Friend who heard murder confession thought furniture heiress would end up dead in love triangle

The find of a dead, battered pistillate disconnected a Florida highway led investigators to unravel her unconventional manner and to the execution convictions of her 2 lovers successful their "throuple" relationship.

Before her body was recovered astatine the extremity of a cul-de-sac adjacent Highway 98 connected April 23, 2018, Aileen Seiden had checked into country 15 of the Sportsman's Lodge Motel successful Eastpoint, Florida, on with her fellow Zachary Abell and their communal woman Christina Araujo. 

A aesculapian examiner testified that Seiden's injuries were comparable to "the benignant of happening [he saw] successful centrifugal conveyance crashes," The Apalachicola Times reported. 

Nearly each of her ribs were broken, and extended bruising had turned the woman's face, abdomen and precocious assemblage to an aggravated purple, the outlet reported. 

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Aileen Seiden, 31, was recovered dormant disconnected Highway 98 successful Apalachicola, Florida, connected April 23, 2018. (Aileen Seiden/Instagram)

Initially, constabulary were incapable to place Seiden's body. However, soon aft her assemblage was found, they were called to a bloody country astatine the Sportsman's Lodge. 

"As soon arsenic I came in, I noticed the bed. I mean, it's — you couldn't miss it," pb researcher Ronnie Jones said successful a recently released CBS "48 Hours" documentary astir the case, "Who Killed Aileen Seiden successful Room 15?"

"I mean, this full country was covered and had humor stains connected it," helium said. "I conscionable enactment 2 and 2 together, and I automatically enactment that backmost to the assemblage that was recovered the time before. It wasn’t conscionable idiosyncratic chopped [themselves] and bled a small spot connected the bed. I mean the magnitude of blood… tells maine that whoever was present was astir apt deceased."

Testing yet indicated that the humor belonged to Seiden. 

Fatal attraction

Seiden was the youngest girl of Miami businessman Frank M. Seiden, who sold furnishings to luxury hotels, cruise ships and Disney Resorts, according to the Miami Herald. Seiden, Abell and Araujo lived successful North Miami.

Mike Picavet, who knew the trio, told Fox News Digital that the emotion triangle was overcrowded, wrought with jealousy and peppered with hotheaded brawls. 

"Christina and Aileen had their archetypal combat successful my room [in 2017]," Picavet said this past week. "Because [Abell] brought her over, brought some of them over. Aileen threw it successful Christina's look that she'd already been having enactment with Zach for a twelvemonth already. And past Christina started throwing punches close away. And it was truly weird due to the fact that Aileen mislaid and got backmost up and she, you know, everything was calmed down, and she started saying, Well, you're abdominous and ugly, too."

From past on, Picavet said, Seiden and Araujo would commercialized punches often successful fights fueled by alcohol, often resulting successful achromatic eyes connected 1 oregon some of the women. Those fights were bookended by periods of raucous partying and drinking, helium said.

Abell and Araujo started dating 5 years earlier Seiden's murder. Meanwhile, Seiden and Abell had known each different since they were teenagers and reconnected successful 2017.

Picavet, who met Abell and Araujo successful a barroom respective years earlier Seiden came into the picture, said that Abell ever had a "side piece" of immoderate benignant earlier the throuple's narration began.

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Zach Abell was sentenced to beingness successful situation connected second-degree execution charges successful January 2024. Christina Araujo, right, took a plea woody successful April 2023 successful Aileen Seiden's killing. (Broward County Sheriff's Office)

Picavet said helium did not judge that Abell was abusive. However, helium said that Araujo was ever "very controlling and directing" toward some of her lovers. He said that Abell tried aggregate times to interruption up with Araujo, but things were messy due to the fact that they were concern partners. 

"He tried truthful galore times," Picavet said. "He conscionable didn't cognize however to… and past also…all the threats each the clip that she could marque him disappear… Every clip she got drunk, she'd accidental immoderate weird things."

Seiden and Abell began dating successful secret, with Seiden's champion person telling documentarians that the antheral led her to judge that helium would permission the different woman. 

When Seiden mislaid her occupation arsenic a spot manager successful 2017, a person of hers told CBS that she started moving astatine Abell and Araujo's utilized car dealership. Picavet said that she mislaid her flat astatine the aforesaid time. When Abell yet attempted to interruption things disconnected with Araujo, Seiden's person said Araujo countered with an unconventional proposal: that the 3 of them day arsenic a "throuple."

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On April 21, 2018, 2 days earlier Aileen Seiden, left, was murdered, the throuple was spotted connected surveillance footage stumbling retired of the Red Pirate successful Apalachicola, wherever they ate dinner, played mini-golf and drank heavily. (Franklin County Court Clerk)

Friends and household told documentarians that Seiden was considering breaking disconnected the narration successful the weeks earlier her death. However, she shocked them erstwhile she moved successful with her lovers successful what her champion person called "one past accidental to marque it work."

On April 7, 2018, Abell and Araujo got into a fight. Seiden picked up Abell and took him distant from the house, and the brace went connected a roadworthy trip.

Araujo sent much than 150 aggravated substance messages to Seiden and Abell successful a 24-hour span, according to the documentary. However, aft her 2 lovers had been gone for astir 48 hours and had reached Texas, she had a alteration of heart.

"If you privation to travel backmost location travel back. You ne'er person to question my love," Araujo wrote, according to the documentary. 

Abell and Seiden past invited Araujo to alert retired to conscionable them successful Texas. 

Picavet told Fox News Digital that helium "thought [Seiden would] extremity up dormant determination oregon thing due to the fact that [he] didn't expect them to travel backmost altogether."

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Zach Abell and Christina Araujo are pictured successful a photo, snapped by their person Mike Picavet, aft they confessed to Aileen Seiden's execution astatine his home. (Franklin County Court Clerk)

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Ten days into the roadworthy trip, Seiden feared for her beingness and called her sister.

"I was like, ‘Aileen, tally to the nearest state station,'" Franceasa Seiden recalled, according to the documentary. "I said ‘run, get the — get retired of there’ … ‘Go!’ …She's like, 'I can't.'

Back successful Florida, connected their mode location to North Miami, the radical headed to the Sportsman's Lodge Motel, wherever they decided that they would walk 1 much time determination and proceed to party. On the greeting of April 22, they stocked up connected Fireball whiskey and vodka astatine a liquor store, surveillance footage showed. 

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Zach Abell and Christina Araujo are pictured connected toll booth surveillance footage aft Aileen Seiden's murder. (Franklin County Clerk of Court)

That day, Seiden called her champion person and crafted an flight plan. She intended to get connected a autobus backmost location erstwhile the trio reached Tampa, their adjacent destination. The person bought Seiden a Greyhound summons due to the fact that she had near for the abrupt roadworthy travel without her wallet. 

However, Seiden's person ne'er heard from her again. 

On the evening of April 23, Picavet said that Araujo and Abell turned up connected his doorstep. 

"I was like, 'OK, where's Aileen?' And close away, Christina says, ‘Oh, she ran away.’ … And I said, ‘Bull----,'" Picavet recalled. "I said, ‘Where is she?’ And Zach close away… started to choke up, and helium said, 'She's dead.'"

Abell told Picavet that Araujo had killed Seiden and convinced him not to telephone 911 erstwhile helium recovered her body. Likewise, Picavet feared a convulsive result if helium notified law enforcement.

"I was disquieted for my information then, from Christina," helium told Fox News Digital. "Well, I can't slumber successful my location now. This is crazy. She knows. I know. So, you know, I could extremity up… she could extremity up sidesplitting me."

Picavet said Araujo described wherever she and Abell dumped the body, and helium began searching for the determination connected Google Maps. Ultimately, helium would springiness constabulary the aforesaid determination wherever Seiden's assemblage was found. 

After his friends had fallen dormant connected his couch, Picavet snapped a photo. Then, helium took to societal media to find Araujo's father, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department Col. Tony Araujo. When helium yet reached him, Picavet sent him the photograph and told him that helium had urgent quality astir his daughter.

They met up astatine a adjacent state station. 

"I went up determination … I said, ‘Christina killed somebody.’ And helium says, 'You cognize I'm a cop, right?' And I'm like, ‘Yes, sir. I do,'" Picavet said. "He close distant said, ‘Wait close there.’"

Zach Abell and Christina Araujo had been dating for 4 years erstwhile Aileen Seiden joined their narration successful 2017. (Franklin County Clerk of Court)

Araujo brought Picavet to the constabulary station, wherever helium made a ceremonial statement. There, helium identified a photograph of Seiden's battered body. 

Police arrested Abell and Araujo and charged them some with first-degree murder. However, they would not look a assemblage for six years owed to tribunal delays and complications. 

In 2023, Araujo took a plea woody for the lesser complaint of second-degree murder. Abell went to proceedings successful Franklin County successful January 2024. Because Araujo confessed to beating Seiden, she became a important witnesser successful his trial. 

Abell's attorney, Alex Morris, argued successful tribunal that Araujo had the motive to termination Seiden – jealousy implicit Abell's divided attraction – and that she was the instigator successful her death. 

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Ultimately, the jurors recovered Abell blameworthy of the lesser complaint of second-degree murder, arsenic they were incapable to determine whether helium had intended to termination Seiden erstwhile helium and Araujo bushed her. 

At his sentencing, Abell claimed that helium intended to permission Araujo and had projected to Seiden with a Ring Pop connected their roadworthy trip. 

"Me and Aileen were gonna spell our mode and permission Christina retired of it," helium claimed.

Picavet is convinced that Abell did not instrumentality portion successful the beating that outgo Seiden her life, though helium did assistance dispose of Seiden's body. 

"I cognize helium didn't termination her conscionable due to the fact that I cognize Zach. And he, you know, helium would person told maine he's guiltless of the murder. He's stupid. Stupidly not guiltless for helping determination the body," Picavet said.

Picavet said helium is committed to helping Abell beryllium his innocence successful the execution and said that a hidden camera successful his flat erstwhile his friends returned to his location that nighttime captured Araujo admitting to being solely liable for the sidesplitting and contradicting grounds that she gave successful court. 

However, that tiny camera, disguised arsenic an outlet, was taken into grounds by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Picavet claims that investigators were incapable to propulsion files disconnected it for grounds and that helium hopes to get the SD paper from the instrumentality backmost truthful that helium tin get the footage that could assistance his friend. 

"Once that happens, past Zach's entreaty should beryllium bully due to the fact that determination the grounds is going to travel out, which is caller grounds that Christina's full grounds was bulls---. And past it'll beryllium hopefully bully for Zach."