As Pedro Bravo remained in Alachua County Jail accused of a murder in connection to Christian Aguilar’s disappearance, police documents released Saturday shed more light on what happened the day Aguilar went missing.
Aguilar, an 18-year-old biomedical engineering freshman from Miami, has not been seen since Sept. 20.
Over the weekend, a judge charged Bravo with murder and denied him bond.
Police said Aguilar’s body had not been recovered, but a Gainesville Police arrest report revealed what Bravo, an 18-year-old Santa Fe College student, told officers in an interview a day after Aguilar’s disappearance.
During questioning, Bravo said he and Aguilar met on campus on Sept. 20 and drove to Best Buy on Southwest Archer Road so Aguilar could buy Kanye West’s new “Cruel Summer” album.
A store surveillance photo released Tuesday showed that Aguilar was last seen at about 3 p.m. that day.
Bravo said he and Aguilar drove around the city until they got into an argument about Aguilar’s girlfriend, Erika Friman, 18, who previously dated Bravo.
Bravo told detectives he dropped Aguilar off on the side of the road on Northwest 13th Street and denied fighting him.
Then Bravo’s story changed, saying that during the argument, he punched Aguilar in the face and forced him out of the car.
Police continued to question Bravo, who then told detectives that outside the car, he beat Aguilar for “10 to 15 minutes” until he “lost consciousness.”
Bravo said he left Aguilar, who was “barely breathing and not moving,” lying on the ground.
The last known activity from Aguilar’s phone was at 8:14 p.m. on Sept. 20, which Bravo said he turned off and threw into the woods before he returned home.
Following the interview, police drove Bravo to where he left Aguilar, but officers were not able to find him.
Officials then issued search warrants for Bravo’s apartment in Spyglass Apartments and his Chevrolet Blazer.
Inside Bravo’s car, police found traces of blood.
GPD Spokesman Ben Tobias said blood samples were sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for DNA testing.
Scientists from UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Science confirmed that limerock dust was also found in Bravo’s car, according to a GPD news release.
On Friday, Tobias asked city property owners with limerock roads to check for any disturbances on the ground that could indicate someone buried a body.
In the apartment, officers found Aguilar’s backpack hidden inside a suitcase in Bravo’s closet.
They also found a receipt on his dresser, which showed that Bravo purchased a roll of duct tape and a shovel on Sept. 16, four days before Aguilar went missing.
Police have not found the shovel or the roll of duct tape.
Bravo was arrested Friday and charged with premeditated, first-degree murder, which is a capital offense, according to Florida Statutes.
Bravo was initially charged with depriving a victim of medical care, a third-degree felony, and held in jail with a $100,000 bond.
Bravo appeared in court Saturday morning through a live video feed for the second time in front of a judge.
During the hearing, Bravo stood with a blank face as Judge David A. Glant denied him bond and officially charged him with murder.
Unlike the other inmates, Bravo wore a dark green, one-piece garment, or an antisuicide smock, which is usually worn by inmates who are at risk of hurting themselves.
Ronald Kozlowski, one of Bravo’s attorneys, would not comment if Bravo was on suicide watch.
A family friend of the Aguilars made a statement to the court saying the family extended their condolences to the Bravo family.
“They understand that there are two families suffering today,” she said. “That being said, they do ask that justice please be served.”
Bravo’s family, however, was not at Saturday’s hearing.
“They were eager to support their son,” Kozlowski said. “However, we were able to persuade them not to come because of all the media attention.”
After the hearing, Kozlowski said Bravo’s parents are “extremely upset and worried” about their son.
“They feel horrible about this,” he said. “They are praying that Chris is found.”
Since Aguilar’s disappearance, more than 200 people, which included Aguilar’s friends and family as well as dozens of police agencies, volunteered to help find him.
Supporters helped raise more than $7,500 on the fundraising website Indiegogo for Aguilar’s family.
Although Aguilar remained missing and Bravo faces a murder charge, hope still flows through the volunteers, officers and the Aguilar family.
“A lot of people still have the hope of finding him,” said Angelina LaPiana, a 19-year-old political science senior involved with the search. “We’re going to continue searching until we find Christian.”
Contact Chris Alcantara at calcantara@alligator.org.
