A COMMUNITY was met with tragedy when a local college student went missing.
As police investigated Christian Aguilar's disappearance, they discovered he was murdered.
2
Who was University of Florida student Christian Aguilar?
Born on February 20, 1994, Christian Aguilar was studying to become a biomedical engineer at the University of Florida.
On September 20, 2012, Aguilar was seen for the last time by his friend Pedro Bravo.
Regarding the young man's vanishing, his father Carlos Aguilar told Miami's local CBS affiliate: "It's a father's nightmare, it's no way that I can express it, it's painful.
"It's suffering and suffering and we cry and cry again, that's something that is killing us little by little."
Read More on Homicide Victims
The late Christian's girlfriend Erika Friman says she and the victim "were soulmates."
"You don’t expect to lose your love that young, and not in such a traumatic way," she told ABC News.
"At the end of the day, when I think of all these unknowns, I think of how much Christian loved me and that’s kind of what gets me through it."
She added: "Christian made me really happy and we had so many things in common.
Most read in The US Sun
"People tell me all the time, ‘oh you’re so strong, you’re so brave.'
"I’m kind of just like...'If it was the love of your life you lost, and this is the one thing you can do for him, for his family, for his memory, you would find a way to pull it all together too.'"
What happened to Christian?
The night Christian disappeared, he was murdered by his friend Pedro Bravo.
While the two were hanging out, Bravo poisoned Christian and strangled him to death.
2
After he strangled the victim, he dumped his body in a wooded area located in Levy County.
On September 24, 2012, Bravo was arrested and charged with the first-degree murder of Christian.
On August 5, 2014, Bravo's trial commenced and more details were revealed from the night Christian vanished.
Witnesses testified he was jealous that Christian was dating Bravo's ex-girlfriend Erika Friman.
Erika said: "It was sickening, almost, just because we knew him for so long and Christian was his friend.
"This was a person we knew. This was intentional, it makes it all so much worse.
"It’s like the knife just turns in your heart kind of thing."
She compared Bravo's mind to "a sociopath, or a sick person."
Read More on The US Sun
"A lot of it was his obsession for me, and how he wanted me back, and how he wanted to be with me."
On August 15, 2014, Bravo was sentenced to life in prison without parole and is carrying out his sentence at Florida's Taylor Correctional Institution.
