let's say you're deep in a show or a game or the game. on a train, at home, at work. okay, maybe not at work. point is at xfinity. we're constantly engineering new ways to get the entertainment you love to you faster and easier than ever. that's what i do. is that love island? how and this is "dateline." i would give anything for christian to be here.

craig melvin: they were new to college and newly in love. the whole world ahead of them. erika friman: he grabs my chin and he pulls me up and he just gave me this magical kiss. craig melvin: but their secret romance would lead to something shattering when christian vanished. erika friman: oh, god. my young life went out the window. robert lopez: it was tense. we were nervous. we were scared. randy roberts: i'm starting to believe that there might be more to this than just a missing person. craig melvin: where was he? did someone have something to hide? alex aguilar: there was blood found in the car. craig melvin: a lovers triangle, a circle of friends. was one of them a killer? robert lopez: this was planned. this was on purpose. erika friman: how could you do something so horrific? craig melvin: hello and welcome to dateline.

high schoolers erika friman, pedro bravo and christian aguilar were like three peas in a pod. after graduation, they 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 mystery deepened. then, investigators uncovered a hidden truth one, they believed, might be a motive for murder. here's dennis murphy with "circle of friends." dennis murphy: remember going away to college? maybe your first time away from home? there were new friends waiting to be made. the tingling of possibilities. erika friman: oh, god. the first kiss was amazing. dennis murphy: sometimes disappointments when things didn't work out. robert lopez: i thought he was just depressed. we just didn't take it that seriously. and you know, maybe we should have.

dennis murphy: for three florida teenagers, the decisions they made as they started campus life had terrifying--leth al--consequences. alex aguilar: i mean, it all seemed so surreal. when we were actually told about it, we were like, "this can't possibly be happening. dennis murphy: the story of our three begins at a high school near miami--not quite hogwarts--but erika, pedro and christian--were as inseparable as harry, ron and hermione. a trio of friends laughing and wrestling through adolescence together at doral academy, a charter school for high-achieving smart kids. erika friman: i moved there when-- in 2006 for 6th grade. dennis murphy: for erica friman, doral academy was a special place. erika friman: i met people from all over the world, actually, which was really interesting. and they had a lot of opportunities academically that i don't think you'd get at an average high school. dennis murphy: erika was smart, upbeat, pretty. she loved everything from skydiving to shakespeare. and in her sophomore year she caught the eye of a cute guy in class, pedro bravo.

erika friman: he was a big clown. he was kind of a funny guy around people. he was always making jokes, or tryin' to-- dennis murphy : disruptive, act-out-in-class-kinda guy? or-- erika friman: not really act out in class. but he'd act out as soon as class was over. and it was just to, you know, get a crowd laughing, or this or that. dennis murphy: pedro was a fellow rock-solid student with an artistic flair. his journals were full of sketches and doodles that friends thought showed real talent. robert lopez: i mean he could draw anything. anything you-- you wanted dennis murphy: robert lopez was a friend and classmate. dennis murphy: so anything from, like, graphic comics up to a picture, art, huh? robert lopez: right. yeah. he was very, very, very gifted in that sense. dennis murphy: erika and pedro quickly became an item. teenage lovers, but with adult dreams... erika friman: we were in a pretty serious relationship. we were a little bit more mature than the average-- we didn't go out and drink. we were just very focused on school and each other. dennis murphy: another sharply focused classmate in their circle was pedro's good buddy,

christian aguilar... erika friman: i met him through pedro. he was awesome. he was funny. and he was nice. and we were instantly good friends. dennis murphy: christian was the soccer player who hit the books. the son of colombian immigrants became the all-american boy: video games, kanye west rap in his ears, and plans to become a doctor. dennis murphy : it sounds as though, to understand christian, you have to realize how academically motivated he was. erika friman: oh yes. he was very driven. and it wasn't like his family was pushing him. it wasn't-- it was just that he wanted to make them proud. dennis murphy: these three high-achieving musketeers - christian, erika and pedro- all doubled at prom together and posed for this snapshot in the waning days of high school. dennis murphy : did you guys do a limo and the whole thing? or-- erika friman: we did do a limo. and-- we all showed up. we took plenty of pictures. you know it was fun. dennis murphy: 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. a lot of what are you going to do next?

let's stay friends forever, kind of goodbyes. announcer: mr. christian aguilar dennis murphy : christian, scholar that he was--intent on pursuing pre-med--got admitted to the selective university of florida, in gainesville. dennis murphy : was christian happy when his acceptance came through? erika friman: oh, he was so happy. he was ecstatic. dennis murphy: and though all three friends wanted to be gators, had u of f as a top choice school, only christian got in. erika was headed to a different college in gainesville--santa fe-- while pedro planned to take classes near home in miami. and as graduation neared--- more life decisions: erika broke it off with pedro. she didn't want a long-distance relationship. after all, they were just eighteen-years old and the big wide world was ahead of them both. erika friman: i wanted him to find someone and fall in love with them, and you know, live a normal life. i just didn't think he was the one for me, dennis murphy: they were barely unpacked, classes just starting, when a sudden change of plans.

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. robert lopez: he just visited gainesville, and that was the intention. was just to visit. and ended up signing a lease and enrolling for classes in the fall at santa fe college. dennis murphy: maybe there was life after hogwarts for pedro, erika and christian? could the friendship be renewed and survive a 5-hour move up the interstate from miami? if that was indeed the hope, it was dashed with some awful news on september 21, 2012... robert lopez: it was tense. we were nervous. we were scared. you know, what could have happened. dennis murphy: christian never showed up at his dorm that night and wasn't answering his phone. erika friman: it's not like christian to just not answer. it's not like him not to, just-- to just disappear. there was something wrong. dennis murphy: christian aguilar had vanished.

craig melvin: coming up. what could be behind christian's sudden disappearance? retracing his last steps, a rough neighborhood and a curious stranger. tim peck: he tells me at one point they stop to pick up a hitchhiker. craig melvin: when dateline continues. ♪♪ every parent knows when it's time to go into... protect mode. kill 99.9% of bacteria when you add lysol laundry sanitizer to your laundry routine. ♪♪ dupixent can help people with asthma breathe better in as little as 2 weeks. so this is better. and this. dupixent is an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. it's not for sudden breathing problems and doesn't replace a rescue inhaler. it's proven to help prevent asthma attacks. severe allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for face, mouth, tongue or throat swelling, wheezing or trouble breathing. tell your doctor right away of signs

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20% off and free shipping on your first order at nuts. >> com for the first 100 days of this new administration, i am going to be here on msnbc at 9 p.m. eastern five nights a week, monday through friday. we will watch what they do and not just what they say from now on. and for the first 100 days and for the duration. but what they are saying thus far, and what they are doing thus far, have both been utterly shambolic. and none of us should be afraid to say so. and none of us here are so so. and none of us here are so for these first 1 dennis murphy: three teenagers, all college freshman in gainesville, florida, longtime friends but now,

one of them, christian was a no-show for meeting with his circle of friends...didn't pick up the phone....not so much as a text. erika friman: it got later and later. and i started calling our friends. and i'm like, "hey, i just wanted to make sure-- like, have you seen christian?" dennis murphy: when you're not getting text backs-- back, when do you start to go from worried to really getting freaked out? erika friman: well, honestly, all that night i couldn't really sleep. i-- had passed by his dorm room to see if possibly-- you know, his phone died, and he couldn't answer. his phone got wet. i was thinking of all these different scenarios. and he wasn't in his dorm. where was he all night? where was he staying? where was he sleeping? where-- where is he? dennis murphy: the next morning: still, nothing from christian. he hadn't come back to his dorm room...so erika and pedro-- her ex-boyfriend-- together went to the gainesville police. erika friman: so we go to the window and we start explaining our situation. and the lady pretty much, like, laughs at me. dennis murphy: so they're blowin' you off. erika friman: yeah. and i was just there, like-- you know, this lady better hope there's nothing wrong here. i was so upset at that point, 'cause i just wanted someone to pay attention and you

know this is a serious thing. dennis murphy: but after all, christian wouldn't be the first college freshman 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. tim peck: the big thing that i wanna find out is has anybody been in contact and when was the last time they contacted him, where was the last time anybody was on contact with 'em. dennis murphy: officer tim peck talked to the concerned pair--- found out that pedro was the last friend to see christian the previous day. officer peck: and he kinda walks me through the-- the day, you know-- once he meets christian. they go to the infirmary 'cause christian needs to get-- a flu shot. then they go back to-- pedro's car which is parked on campus. and then at that point they go to best buy. dennis murphy: pretty routine afternoon, until, pedro told him, they decided to do something a little impulsive. officer peck: then he tells me at one point they stop to pick up a hitchhiker. dennis murphy: pedro told officer peck and erika they drove around town for a bit...

erika friman: eventually the hitchhiker was like, "i wanna get outta the car." and then shortly after, christian said, you know, "i wanna get outta the car, too. you know, just pull over. i wanna get out." dennis murphy: and that was where the friends parted, near this auto body shop, a few miles off-campus. that neighborhood around the body shop raised alarm bells for officer peck. it had some rough spots... tim peck: some of the area is known to be a high drug area-- have some gang activity as well. so that kinda concerned me. were they up there specifically for that reason or in the process of christian gettin' dropped off, did he-- he run into something or-- or wander into a bad area? erika friman: i knew there was a large homeless community in gainesville. and there-- there still is. so i was a little concerned about that. 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, you know, ithat was one of the options i had thought of. dennis murphy: a gang area? homeless camps and a mysterious hitchhiker?

there seemed reason enough to be worried. erika called christian's parents, carlos and claudia aguilar, down in miami--- told them christian was missing. dennis murphy: what did you think? carlos aguilar: i know that something was wrong. dennis murphy: so it was that worrying for you that-- claudia aguilar: uh-huh. carlos aguilar: yes. dennis murphy: --this behavior was not at all like christian, huh? carlos aguilar: not at all. that was not christian. dennis murphy: along with christian's younger brother alex, they jumped in the car to make that long drive up to gainesville. alex aguilar: i can say that car ride was the most-- silent car ride i've ever had. we really didn't talk. we didnt know what to say to one another. dennis murphy: what did that word "missing" mean to you? alex aguilar: missing, at first-- i guess i-- maybe me -- tryin' to be positive, was maybe he went out to the party. maybe he got injured; maybe he got into a car accident. we couldn't really tell 'cause we don't know who he hangs out with. dennis murphy: and once they got there, police had questions for the alex and his parents too... alex aguilar: they bring us into this small, little room. and we have an officer who gave us a few questions, asking-- what-- it was, "what type of person is christian? would he-- is he normally like this? would he usually go out? does he drink? does he do any drugs?

dennis murphy: what were you seeing in christian's parents in this period? erika friman: confused-- pain. there was just pain in their eyes. dennis murphy: but erika says they were all about to channel that pain into determination, with more friends heading up from miami. erika friman: i had a whole group of individuals who were now just as concerned as i was, just as focused as i was, just as driven to find christian. i didn't feel so alone once they got there. i felt we're gonna find him, we can do this. dennis murphy: christian's family and friends were hopeful he'd turn 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? officer peck: there's something else going on here that--i'm not aware of, but what exactly that is i'm not sure. craig melvin: coming up tim peck: do you know christian? erika friman: yeah. yeah. tim peck: how do you know him? erika friman: i was just concerned that i was going to push him off the edge. craig melvin: when dateline continues.

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robinhood gold will boost it by 2%. exclusive bonus content, and all of your favorite msnbc shows now ad free. subscribe on apple podcasts. donald trump plans to reshape the u.s. government. >> democrats have wasted no time in laying the groundwork to fight the incoming trump administration. >> donald trump wants a presidential cabinet full of loyalists. don't miss the loyalists. don't miss the weekends, saturday and sunday were at that uf campus police station trying to help the cops track down their friend christian. surveillance cameras were rolling as they made their report to officer tim peck. then his team quickly went to work...tracing the missing student with the usual technological tools: they pinged his cell phone-- it was off.

checked the university computers-- christian had not logged on. tim peck: we check with-- the hospitals, the local hospitals to see if he was in there. then we'll also check with our notes from the previous night, run his name to see if he's had any contact with us, check with the city and the county, their main dispatch center, to see if they had any contact with him. dennis murphy: no sign of christian anywhere. dennis murphy: you're still calling, still texting? erika friman: i'm still calling, still texting. i'm-- sending him messages, like, you know, "we're gonna find you," you know? "i-- i-- you know, i love you so much," you know? "i can't wait to see you again," you know? "everything's gonna be okay." trying to, like, calm myself down. dennis murphy: and it was in those hours inside the campus police station, that erika disclosed a secret that christian had been keeping. it was her secret too. since high school graduation, and her break-up with pedro, she and christian had become more than friends. erika friman: it was very exciting. we thought it was great. we thought, this is us, you know, learning how to get used to gainesville.

and it was like, i had-- (noise) my best friend with me. it was somebody who i could always turn to, somebody i did always turn to, and somebody now that was always gonna be there for me. dennis murphy: who made the move for the first embrace? erika friman: oh, h-- he-- he-- he did. i-- he drove to my house. and-- i see him, and i instantly-- we-- we hug. and i'm there. and i'm just nervous. and just, i haven't been this nervous. and all these butterflies in my stomach. and he grabs my-- my chin and he pulls me up. and he just gives me this m-- magical kiss. dennis murphy: and you became a couple that moment. erika friman: yeah. and we just felt like-- like, "is this really happening? is this still really happening?" like, i just kept, you know, pinching myself, like, "god, this is crazy. i can't believe this." dennis murphy: and in a matter of weeks, their young lives, she and christian, had changed completely. they were madly, deeply in love. dennis murphy: what do you think the two of you had? erika friman: something very rare.

something you don't find every day. something amazing. something (laugh)-- i don't even know how to explain what we had. it's like not a care in the world because you're just so happy to be with that person. where-- dennis murphy: i mean, young-- young girls are in love sometimes with being in love, but this doesn't sound like that. erika friman: oh no, no. this was something where you clicked on every level. dennis murphy: but out of friendship and respect, they'd kept the new romance a secret from pedro, erika's ex. yet his friends knew that something was eating away at pedro, ever since graduating from high school -- he had been in a kind of a funk. dennis murphy: did he change at all? robert lopez: yes, as a matter of fact. as time went on he-- 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, we all feel like oh my gosh. dennis murphy: buddy robert lopez had noticed some odd, alarming behavior. robert lopez: we all went out to this restaurant--

the swamp. it's well known in gainesville. it's right next to the football stadium. and our tab ran up to, like, $70 and he picked up the whole tab. and we asked him like, "pedro, why-- why would you pay for our whole tab? you're paying for all your classes out of pocket." and he's like, "yeah, i'm not worried about it. i won't need this money soon." dennis murphy: whoa. robert lopez: yeah. that was-- that-- dennis murphy: that give you an insight into-- his head at that point-- robert lopez: yeah-- dennis murphy: --do you think? robert lopez: --that was when we realized, you know, he's not doing okay. dennis murphy: was pedro suicidal? all the more reason, for erika and christian, to keep their happy romance quiet. erika friman: i was just concerned that i was gonna push him off the edge. i didn't want him to go home that night, knowing that i was dating one of our mutual friends and him think, you know, "i'm just gonna end my life right now." dennis murphy: but now with christian's disappearance, the cat was out of the bag. at the university police station that day, erika blurted it out...with pedro right there in the room. officer peck: do you know christian? erika: yeah, yeah

officer peck: how do you know him? erika: i'm his girlfriend. officer peck: you're his girlfriend? erika: yeah officer peck: oh, i'm sorry. officer peck: and she goes on to tell me that her and christian had started dating, but they didn't think pedro knew about their-- them dating. dennis murphy: how would pedro react to hearing that? the officer sensed that something seemed to be brewing in the circle of friends, but what that was wasn't clear. for now, everyone was focused on finding christian. officer peck: they were all feeling like we're all in this together, we're all worried about christian. he's our friend. we're trying to find out-- do whatever we can to-- to help locate him. dennis murphy: officer peck could see that erika was becoming increasingly agitated... so as the campus cop was checking out the stories these two friends told him, he decided it was time to bring in investigators from the gainesville pd. and the first thing they'd want to do is talk to pedro bravo. pedro bravo: i have to tell you one thing. police officer: 'k craig melvin: coming up, a dramatic new clue police officer: we find christian's backpack.

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was already taken. get 20% off and free shipping on your first order at nuts. com. >> hi, i'm richard lui with the news update the wall street journal reporting that the trump administration will begin large scale deportation campaigns next week. up to 200 immigration and customs enforcement officers are expected to conduct raids in chicago one day after trump's inauguration, and the supreme court ruled unanimously to uphold a ban on tiktok for national security reasons. the popular app, owned by chinese company bytedance, will go dark sunday if it does not find a new owner or secure assurances from the government that companies hosting the app will not be punished. for now, back to punished. for now, back to dateline craig melvin: welcome back to dateline. i'm craig melvin. where was christian aguilar?

pedro bravo told campus police he left his friend in a sketchy part of town after dropping off a hitch hiker. but washetelling the whole story? as investigators turned up the heat, pedro would make an intriguing admission. once again, here's dennis murphy with "circle of friends". dennis murphy: college kids in a college town-- that first whiff of freedom can lead to some less than responsible, even reckless behaviors. but in the case of missing freshman christian aguilar, campus police had begun to suspect something sinister may have happened. so they called in a veteran detective from the gainesville pd. det. roberts: when i first walked in there was two girls sitting in the-- lobby, which was erika friman and-- her sister. there was a male, which later i found out was pedro bravo, was in an interview room. det. roberts: are you pedro? pedro bravo: yes, i'm pedro. dennis murphy: since pedro was the last person known to have seen christian, he topped the list of people detective randy roberts

wanted to speak to. det. roberts: i wanted to hear mr. bravo's story from beginning to end exactly as he had told upd so i could get a feel for what was going on. pedro bravo: i just hope he's not missing for a while. det. roberts: well me too. in the last 48 hours when have you seen christian? pedro bravo: yesterday. dennis murphy: pedro repeated his account of that last day he had seen his friend -- how they'd run some errands, grabbed a bite to eat, swung over to best buy so christian could pick up the latest kanye west cd....that's them around 3pm smiling as they walk through the store... pedro bravo: like his shoes were muddy and his shirt was tattered. dennis murphy: and again he told the story of how they picked up a hitchhiker in a rough part of town... det. roberts: and how old do you think he was? pedro bravo: he was around i would say mid-50's, but i can't tell because he had a white bushy beard with him so, but i'd say mid- 50s around that. det. roberts:: how else was he dressed? any hat? pedro bravo: he had a cowboy hat. dennis murphy: detective roberts then pressed pedro about how and why he and christian

parted ways that night. pedro revealed that 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. pedro bravo: and i made a comment about like this girl he's had a crush on for like three years and he's poured his heart out to her and it didn't work out. and he just got he got mad. like he was silent for a few minutes and then he told me to stop, stop the car. he wants to get out. det. roberts: okay so what did you do? pedro bravo: i was angry at him too so i stopped the car and i said, "fine. get out." dennis murphy: the investigator listened with a skeptical ear as pedro described driving away, stopping at mcdonald's and then going home to bed -- with no idea something had happened until his phone rang at 4am and erika told him that christian was missing. pedro bravo: i got up and tried to go back to sleep but i couldn't because i like,

because i felt kind of guilty because i dropped him off on the road and i was afraid what if something happened to him and what if he's lost right now? dennis murphy: pedro let them search his car for any clues related to christian. and-- bingo- they found something interesting. det. roberts: they found a receipt showing that someone, him or someone else using his vehicle, had made a trip to-- mcdonald's-- durin' the night. dennis murphy: mcdonald's...where pedro claimed he'd eaten right after christian had jumped out of the car, call it 7pm and change. and yet the receipt was timestamped much later--- 12:54am...more than five hours later than he'd told them. det. roberts: you forget you went to mcdonald's in the middle of the night. that maybe you forgot, maybe you forget something else? dennis murphy: the back and forth with detective roberts started sounding more like an interrogation. det. roberts: when you leave things out it makes you look like you did something bad. dennis murphy: and as for that story about the hitchhiker? the cops checked it out.

but couldn't come up with anything. det. roberts: we checked-- surveillance video in the area where he-- they said he dropped him-- lookin'-- and didn't find anybody. we checked-- area businesses to see if there was someone like that -- matched the description of the hitchhiker and we didn't find anyone. dennis murphy: so was pedro bravo hiding something? det. roberts: is there anything we need to change about where you went at what times and things like that? dennis murphy: well, there was. just when it seemed the interview was ending, pedro decided to keep talking. there was something he'd left out... pedro bravo: there's one thing i have to tell you, because you're right, t■i can't keep everything from you and i have to tell you one thing. det. roberts: ok dennis murphy: and that one thing, was huge. pedro bravo: like in the scuffle with chris it wasn't just really an argument. i made the comment about this this the girl that he has a crush on. and he got angry at that. but then he came back with maybe you should just like maybe you should just ------- kill yourself. and that's when i turned around and punched him straight in the face. dennis murphy: a fistfight. this was a new detail he'd never mentioned...

pedro was now admitting to leaving his buddy by the side of the road...bleeding from a sock in the nose. det. roberts: now i'm starting to believe that there might be something more to this than just a missing person. dennis murphy: but what? while investigators tried to figure it out, they decided they couldn't let pedro go home. so they charged him with "depriving a victim of medical care." for bloodying christian's nose and then leaving him on the side of the road. robert lopez: i had-- a suspicion that, you know, the meeting took a wrong turn and that they-- they got into an argument. what could have happened? what exactly is pedro capable of? dennis murphy: meanwhile, the search for christian was only getting bigger, and for his family and friends, more desperate. dennis murphy: what's goin' through your head? is it like, "it's me, alex. i'm out here in the woods. i'm tryin' to find you. where are you?" alex aguilar: yeah, i think when we were searching, it was just more just to do something, 'cause you feel so useless and so helpless so you're just there looking-- dennis murphy: and, what, posters are going up? alex aguilar: we're hanging posters, we're handing out

fliers during the football game, 'cause this was football season. dennis murphy: gainesville police were doing their own searches too, as they focused more and more of their attention on pedro bravo and his wobbly story. they 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? det. roberts: we find christian's backpack hidden inside of pedro's backpack. and then hidden inside of a suitcase dennis murphy: so why would a friend have another friend's backpack? alex aguilar: that's our concern. why would pedro hide his backpack so-- excessively 'cause it-- it was very well hidden. so we thought this is pedro trying to cover up. dennis murphy: pedro has-- gone from being a person of interest to a suspect in this disappearance-- erika friman: yes. it was very quickly, i felt, that that all happened. it-- it's hard to swallow something that huge when it's-- you know, this is somebody you've known for so long. dennis murphy: erika had to face the possibility that maybe she and christian hadn't been

so good at keeping secrets. maybe pedro had known all about their relationship, and it had sent him over the edge. erika friman: i overheard police officers discussing that-- that i-- you know, like, a love-jealous rage kind of thing, like a love triangle i think they had said. dennis murphy: so how'd you bear up with that? erika friman: i didn't wanna think of that. i didn't-- i couldn't imagine somebody doing something so horr-- especially somebody as smart as pedro. dennis murphy: but when the crime scene techs processed pedro's suv, there it was....blood. now the police believed pedro hadn't just punched out christian. they believed he killed him. on the friday a week after pedro bravo had helped report his good friend missing....he was charged with first-degree murder. gainesville pd pio tobias: with the blood evidence, with the backpack being hidden and with him being away and not heard of for so long, that's why we decided to upgrade the charge to murder. dennis murphy: so pedro, your hi-- high school boyfriend who'd been-- in your life for a long time, is now charged with the first-degree murder

of the guy you were describing as the man of your life? erika friman: yes. it is exactly what happened. very strange, strange life i have. dennis murphy: but there's an axiom in homicide work: no body, no case. investigators hadn't found christian's body, so what else were they finding out...about pedro bravo? craig melvin: coming up, the case heads to court and the star witness? erika friman: i dont want to be around him. i just wanted him gone. craig melvin: when dateline continues. i got this wow skin from olay body wash. it's new super serum: sink into my skin with 5 powerful ingredients. 5 benefits in 1! look at this olay difference. so luminous! olay super serum body wash. long after guests leave, viruses and bacteria linger. air fresheners add a scent. but only lysol air sanitizer helps erase the trace, eliminating odor and

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charged with the murder of his friend christian aguilar, the search for christian continued...his family clinging to hope, but fearing the worst. alex aguilar: you're there looking for all day, from-- sunrise to sunset, with people you'd-- you are meeting along the way, a bunch of volunteers-- police officers. dennis murphy: but after three-weeks of searching.... affiliate reporter: just down this road here is where those two men found human remains on friday afternoon. dennis murphy: two hunters walking through some acreage, came across a body buried in a shallow grave. it was christian. alex aguilar: in a way we-- we had expected it. we were just waiting for that phone call to actually happen. dennis murphy: erika could not absorb the news. erika friman: you never want to just accept that kind of news. but at least-- at least we were able to find him. dennis murphy: nearly two years after christian died, his high school friend pedro was on trial for murder.

he pleaded not guilty. dennis murphy : erika, your personal belief: do you believe that pedro killed christian? erika friman: yes. dennis murphy : why? for what reason? erika friman: i think it was-- i mean, a mixture of jealousy academically, and a mixture of jealousy involving me. dennis murphy: 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 prosecutor said. prosecutor: mr. bravo's plan is not just to murder christian aguilar. that's just a part of it. he's got to reunite with erika. dennis murphy: the prosecutor painted a picture of a teenager not just depressed over the break-up, but obsessed with getting erika back. and his star witness was the very object of pedro's obsession -- a very nervous erika. erika friman: i didn't wanna see him. i didn't wanna be around him. you know, i w-- i didn't want his family near him. i just wanted him gone. dennis murphy: with pedro barely looking at her, erika read just some of the non-stop text messages pedro

had been sending her. erika friman: "i came all this way and i miss you like crazy and i love you despite everything that's happened and maybe i'm stupid but i can't help the feeling and i'm so sorry i'm so so sorry." dennis murphy: 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... erika friman: i can win her back. i will win her back. i want to give up everything to be with her again." dennis murphy: but it was the sight 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. erika friman: i got really emotional. you know, i got really-- i got really thrown back. i was just, like, why do you have to bring this out? why do you wanna show me this? dennis murphy: and the prosecution wasn't done. there was more to its theory of motive. despite their best efforts, christian and erika

hadn't done a very good job concealing their relationship from pedro. det. roberts: pedro went into christian's facebook and email accounts and read conversations between erika and christian. dennis murphy: so christian was the romantic rival-- and he needed to go, said the state. det. roberts: we know that he knew about it prior to them goin' off that day. dennis murphy: and this wasn't simply a crime of passion, the prosecution charged. it was a cold, premeditated murder. the prosecution alleged pedro started plotting his friend's murder on september 16th, 2012 four days before christian disappeared. prosecution: he's at home and he's on his computer. dennis murphy: google searches were found on pedro's laptop: questions like 'what is chloroform?' 'can rubbing alcohol knock someone out?' and, 'what kinds of murders get solved?' and here on security video is pedro at a walmart buying a sleep aid product, 55 yards of duct tape, and a hunting knife. in his hand was a shovel he'd just bought at lowe's.

prosecutor: he literally bought the murder starter pack. dennis murphy: and, as the prosecution theory goes, pedro used those items to drug and strangle his friend, right inside his car. prosecutor: on 9/20 at 4:11 that blue blazer pulls in dennis murphy: they showed the jury surveillance cam video of pedro's suv in a walmart parking lot--- investigators believe inside the vehicle the murder is going down. det. roberts: 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. prosecutor: when he leaves that parking lot, christian aguilar's dead. he murders him in the car. dennis murphy: forensics confirmed that was christian's blood that investigators had found in pedro's suv. and they had discovered even more intriguing evidence in the trunk: an empty gatorade bottle caked with residue from a sleep aid and an antihistamine. det. roberts: puttin' those two combinations together

in a large quantity would cause someone to-- lose consciousness. dennis murphy: once christian was dead, pedro had to dispose of his friend's body. and the tale of how that happened, the prosecution said, was told by pedro's 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 48 minutes. prosecutor: he's using the flashlight. he's burying chris' body. dennis murphy: and the prosecution had yet another piece of physical evidence it said tied pedro--beyond a reasonable doubt-- to the murder. duct tape. det. roberts: when we found christian aguilar's body he had-- duct tape wrapped around his ankles, his wrists and his neck. a piece from his ankle was-- identified as being torn from the same piece of tape that was inside-- pedro bravo's windshield. dennis murphy: when pedro was done burying his friend, the prosecution said, he stopped at mcdonalds for that bite to eat.

then he drove to a car wash. det. roberts: so at 1:00 in the morning, we have pedro bravo pulling up to a car wash and washing his vehicle for 12 minutes. it tells me that-- he's tryin' to get rid of evidence. dennis murphy: when he got home, pedro washed his clothes, and crawled in bed in time to get erika's 4am phone call asking of christian's whereabouts. prosecutor: who duct taped 'em? pedro bravo. who put him in the grave? pedro bravo. who killed him? pedro bravo. dennis murphy: after calling nearly fifty witnesses to the stand, the prosecution rested its case. the defense, though, thought it needed only one witness in response: pedro bravo was about to take the stand. craig melvin: coming up-- pedro bravo: i still loved her. craig melvin: he would have a dramatically different story to tell. prosecutor: did you drink the concoction in the gatorade bottle? pedro bravo: yes, i drank the concoction that was in the gatorade bottle. craig melvin: when dateline continues. when you live with diabetes,

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honor student from miami, charter academy. but he had issues that he wanted to talk to his best friend about. dennis murphy: his best friend-- that's what the defense said christian was to pedro right up to the time he disappeared. his lawyer insisted that pedro never saw christian as a romantic rival-- that's because he didn't know that christian and erika were dating until that day in the police station. police officer: do you know christian? erika friman: yeah police officer: how do you know him? erika friman: i'm his girlfriend. dennis murphy: and now, the jury was about to hear from pedro himself. and only pedro; the sole witness for the defense. and when he took the stand the jurors didn't see some hulking psycho killer but a pale, intelligent, lovesick boy in a tidy suit. pedro bravo: i graduated from doral academy. yes. prosecutor: with any distinctions? pedro bravo: i graduated magna cum laude. dennis murphy: though he denied any malice toward christian, pedro did concede another key element of the state's case:

he was desperate to rekindle his relationship with erika friman. pedro bravo: i still loved her and like i was still very enamored with her and i really wanted to get back with her dennis murphy: and when it became clear that she wasn't coming back, he told the jury he sank into a deep depression. about erika -- and everything else in his sad, disintegrating life. pedro bravo: basically how i felt like a failure like. everything's a mess and i kind of feel like i'm breaking apart piece by piece. dennis murphy: that's why he made plans to hang out with christian that afternoon--- he wanted help from his old friend. pedro bravo: chris was one of the people that i could talk to about this. because he's also gone through the same things. dennis murphy: so how did that man-to-man talk end up in a fistfight? pedro says it started after christian said something terrible. pedro bravo: and he tells me why don't you go ------- kill yourself. defense lawyer: so what happened next. pedro bravo: i turned around and i hit him in the nose with my left fist. defense lawyer: while you're driving.

pedro bravo: while i am driving, yes. dennis murphy: that punch in the face could explain how christian's blood ended up in the car. next, pedro told the jury that he pulled over and the fight moved into the street. but after a few minutes, pedro left the scene. defense lawyer: what is chris' condition when you leave? pedro bravo: all i could tell was that he didn't get up right away but that he was still moving. defense lawyer: still breathing? pedro bravo: yes. defense lawyer: when you did this, did you have any malicious intent to kill christian aguilar? pedro bravo: no, it was all spur of the moment. defense lawyer: all right. and you decided to leave? pedro bravo: yes. defense lawyer: have you come to regret that decision? pedro bravo: i feel like i'm going to regret that decision for the rest of my life. dennis murphy: so pedro admitted he fought christian, but claimed he didn't kill him. and as he drove away -- pedro said the only person he wanted to destroy -- was himself.

that's when, he says, he decided to do it. take his own life. defense lawyer: now was this just a suicidal ideation or-- or were you going to act on it? pedro bravo: i was going to act on it. dennis murphy: so all that evidence presented by the prosecution wasn't about murder, it was about suicide. the drug-laced gatorade cocktail wasn't meant for christian. it was meant for pedro himself. defense lawyer: did you drink the concoction in the gatorade bottle? pedro bravo: yes, i drank the concoction that was in the gatorade bottle. dennis murphy: obviously an unsuccessful suicide attempt --- but the defense argued pedro's desire to end his own life was very real. pedro was combing 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 pedro bravo: at the beginning i was going to go and dig myself my grave. dennis murphy: so 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 jury something else to consider: some of the weirder evidence ever to come from a jailhouse snitch, court: state your name please? michael angelo: michael charles angelo. dennis murphy: michael angelo, who had cut a deal with prosecutors in exchange for leniency in his own case, was a cellmate of pedro bravo. and one day ---- michael angelo: he said he needed my help so he slipped a chip bag under my door and it had a note in it. dennis murphy: the note asked the cellmate to find someone on the outside to commit a series of murders similar to christian's killing -- suggesting that the real murderer was still at large and he, pedro, was innocent. he wrote... three to four people unfortunately must die .. they are random individuals but preference would be two uf students. tazed to incapacitate and strangled to kill. then have the hands duct taped. prosecutor: it's basically a plan to convince the world that christian aguilar was murdered by a serial killer who is still out there. dennis murphy: so just as the jurors struggled to get

their heads around this bizarre twist -- the trial came to an end -- 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. erika friman: we all talked to each other, you know, that day wasn't a day to celebrate whatever the jury had decided. dennis murphy: whatever they decided -- erika knew there would be sorrow all around. in fact, the jurors came back in less than four hours. and they found pedro bravo -- guilty -- of murder in the first degree. a verdict the family wanted -- but there were no winners that day. about an hour later pedro bravo faced the judge at his sentencing. insisting to the end ----- pedro bravo: "i did not kill christian aguilar, i know in my heart what i did and god knows what i did." dennis murphy: clearly unmoved, the judge sentenced bravo to life without parole. dennis murphy: the day after the verdict, christian's family

made a heart wrenching visit to the place where their beloved son's body had been found. since his death they've created the christian aguilar search and rescue foundation, which supports the use of tracking dogs to find the missing. dennis murphy: and christians brother, alex, embraced an opportunity that had a bitter sweetness to it-- graduating from the university of florida in gainesville. alex aguilar: i've always followed his example in school. and now that examples gone, so i have to, i guess, just follow my own route. dennis murphy: erika got her degree in gainesville, along with memories that she will carry forever. she cant forget that fleeting moment when she fell in love with christian, and then he was gone just like that. erika friman: we weren't even dating that long and we had the death talk. we had, you know, "what happens if something happened tomorrow and you got hit by a car," and he looked at me and he was just like, "i don't know what i would without you. i don't know what i would--" you know? and i looked at him and i was like, "i'll tell

you what you're going to do. you're going to find somebody and you're gonna live your life." dennis murphy: do you ever get up in the morning just shaking your fists in outrage at the heavens, "pedro, why did you do this to me?" not just christian is the victim. you've become a victim, too. erika friman: it's so difficult, sometimes to think of it that way. i would still give anything for christian to be here. there's not going to be another joke he tells or a smile i see when i look up from working or something. it's not going to happen again. they're just memories. craig melvin: that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. >> good morning and welcome to this saturday edition of morning joe weekend. it was a busy week, as we are