48 Hours - Who Killed Aileen Seiden in Room 15?

Episode Date: October 21, 2024

Three people check into a Florida motel room. Only two walk out alive. Peter Van Sant reports.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals with more at it all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits, of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits, and even

your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial, and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. It was 1989 in Titusville, Florida. Kim Halleck said she and her ex-boyfriend,

Chip Flynn, were kidnapped and attacked at gunpoint. Kim fled the scene, but Chip didn't make it out alive. Did you kill Chip Flynn? No, ma'am. Crosley Green has lived more than half his life behind bars for a crime he says he didn't commit. I'm Erin Moriarty of 48 Hours, and of all the cases I've covered,

this is the one that troubles me most, involving an eyewitness count that doesn't quite make sense, a sister testifying against a brother. They always say lies, you can't remember lies. A lack of physical evidence and questions about whether Crosley Green was accused, arrested and convicted because he's black. Just because a white female says a black man has committed a crime,

we take that as gospel. Listen to Murder in the Orange Grove, the troubled case against Crosley Green, early and ad free on Wondry Plus and the Wondry app. ["Wonderful Music"] This is where it all began, right? This is where it all began, right? This is where it all began. April 23rd, 2018.

I received the call that a body was located off of Highway 98. I come over to this area and approximately here was about where the head of the body was at and stretched out across the head of the body was at and stretched out across the ditch with the feet facing in that direction. She had bruises from head to toe, covering her entire body. She had lacerations on her face, stomach, legs. So this woman suffered before she died?

She suffered. I've never seen anything like it. It was extreme violence. Extreme violence overkill. And who would do something like that? At the time you don't know. And what you worry about then is are they loose in our community? What type of individual am I dealing with?

Or individuals? Is there one person? Is there two? You have a million questions that you can ask, but you have no answers at the time. The next day they identified the woman as Eileen Sidon. A young 31-year-old female in the Miami area. I've known Eileen Sidon for 25 years. She was my best friend. Eileen had called me.

She had told me it was pretty where she was. The last talk I had with Eileen was very different. She told me just these horrific things you never think you'll hear from your best friend. She said, I need your help. It was like a movie. My sister's involved, and I don't know what's happening. I told her to run.

You used the word run? Did you say run? 100%. I said, run. Get out of there. Go. She's like, I can't. She was scared to death. This doesn't happen. This doesn't happen to us. This doesn't happen in real life. We received a call from the Sportsman's Lodge Motel. There was a room that they were in the process of cleaning. There was blood.

And what goes through your mind as you walk through all this beauty? This right here would be the last place that you could ever imagine a homicide taking place, especially right here in this piece of paradise. I'll take you to room number 15. Now when the housekeepers first came through this door, what did they see? They said the furniture was knocked over onto the floor. As they started cleaning the room, they found more and more stuff to be wrong. They noticed stuff missing from the beds, the sheets, anything like that.

This bed here was completely covered in bloodstain. So that tells you there was a violent scene going on. Yes. MUSIC And what happened in room 15? It's unknown. MUSIC If these walls could talk, right? Oh, if they could talk, I'd like to hear them.

MUSIC MUSIC Peter Van Sant reports, who killed Eileen Seidin in room 15? Apalachicola, Florida is a wonderful small place. For Franklin County Assistant Prosecutor Jared Patterson, the sleepy Gulf Coast town of Apalachicola and surrounding countryside are among the last remnants of a bygone era. It certainly still harkens back to a time before there was condos on every inch of the beach and before there were high rises. We're referred to here the counties along this area of the coast as

the forgotten coast. But when a couple heading to a nearby fishing pond before there were high rises. We're referred to here, the counties along this area of the coast as the Forgotten Coast. But when a couple heading to a nearby fishing pond discovered Eileen Sidon's battered body on April 23rd, 2018, Patterson wondered what had brought a killer to Florida's Forgotten Coast. The horror that it really was. It absolutely shocked me.

It looked like someone was in a hurry. Whoever it was dumped the body and took off. Lead investigator, Lieutenant Ronnie Jones, then with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, says documenting Eileen's unsettling dump site was the first of two ominous events over the next 24 hours. He was soon dispatched to the second crime scene at the Sportsman's Lodge Motel and that bloody spectacle inside Room 15.

So what's it like for you to be back in here? It brings back some pretty bad memories. Jones' memories live in stark contrast to the tree-shaded grounds of the otherwise peaceful motel. As soon as I came in, I noticed the bed. I mean, you couldn't miss it. I mean, this whole area was covered and had blood stains on it. And when you saw that kind of blood loss,

what did that tell you? I just put two and two together, and I automatically put that back to the body that was found the day before. You did that quickly, like that? Had to have. It wasn't just somebody cut theirself and bled a little bit on the bed.

I mean, the amount of blood that was on this bed tells me that whoever was here was probably deceased. Jones recalled there was a smell of vinegar in the room. What did that tell you? That someone attempted to clean the crime scene. A luminol test for traces of human blood revealed what an apparently hasty cleanup couldn't hide. The whole entire bathroom lit up.

So that was the scene of perhaps some of her most vicious attacks was inside that bathroom? Yes. And Jones says the shower curtain rod was a possible weapon. On the rod was located a palm print and also blood. And that's significant evidence, right? That's right. Testing would soon confirm that it was Eileen's blood in the motel room.

Now came the gut-wrenching duty to notify Eileen's sister, Francesca Seiden. He said my sister was murdered. I don't know, like, what do you do? You look for support. That's all I could do. I didn't understand why, like, it was given to me again, like, to handle another loss. While growing up in Miami, then 16-year-old Francesca and 9-year-old Eileen face their first tragedy when their beloved mother, Mirtha, passed away from cancer.

How did the two of you deal with this? We didn't talk about it because it was so fast. Six years later, their father, Frank, a successful furniture manufacturer who Francesca says shared a special bond with Eileen, suddenly died from a heart attack. It left Eileen, then 14, an orphan, and 22-year-old Francesca with a decision to make. I signed the papers and I became her legal guardian. And what did that mean? What were your responsibilities?

I became a parent. I had to take her to school. I had to pick her up from school. I had to finish my own school. I was working. I didn't have time to grieve. And I don't think that she did either. Seven years later, Francesca moved to Los Angeles on her own. That's when she says Eileen, now in her 20s, began grieving their parents. Started to think a lot. She became more sensitive.

Something like losing your parents has long-lasting effects throughout your life. It's obvious that it did. This is Eileen's best friend. Not wanting her name associated with this case, she has asked 48H hours to refer to her as Allie. She remembers a strong and determined Eileen, making it on her own in Miami.

She worked as a property manager. She lived in a great apartment. She paid her own rent. She made her bills. She was very independent. Francesca saw that independence firsthand when Eileen made an extended visit to LA in 2016. Looking back, do you wish she had stayed with you?

100%. Because whatever happened when she went back to Miami is when she reconnected with Zach. Zach was Zachary Abel, who Eileen had known since they were teenagers. I'm not sure if I had the best reputation in high school. At first, she wasn't really sure about him. But years later, she and Zach Abel started dating.

I think in the beginning, Eileen found Zach fun, but I think it changed pretty quickly. Investigators in Franklin County would soon learn all about Zach Abel. They discovered that Zach, Eileen, and this woman, Christina Arajo, had all been seen in the Apalachicola area. Detectives also learned the three shared a room at the sportsman's lodge.

Room number 15. We needed to know what happened inside that hotel room. Outside of, three people entered and two came out carrying a body. From the award-winning masters of audio horror, I see a face right up against the window, bleach white, no hair, black eyes, a round hole for a mouth. It's flat, Taylor, it's completely flat. I don't know what that is. I don't know what kind of a head is flat. Comes the return of Dark Sanctum.

Look. What is that coming under the door? It's blood. Seven original chilling tales inspired by the Twilight Zone and Tales from the Crypt. Get back in your car. Lizzie, it's okay. I'm here now. Josh, get in your car! Oh! Oh!

Oh! Oh! Oh! Starring Bethany Joy Lenz, Clive Standen, and Michael O'Neil. Welcome to the Dark Sanctum. Listen to Dark Sanctum Season 2 exclusively on Wondry+. Join Wondry Plus and the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. In November 1991, media tycoon Robert Maxwell mysteriously vanished from his luxury yacht

in the Canary Islands. But it wasn't just his body that would come to the surface in the days that followed. It soon emerged that Robert's business was on the brink of collapse and behind his facade of wealth and success was a litany of bad investments, mounting debt, and multi-million dollar fraud. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondery Show Business Movers. We tell the true stories of business leaders who risked it all, the critical moments that defined their journey, and the ideas that transformed the way we live our lives. In our latest series, a young refugee fleeing the Nazis arrives in Britain determined to make something of his life. Taking the name Robert Maxwell, he builds a publishing and newspaper empire that spans

the globe. But ambition eventually curdles into desperation, and Robert's determination to succeed turns into a willingness to do anything to get ahead. Follow Business Movers wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on the Amazon Music or Wondry app. Off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Captain Mike Pigavet set sail on his 50-foot boat. It's kind of weird trying to remember any good times.

I just worry there was always some issue. Back in 2018, Mike would play a central role in Eileen Seidin's murder investigation. He knew Eileen and her boyfriend, Zach Abel, well. Zach is just very entertaining. He's very extroverted. Mike had met Zach by chance at a bar about seven years earlier. He came up to me at Duffy's and said, hey, I like your shirt. And I'm like, okay.

Then Christina came up. Christina Arajo, Zach's girlfriend at the time. The two had been dating for about four years. Mike says Christina immediately started boasting about her powerful father. Right out of the gate, she said, oh yeah, my dad's a major with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department. And if we ever get into any trouble with the law, he can take care of it. I was like, what? Who says that? Despite their odd first meeting, Mike says he began hanging out with the couple.

What followed were years of wild nights, wild parties, and lots of heavy drinking. That was their go-to thing. Okay, we've got to do shots of this, shots of this. But Mike says there was an interesting power dynamic in the couple's relationship, with Christina, who is eight years older than Zach, calling the shots. She was very controlling and very directing. He would follow her lead with stuff. One day in 2016, Zach stopped by Mike's boat,

but not with Christina. Instead, Zach introduced Mike to Eileen Sidon. Instead, Zach introduced Mike to Eileen Sidon. Mike could tell Zach now had two women in his life. It was the weirdest thing. If your relationship's not working, just end it and move on. However, Mike says that Zach couldn't make a clean break from Christina, who was also his business partner. He tried so many times, he just didn't know how to.

And then also, all the threats all the time that she could make him disappear. Every time she got drunk, she'd say some weird things. Eileen's best friend, Ali, says Zach and Eileen began to secretly date. She seemed to love him so much that she was still hoping that he would, you know, decide to be with her.

He would lead her on to think he was trying to end it with Christina. In 2017, Eileen unexpectedly lost her job as a property manager. She was really starting to lose control of her own life. Ali says that may explain why Eileen eventually started working at Zach and Christina's used car dealership. It wasn't the independent life that she had always lived. Allie says Eileen continued to pressure Zach to break up with Christina for good. But when Zach finally tried to end things with Christina, she countered with an unconventional proposal.

It was not the answer that anyone expected. Christina came back and said, well, why don't we try and all be in a relationship then. It now became this opportunity for this throuple, three-way kind of relationship. A throuple is a romantic relationship among three people. Ali says Eileen was against the idea. Eileen said, absolutely not. There's no way. It's never going to work. And there was kind of a crickets for a few weeks. But Allie says Eileen later changed her mind.

The trio was now a throuple. I was in shock, really, but also a little bit happy for them that maybe this could work. But it didn't work. Before long, there was trouble. This whole dynamic started to change where one of them always seemed to be the odd man out or was jealous. At that point, it just started to spiral out of control.

According to Mike Pickavette, things escalated, leading to irrational behavior and fights fueled by alcohol. He says Eileen and Christina traded punches often, leading to irrational behavior and fights fueled by alcohol. He says Eileen and Christina traded punches often, usually resulting in black eyes on one or both of the women that they'd sometimes hide behind big sunglasses. It was an everyday thing, every second day thing, I could say. Allie remembers things differently.

She says Zach was the main aggressor in the relationship. Eileen would call me and say, you have to come over here, like, he hurt me again. And I'd rush over there and photograph her and beg her to go to the police. But Allie says Eileen refused, fearing Christina's law enforcement connections would work against her. Eileen's sister Francesca was furious

when she learned of the abuse. I wanted my sister out of this situation. I wanted her out. It's hard to leave. It's hard to leave, and I had this feeling that Christina was more violent of the two. It was really difficult to see her

going through a time like this. It was just so hard, and she was scared to death. Once, Allie says the abuse got so bad, she took Eileen to the emergency room. They took her to the hospital because they have to report things, but she wouldn't say where the bruises came from. Eileen's best friend had to deliver a hard truth.

Eileen, you have to break up with this guy. Someone's going to end up dead. When Eileen was in real trouble, it was hard to get anyone to come rescue her. The path that led to Eileen Se in real trouble, it was hard to get anyone to come rescue her. The path that led to Eileen Seidin's murder may have begun weeks earlier. In 2018, Ali was surprised that despite the physical violence in their relationship, Eileen had decided to move in with Sak Abel and Christina Arajo. The throuple was now working together, sleeping together, and living together.

Eileen was trapped in the relationship because she was trapped financially, but she felt that that was one last chance to make it work. It was like a one-month or two-month trial. But within a few weeks, Allie says Eileen had had enough. Eileen was just going to move out. She was really done with the relationship.

But Eileen's plans to leave were halted on April 7, 2018, after Zach and Christina had gotten into a violent fight. Ali says she got a call from Eileen on Zach's phone. She was going to leave and get Zach out of the house, but like to go to a coffee shop. The next call I got was from Christina. She was angry and furious. Ali says Christina threatened to report the car

Eileen and Zach were driving in as stolen in an apparent attempt to keep them from leaving her behind. Ali immediately warned Eileen and Zach. Instead of coming around and coming back like I thought they would, they hit the gas and went to Georgia. I said, what are you doing, Eileen? You don't have your phone. You don't have a wallet.

This is crazy. She said, we're going on a road trip. This is a good thing. But the road trip wasn't a good thing to Christina Arajo. She began harassing Zach and Eileen, sending a storm of angry texts. You, too, deserve each other. Christina sent more than 150 texts in roughly 24 hours. All went unanswered, including this one.

My dad will be calling you. Later, Christina issued this one. My dad will be calling you." Later, Christina issued this threat. You effed me over, and now I'm effing you over. I was just trying to tell her, Christina, why don't you worry about your own life? About 48 hours into the road trip, Zach and Eileen were heading to Texas, and Christina seemed to have a change of heart, texting,

If you want to come back home, come back. You never have to question my love. For reasons that are unknown, instead of coming home, Zach invited Christina to join them and she flew to Dallas. But with a thruple united, the old problems returned. Eileen started to call me from Zaks phone at night saying, you know, this is getting bad. And I don't know what to do. It wasn't until Christine arrived that that started to happen. I was really worried someone would get hurt. By day 10 of the road trip, Eileen's older sister, Francesca, was also worried. She hadn't heard from Eileen in a while.

When the trio stopped in New Orleans, Eileen finally called Francesca and shared an alarming suspicion. She's like, I think they're going to kill me. No joke. So I was like, Eileen, run to the nearest gas station. Go tell the person. Call 911. Yeah, run to like, I said, run, get out of there, go. She's like, I can't. Francesca, desperate to help, tried to get more details from Eileen.

If I had where the address was, I would have called the police then and there. But she had to go. She had to get off, and she hung up. I was extremely frustrated, and I was scared. With no way to help her sister, Francesca hoped Eileen would stay safe. The road trip continued into its second week. The trio then headed to Panama City, Florida, but a missed exit led them to the forgotten coast.

The road trip is difficult to understand. Partying one day and murdering the next. David Adlerstein is a reporter for the Apalachicola Times, one of the oldest newspapers in Florida. I've been covering the Eileen Sidon case since the week it happened. On the evening of April 21st, the trio, seen here in this screenshot from surveillance footage, stumbled into the quiet piece of Franklin County.

They went to a popular restaurant, The Red Pirate, played miniature golf, partied. At the recommendation of a local, the Thrupple headed to the nearby Sportsman's Lodge motel. They reserved the last vacancy of the night, Room 15. The next morning, on April 22, 2018, the Thrupple made a plan. They decided they'd spend another day there, not get back on the road, and make it a party. So they got up in the morning and went to the liquor store. Here they are in these screenshots from the store's surveillance footage.

While there, the trio purchased large bottles of vodka and fireball whiskey. When I went to investigate their path that day and went to the liquor store, the clerk, she pointed out that the fireball that they bought was the largest bottle you could buy. And this is just the three of them. The Thrupple then returned to the Sportsman's Lodge motel.

I don't think Eileen was having fun. I think she was just trying to maybe get by and stay alive. Ali says she spoke to Eileen that day. Eileen said, I need to leave him. I'm telling you, I'm like a sex slave. He has this really scary look in his eye. It's very scary. It's different.

And she said, I need your help. Ali says the two friends had crafted an escape plan. Eileen would get on a bus from Tampa, the trio's next destination. I bought her a Greyhound ticket because she didn't have a wallet. The bus would drop Eileen off near Miami and Ali would take her home. Eileen just needed to get on that bus and she'd be safe. And then, you know, I never heard back. I never heard anything after that. The next night, hundreds of miles away in Fort Lauderdale,

Mike Pigavet was home alone. There was a knock at the door. It was Christina Arajo and Zach Abel. I was like, okay, where's Eileen? And right away, Christina says, oh, she ran away. And I said, bullsh-t, I said, where is she? And Zach right away started to choke up and he said, she's dead.

The news was shocking enough, but Mike says once Christina was out of earshot, Zach told him what happened. He said, Christina killed her. He woke up. She was dead next to him. And he tried to give her CPR. Then wanted to call 911.

Christina said no and told him you can't call 911. For some reason, he kept on saying he had to protect Christina. I'm like, what do you got to protect her for? Mike says he wanted to protect both of his friends. He feared a violent outcome if he called 911. I didn't want them to get killed. I just wanted to make sure that they were brought in a safe way.

And the only thing that I could think about is to go talk to her father. Christina's father, Colonel Tony Arajo. The one Mike says Christina had always bragged could make her problems go away. When Zach and Christina fell asleep, Mike took this photo and says he went online to search for Christina's father, a man he had never met. So I was panicking trying to find his phone number.

When Mike finally got a hold of Colonel Arajo, he didn't immediately reveal the deadly news. I said, I got to talk to you. It's about Christina. It's very important. Mike says Christina's father directed Mike to meet him at an odd place, a gas station. So I went up there, I said, Christina killed somebody. And he says, you know I'm a cop, right? I'm like, yes sir, I do. He right away said, wait right there.

Mike says Christina's father then brought him to the sheriff's office to make a formal statement. He did what was the right thing to do. He got two other people to ask me all the questions. Later that day, Mike was shown a photo, and he was the one to identify the battered body of Eileen Sidon. With that confirmation, police descended on Mike's home as Zach and Christina were about to leave.

descended on Mike's home as Zach and Christina were about to leave. They were arrested and brought back to Franklin County. The pair were later charged with first degree murder. It would take almost six years before Zach Abel and Christina Arajo would face a jury and by then only one of them would stand trial. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little known British territory called Pitcairn and it harboured a deep dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still emerge. It just happens to all of them. I'm journalist Luke Jones and for almost two years I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what

they can get away with. In the Pitcairn trials I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery+, in the Wondery app, Apple podcasts or Spotify. representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all.

I'm Marcia Clark, host of the new podcast Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases. And this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informants LawyerX exclusively on Wondry Plus. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify and listen to more Exhibit C, True

Crime Shows early and ad free right now. You're healing. You're doing the things that you need to heal and then you're stopped. For almost six years, Francesca Seiden lived in agonizing limbo as her sister Eileen's case, complicated by having two defendants face delay after, after frustrating delay. And now you're going to get ready for this big moment, and it stops again. Finally, in January of 2024, at the Franklin County Courthouse in Apalachicola, Florida, Zach Abel was about to face trial. He had pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and would stand before the jury alone. Eight months earlier, Christina Arajo took a plea deal

for a lesser charge of second-degree murder. So she admitted taking part in this? Yes. She implicated herself in the actual beating of Alleyne. After studying the mountain of evidence, prosecutor Jared Patterson believes Zach Abel was more responsible in Eileen's murder. And the state is relying on the jury believing Christina Araujo's version of what happened inside room 15.

The only one who has told us anything about what happened in that room is Christina Arajo. Once Christina made her plea deal, she would become the prosecution's star witness. Print reporter David Adlerstein, camera in hand, was there as Christina Arajo transported the courtroom back to the evening of April 22, 2018. Arajo testified that she, Zach Abel and Eileen were relaxing in the room at the sportsman's lodge after a day of heavy drinking. When Zach drinks, does he act differently? Yes. He becomes very aggressive, very mean.

Zach Abel became violently enraged, says Arajo, when Eileen posed a seemingly innocent question. She said, Christina, guess what? And she looks over at Christina and says, hey, Christina, guess what? How would that sentence be finished? I have no idea because she never got to finish it. Zachary got up immediately and went over to her. It was in her face, in her. He was just yelling at her, telling her,

you always start problems. Arajo admits to also hitting Eileen as she demanded to know what she was about to say. She never got an answer. And I got so frustrated. I just went and got, I left the room. After stepping outside room 15 for a few minutes, Araho claims she returned to find Abel and Eileen in the bathroom.

When I opened the door, he had Eileen in the bathroom. When I opened the door, he had something white in his hand, like if he was poking about her. The medical examiner was able to identify small circular bruising to the body of Eileen that could be consistent with a shower curtain rod. Like the shower curtain rod, investigators recovered that had palm print impressions in Eileen's blood.

Whose palm was it? The palm print belonged to Zachary Abel. The assault continued near the bed, says Arajo, where she says Abel reached for his wooden walking stick. He hits her several times with it. When he hit her in the back, the stick broke. We had actually found pieces of that wooden staff in the hotel room.

We didn't realize the significance of it until we found the other piece in the vehicle that contained our victim's DNA. Araujo says she watched in terror as Abel began using that stick to sexually assault Eileen. Christina's description of the crime was horrifying to listen to. Eileen clearly suffered terrible death. Adlerstein recalls the medical examiner saying Eileen's injuries reminded him of those he had seen in motor vehicle crashes. As a reporter, I try very hard to not be emotional. I distinctly remember fighting back tears. Araho claims she eventually put herself between Abel and Eileen and the attack finally stopped. Eileen was badly beaten but still alive, she says, and the exhausted trio just fell asleep.

Araho claims it wasn't until she woke up the next morning that she realized Eileen was dead. She says she only participated in the cover-up out of fear of what Abel might do to her. She seemed to me genuinely remorseful. Others had different opinions. Who is Christina Araho in your book? Manipulative Cunning a chameleon. I think that there's evil in her

Alex Morris is Zach Abel's attorney. He says Christina Araho Acted alone. I believe that she is the murderer. Let's talk about her story. Morris says it was Christina Arajo who beat Eileen. And that photo taken by Mike Pickavette at his home after the murder shows she had injuries to her hands and feet. Which tells you Christina must have been the attacker. That's right. Christina Arajo was the one with homicidal intent,

says Morris, triggered when Abel and Eileen took off with her in the rearview mirror. And he says those threatening texts that she sent to Abel's phone before joining them on the road trip read like a confession. There are threats of bodily harm to both Eileen and Zach in the messages. You come near me, Ho.

I will kill you. I think it speaks for itself. And that's exactly what happened. After Eileen's murder, Morris says Araho wiped down the motel room using the vinegar that Ronnie Jones would later smell. He says Abel's palm prints on the curtain rod got there when he moved it during the cleanup. He was instructed to pick the curtain rod up over there

and put it over there by Christina. This toll booth surveillance photo from after the murder shows that Christina Arajo and not Zach Abel was the one driving the car. And therefore, Morris says, she was the one in control. The evidence indicates Christina to be the one giving the directions and had everything to be able to manipulate the situation. Manipulating Zach Abel says Morris, because of those threats she had been making for years

about her father's influence in solving her problems. Bottom line is Zach was fearful of Christina's father. Abel chose not to testify. When Morris made his final arguments to the jury, he concluded the evidence showed there was only one person who wanted Eileen Sidon dead. They haven't proven any motive as to why Mr. Abel would be interested in murdering Miss Sidon. But I'll tell you where motive lies, and it's clear as day, and that's with Ms. Arajo. The motive being,

I want rid of the person who's taken my man. So jealousy. Yes. In his closing, Patterson said Christina Arajo already accepted her role in this crime. He asked the jury to hold Zach Abel accountable for his part by finding him guilty of murder.

They lived together, they worked together, they owned a business together. They went to the sportsman's lodge together. They emptied out the room together. They ran away together. They got arrested together. The only thing they didn't do together was kill Eileen Seidl.

No way. But who would the jury believe? What do you make of Christina Araujo's testimony? Chat now with the 48 Hours team on Facebook and X. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge? Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly? Introducing the Best Idea Yet, a brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with and the bolder-est takers who brought

them to life. Like, did you know that Super Mario, the best selling video game character of all time, only exists because Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala, from Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans, discovered the surprising stories of the most viral products.

Plus we guarantee that after listening, you're gonna dominate your next dinner party. So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just The Best Idea Yet. Dracula, the ancient vampire who terrorizes Victorian London. Blood and garlic, bats and crucifixes. Even if you haven't read the book, you think you know the story. One of the incredible things about Dracula is that not only is it this wonderful snapshot of the 19th century, but it also has so much resonance today.

The vampire doesn't cast a reflection in a mirror. So when we look in the mirror, the only thing we see is our own monstrous abilities. From the host and producer of American History Tellers and History Daily comes the new podcast, The Real History of Dracula. We'll reveal how author Bram Stoker rated ancient folklore, exploited Victorian fears around sex, science, and religion, and how even today we remain enthralled to his strange creatures of the night. You can binge all episodes of The Real History of Dracula exclusively with Wondery+. Join Wondery+, and the Wondria, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. She wasn't born here and she didn't live here, but she was left here and she'll always

be remembered by Franklin County. Residents of Florida's forgotten coast will now long remember Eileen Sidon, says Ronnie Jones. Almost six years after her death, the community waited for justice for the stranger they now had come to embrace as one of their own. What was going through your mind as the jury begins its deliberation? Make it quick. I was told by the jury foreman that when they first went in, there was 10 in favor of first degree

premeditated murder with two holdouts. All right, everyone, please be seated. After about five hours of deliberations, the jury reached a consensus. In the case of the state of Florida versus Zachary Ray Abel, the defendant is guilty of the lesser included offenseluded offense of second-degree murder. Second-degree murder. Just like Christina Arajo, Adlerstein says the jury foreman told him

they just couldn't decide if Zach Abel had actually intended to kill Eileen. They knew that Christina had pled guilty to second, and I think they eventually said, we're going to give him the same. It doesn't tell me that they're equally responsible. Mike Picovet says even with the verdict, he is convinced his friend played no part in Eileen's death.

To me, there's an innocent man sitting in jail. I think they're both just as guilty as the other. Now retired from law enforcement, Ronnie Jones spends his days tending his bar in Apalachicola. He says he's still left wondering what really happened inside Room 15. Is this case a mystery to you?

It's not a mystery on exactly what happened, but exactly why it happened. That is what still bothers me to this day, why. Like what Eileen might have been about to say, that sparked the attack. It was my understanding in the rumors that she was fixing to disclose the fact that she was pregnant.

Pregnant? And was she pregnant? Did you learn that at autopsy? I was at the autopsy and she was not pregnant. I don't know if she thought she was or not. Stop it! When it was time for sentencing, Zach Abel finally spoke and told the courtroom

another twist in this tortured story. I had stopped and I grabbed a ring pop and I proposed to her with a ring pop and asked her to marry me. And she said yes. And me and Eileen were gonna go our way and leave Christina out of it. Zack spoke at his sentencing and said that he'd actually proposed to Eileen during this trip.

I think that is just BS. It's a great story, but no. proposed to Eileen during this trip? I think that is just be asked. It's a great story, but no. I have been in the justice system in one form or another for 40 years. Rarely have I seen the sort of injuries that I saw on Eileen's side. The judge told Abel he wished he could impose

a harsher punishment before sentencing him to the maximum, life in prison. In the state of Florida, life means life. We don't have parole. At her sentencing, Christina Arajo's father, Colonel Tony Arajo, set the record straight. He said he never used his influence to benefit his daughter, and he recalled the conversation he had with her after the murder.

You will own up to the truth. You will accept responsibility. You will be the voice of the victim, and you will testify under oath in a court of law. And then whatever is sentenced to you, that's fine. There was no agreement with her as to the length of sentence. She gave her statement with the knowledge that she could still receive life in prison. I think about that thing every day of my life. The details haunt me and the memories keep me up.

The judge acknowledged her cooperation and sentenced Christina Arajo to 25 years. Justice has been served. They won't beat up any more females. Neither will she. I think that every woman kind of thinks, I would leave if I was in that situation. I would just get up and leave. I would never tolerate that. Eileen's best friend, Allie, hopes there will be more compassion for those trapped in abusive

relationships. It's always the, I'm sorry, it's never going to happen again. And you believe it because you're in love and things are good 95% of the time, but the 5% that are bad are so bad. With your sister gone, how do you want her to be remembered? I want her to be remembered as a sweet, loving human being who unfortunately had lost her parents at such a young age, but she was still so sweet. Like she was just sweetheart. Her soul was so kind. If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.

If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at Wondery.com slash survey. In 2014, Laura Hevelin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter Erin Corwin was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military and when they do, the NCIS gets involved.

From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music.