you are right i cannot keep everything from you and i have to tell you one thing. >> reporter: said the one thing was huge.>> in the scope of it, it was not just really an argument. i made a comment about the girl he is a crush on and he got angry at that. but then he came back with, maybe you should just like -- kill yourself. and that is when i turned around and punched him straight in the face. >> reporter: a fistfight. this was a new detail he had never

mentioned. pedro was now admitting to leaving his body by the side of the road, bleeding from a punch in the nose. >> i am starting to believe there might be something more to this than just a missing person. >> reporter: about what? while investigators tried to figure it out, they decided they cannot let pedro go home. so they charged him with depriving a victim of medical care. for bloody and christian's nose and then leaving him on the side of the road.>> i had a suspicion that you know, the meeting took a wrong turn and they got into an argument and what would've happened? what exactly is pedro capable of? >> reporter: meanwhile, the search for christian was only getting bigger. what went through your head? i am out in the woods and i'm trying to find you. >> yet. i think will be are searching it was more just to do something because you feel so useless and so helpless.

>> versus going up? >> we are hanging posters and handing out flyers during the football game. >> reporter: gainesville police were doing their own searches, as they focused more and more of their attention on pedro bravo and his wobbly story. the executed a search of his apartment less than two days after christian had gone missing. and what did they find stashed way up in pedro's closet? >> we find christian's backpack hidden inside of pedro's backpack and hidden inside of a suitcase. >> why would a friend have another friends backpack. >> that is our concern. quality i the backpack excessively. it was very well hidden. we thought this is pedro trying to cover. >> pedro has gone from being a person of interest to a suspect. >> it was very quickly i felt that all happened and it is hard to swallow something that huge when it is somebody you have known for so long.

>> reporter: erika had to face the possibility that maybe she and christian had not been so good at keeping secrets. maybe pedro had no about the relationship and it had sent him over the edge. >> i overheard police officers discussing that, that, a love, jealous rage kind of thing. like a love triangle, i think they had said. >> how did you pair up with that? >> i did not want to think of that. i cannot imagine somebody doing something so horrible, especially someone as smart as pedro. >> reporter: when the crime scene was processed, the suv, there it was, blood. now the police believe pedro had not just punched out christian, they believed he killed him. on the friday, a week after pedro bravo help report his good friend missing, he was charged with first-degree murder. >> with the blood evidence, with the backpack being hidden in with him being away and not

heard of from so long, we decided to upgrade the charge to murder. >> pedro, your high school boyfriend who has been in your life a long time is now charged with first-degree murder of the guy you are describing as a man of your life?>> yes. that is exactly what happened. very strange strange like i have. >> reporter: but there is a axiom in homicide were, no body, no case. investigators have not foundations body. so what else were they finding out about pedro bravo? coming up. cases to court and the star witness -- >> i don't want to see him or be around him, i just wanted him gone. >> when "dateline" continues. ♪ ♪ and i'm keeping the weight off. wegovy® helps you lose weight and keep it off. i'm reducing my risk. wegovy® is the only fda-approved weight-management medicine that's proven to reduce risk of major cardiovascular events

in adults with known heart disease and with either obesity or overweight. wegovy® shouldn't be used with semaglutide or glp-1 medicines. don't take wegovy® if you or your family had medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop wegovy® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis and gallbladder problems. wegovy® may cause low blood sugar in people with diabetes, especially if you take medicines to treat diabetes. tell your provider about vision problems or changes, or if you feel your heart racing while at rest. depression or thoughts of suicide may occur. call your provider right away if you have any mental changes. common side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. with wegovy®, i'm losing weight, i'm keeping it off. and i'm lowering my cv risk. that's the power of we. ♪ ♪ check your cost and coverage before talking to your health care professional about wegovy®.

everybody wants super straight, super white teeth. they want that hollywood white smile. new sensodyne clinical white provides 2 shades whiter teeth and 24/7 sensitivity protection. i think it's a great product. it's going to help a lot of patients. dude? dog food in the fridge? it's not dog food. it's freshpet. real meat. real veggies. real weird. he was bad luck anyway. rsv can severely affect the lungs and lower airways. but i'm protected with arexvy. arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. rsv can be serious for those over 60, including those with asthma, diabetes, copd and certain other conditions. but i'm protected. arexvy is proven to be over 82% effective in preventing lower respiratory disease from rsv

and over 94% effective in those with these health conditions. (♪♪) arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. those with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. the most common side effects are injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and joint pain. arexvy is number one in rsv vaccine shots. rsv? make it arexvy.

as pedro bravo sat in jail, charged with the murder of his friend christian aguilar , the search for christian continued. his family clinging to help, but fearing the worst.>> they are looking all day from sunrise to sunset. >> reporter: after three weeks of searching, -- >> just down the road is where the two men found human remains on friday afternoon. >> reporter: two hunters walking through acreage came across a body buried in a shallow grave. it was christian. >> in away, we had expected it. they are just waiting for the phone call to actually happen. >> reporter: erika cannot absorb the news. >> you never want to just accept that kind of news . but at least we were able to find him.

>> reporter: nearly 2 years after christian died, his high school friend pedro was now on trial for murder. he pleaded not guilty. >> erika, your personal belief, did you believe pedro killed christian? >> yes. >> reporter: for what reason? >> the mixture of jealousy academically and the mixer of jealousy involving me. >> reporter: central to the prosecution's case, simple high school geometry. a love triangle. christian, his new girlfriend erika , and her ex, pedro bravo. a motive as old as time, the prosecutors said. >> mr. brothers plan from not just about christian aguilar, he has got to reunite with erika. >> reporter: the prosecutor painted a picture of a teenager not just depressed over the breakup, but obsessed with getting erika back. and his star witness was the very object of pedro's obsession. a very nervous, erika. >> i did not want to see him or

be around him or near him, i wanted him gone. >> reporter: with pedro barely at her, erika read some of the nonstop text messages pedro had been sending her. >> i came all this way and i miss you like crazy. and i love you despite every thing this happened and maybe i'm stupid but i can't help the feeling that i'm so sorry. i'm so, so sorry. >> reporter: on the stand the prosecution asked erika to read out loud sections of pedro's journal. thoughts that would show the jury just how fixated on her he was. >> i can win her back and i will win her back. i want to give up everything to be with her again. >> reporter: it was the site of an evidence bag containing christian's backpack, his personal stuff from a carefree happy time, that caused erika to lose it on the stand.

>> i got really emotional. i got really thrown back and i was like, why did you have to bring this out? why did you want to show me this? >> reporter: the prosecution was not done. there was more to the theory of motive, despite the best efforts, christian and erika had not done a very good job concealing the relationship from pedro. >> pedro went into christians facebook and email accounts and read conversations between erika and christian. >> reporter: so christian was romantic rival and he needed to go, argue the state. >> we know he knew about it prior to them going off that day. >> reporter: and this is not just simply a crime of passion, the prosecution charged, it was a cold, premeditated murder. the prosecution alleged pedro started plotting his friends mother on september 16th, 2012, four days before christian disappeared.>> he is at home and on his computer. >> reporter: google searches were found on pages laptop. questions like, what is chloroform? can rubbing alcohol knock someone out? and what kinds of motors get solved? and on security video is pedro at a walmart buying a sleep aid product, 55 yards of duct tape,

and a hunting knife. it is and was a shovel he just bought at lowe's.>> he literally bought a murder starter pack. >> reporter: send is the prosecution theory goes, pedro use those items to drug and strangle his friend inside his car.>> that blue blazer pulls in . >> reporter: they show the jury video of pagers suv in a walmart parking lot. investigators believe inside the vehicle, the murder is going down. >> they sit there for a long period of time and then pull up a little further and sit there for another long period of time. >> when he leaves the parking lot come christian i get or is dead. he medicine in the car. >> reporter: forensics confirmed that was christian's blood investigators had found in pagers suv. and they discovered more intriguing evidence in the trunk. an empty gatorade bottle cake

with residue from a sleep aid and antihistamine. >> putting those two combinations together in a large quantity would cause someone to lose consciousness. >> reporter: once christian was dead, pedro had to dispose of his friends body and the tale of that how happened, the prosecution said, was told by pagers phone. his iphone had been on airplane mode for more than five hours that night. but investigators could see that pedro had used an app, the flashlight app for 40 minutes. >> he is using the flashlight and burying chris's body. >> reporter: the prosecution had another piece of physical evidence that said tied pedro beyond reasonable doubt to the murder. duct tape. >> when we found the body of christian aguilar here duct tape on his wrists, ankle and neck. the piece from his uncle was identified as being torn from the same piece of tape that was inside pedro bravo's windshield. >> reporter: one pedro was done

during his friend, the prosecution said, he stopped at mcdonald's and then drove to a carwash. >> 1:00 in the morning we have pedro bravo pulling up to a carwash and washing his vehicle for 12 minutes. that tells me he's trying to get rid of evidence. >> reporter: when he got home pedro washed his clothes and crawled in bed in time to get erika's 4:00 a.m. phone call , asking if christians were about. >> to put him in the grave? pedro bravo. who killed him? pedro bravo. >> reporter: after calling nearly 50 witnesses to the stand, the prosecution rested. the defense thought it needed only one witness in response. pedro bravo was about to take the stand . coming up.

>> i still loved her. >> he would have a dramatically different story. >> did you drink the concoction in the gatorade bottle? >> yes i drink the concoction in the gatorade bottle. >> when "dateline" continues. funded housing programs for families in need and why we're working to make roads safer... you're doing good. ...and housing more fair. for us, that's real progress. upset stomach iberogast indigestion iberogast bloating iberogast thanks to a unique combination of herbs, iberogast helps relieve six digestive symptoms to help you feel better. six digestive symptoms. the power of nature. iberogast. an alternative to pills, voltaren is a clinically proven arthritis pain relief gel, which penetrates deep to target the source of pain with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicine directly at the source. voltaren, the joy of movement. dupixent can help people with asthma breathe better in as little as 2 weeks. so this is better. even this.

dupixent is an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma that's not for sudden breathing problems. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. tell your doctor right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines including steroids, without talking to your doctor. ask your specialist about dupixent.

the moment i met him i knew he was my soulmate. without talking to your doctor. "soulmates." soulmate! [giggles] why do you need me? [laughs sarcastically] but then we switched to t-mobile 5g home internet. and now his attention is spent elsewhere. but i'm thinking of her the whole time. that's so much worse. why is that thing in bed with you? this is where it gets the best signal from the cell tower! i've tried everywhere else in the house! there's always a new excuse. well if we got xfinity you wouldn't have to mess around with the connection. therapy's tough, huh? -mmm. it's like a lot about me. [laughs] a home router should never be a home wrecker. oo this is a good book title.

the prosecution's portrait of pedro bravo was clear and unforgiving. he was so fixated on winning back his former girlfriend, he would kill anyone who got in his way. anyone. >> i did not -- think pedro should walk the streets. i think you could be borderline

sociopath. >> reporter: the defense had a flip side to the pedro bravo narrative . >> 18-year-old. honor student from miami. charter academy. and he had issues that he wanted to talk to his best friend about. >> reporter: his best friend, that is what the defense said christian was to pedro up until the time he disappeared. his lawyer insisted that pedro never saw christian as a romantic rival. that is because he did not know that christian and erika were dating until that day in the police station. and now the joy was about to hear from pedro himself. and only pedro. the sole witness for the defense. and when he took the stand the jurors do not see some poking, psycho killer. but a pale, intelligent, like the sick boy and a tidy suit. >> i graduated from doral academy, yes.

>> with any distinctions? >> i graduated magna laude . >> reporter: he denied any malice toward christian, pedro conceded another key element of the states case. he was desperate to rekindle his relationship with erika friman. >> i still loved her. i was still very enamored with her and i really wanted to get back with her.>> reporter: when it came clear that she was not coming back, he told the jury he sank into a deep depression about you and everything else in his side, disintegrating life. >> basically, i felt like a failure. everything is a mess and every thing feels like a mess and i do like i am breaking apart piece by piece. greek max that is why he made plans to hang out with christian that afternoon. he wanted help from his old friend. >> christian was a person i could talk to about this because he had gone through the same things. >> reporter: how did that man- to-man talk and up in a fist fight. pitchers said it started after christians is something terrible. >> and he tells me want to go

-- kill yourself. >> what happened next? >> i turned around and hit him in the nose with my left fist. >> while you're driving? >> yes. >> the punch in the face could explain how christians blood ended up in the car. next pedro told the story that he pulled over and the fight moved into the street. but after a few minutes, pedro left the scene. >> what is chris's condition when you leave? >> all i could tell was he did not get up roadway and he was still moving. >> breathing? >> yes. >> what you did this did you have any malicious intent to kill christian regular? >> no. it was all spur of the moment. >> you decided to leave. >> yes.>> have you come to regret the decision? >> i feel like i will regret that decision for the rest of my life. >> reporter: so pedro admitted he fought christian but claimed he did not kill him.

and as he drove away, pagers said the only person he wanted to destroy was himself. that is when he says he decided to do it. take his own life. >> was this just a suicidal ideation or were you going to act on it? >> i was going to act on it. >> all the evidence presented by the prosecution was not about murder, it was about suicide. the drug laced gatorade cocktail was not meant for christian, it was meant for pedro himself. >> did you drink the concoction in the gatorade bottle? >> yes, i drank the concoction. >> reporter: obviously, and unsuccessful suicide attempt but the defense argued pedro's desire to end his own life was very real. pedro was coming the web for information about chloroform, rubbing alcohol and sleeping pills because he was planning his own death. he even brought along the shovel as part of his plan.>> at the beginning i was going to go and dig myself my great.

>> reporter: the jury had to decide, who is pedro bravo? a killer without a conscience , or a self-destructive lovesick boy. but before they got the case, prosecutors gave the jurors something else to consider. some of the we were evidence ever to come from a jailhouse snitch. >> legislature name, please?>> michelangelo. >> reporter: michael angelo cut a deal for exchange and leniency . >> he slid a chip bag and a mentor the internet. >> reporter: it ask us only to find someone on the outside to commit a series of murders, similar to christians killing. suggesting that the real murderer was still at large and he, pedro, was innocent. you wrote, three take the four people must unfortunately die. they are random individuals the preference would be two you of students. case to incapacitate and strangled to kill. then have the hands duct tape. >> it is basically a plan to

convince the world that christian aguilar was killed by a serial killer. >> reporter: just as the jurors struggled to get their heads around this bizarre twist, the trial ended. and the fate of pedro bravo was in their hands. so much for one family to go through. you could see the tension on their faces as they began waiting for the verdict. >> we all talk to each other and that day was not a day to celebrate. >> reporter: whatever the jury decided, erika new there will be sorrow all around. in fact, the jurors came back in less than four hours. and they found pedro bravo t of murder in the 1st degree. verdict the family wanted. but there were no winners that day. about an hour later, pedro bravo faced the judge at sentencing and insisting, -- >> i did not kill christian aguilar. i know in my heart what i did and i know god knows what i did. >> reporter: clearly unmoved, the judge sentenced bravo to

life without parole. the day after the verdict, christian's family made a heart- wrenching visit to the place where their beloved sons body had been found. since his death, they created the christian aguilar search and rescue foundation, which supports the use of tracking dogs to find a missing. and christian's brother alex, in person opportunity that had a bigger sweetness to it. graduating from the university of florida in gainesville. >> i have always followed his example in school and now that example is gone. now i have to follow my own route. >> reporter: erika got her degree in gainesville. along with memories that she will carry forever. she cannot forget that fleeting moment when she fell in love with christian. and then he was gone. just like that. >> we were not even dating that long and we had the desktop.

what happens if something happened tomorrow and you got hit by a car and he looked at me and he said, i don't know what i would do without you. i don't know -- you know. i looked at him and said, i will tell you what you will do. you are going to find somebody and you will live your life. >> you get up in your morning and shaking your fist. pedro, why did you do this to me? not just christian. you become a victim also. >> it is so difficult sometimes to think of it that way. i would still give anything for christian to be here. there will not be another joke or a smile when i look up from working or something. it is not going to happen again. they are just memories. >> thank you for watching. this is "dateline".