When a woman's assaulted body is found on a Florida highway, investigators uncover her unconventional lifestyle and the murder convictions of her two lovers in a “threesome” relationship. It became.
Before her body was recovered at the end of a cul-de-sac near Highway 98 on April 23, 2018, Eileen Seiden was with her boyfriend, Zachary Abel, and a mutual friend at a sports car park in East Point, Florida. I was checking into room 15 at Mann's Lodge Motel. girlfriend Cristina Araujo;
The medical examiner testified that Mr. Seiden's injuries amounted to “one type of thing.” [he saw] In a car accident, Apalachicola Times Reported.
Almost all of her ribs were broken and the woman's face, abdomen and upper body turned an angry purple color from extensive bruising, the newspaper reported.
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On April 23, 2018, Irene Seiden, 31, was found dead on Highway 98 in Apalachicola, Florida. (Eileen Seiden/Instagram)
Initially, police were unable to identify Seiden's body. But shortly after her body was discovered, they were called to a bloody scene at the Sportsman's Lodge.
“As soon as I came in, I noticed the bed. I mean, it was hard to miss,” lead investigator Lonnie Jones said in a newly released CBS “48 Hours” documentary about the case. In room 15? ”
“So this whole area was covered and had blood stains on it,” he said. “We just put two and two together and automatically put it back to the body that was found the day before. It's not like someone cut it.” [themselves] And I bled a little on the bed. So the amount of blood tells us that whoever was here is probably dead. ”
Tests ultimately determined that the blood belonged to Seiden.
fatal charm
Seiden was the youngest daughter of Frank M. Seiden, a Miami businessman who sold furniture to luxury hotels, cruise ships and Disney resorts, according to the Miami Herald. Seiden, Abel, and Araujo lived in North Miami.
Mike Picavet, who knew the trio, told Fox News Digital that the love triangle was fraught with tension, jealousy and frequent petty fights.
“Christina and Irene had their first fight in my kitchen. [in 2017]” Picave said last week. [Abell] I brought her and I brought them both. Eileen throws it in Christina's face that she's been having sex with Zach for a year now. Then Christina immediately started throwing punches. And it was really weird, because once Eileen got up after losing, everything calmed down, and then she started saying, “Well, you're fat and ugly too.” ”
Since then, Seiden and Araujo have fought under the influence of alcohol and frequently exchanged punches, often resulting in one or both women getting a black eye, Picavet said. Those fights ended with periods of loud partying and drinking, he said.
Abel and Araujo began dating five years before Seiden's murder. Seiden and Abel, on the other hand, have known each other since they were teenagers and reunited in 2017.
Picave, who said he met Abel and Araujo at a bar several years before Seiden came on the scene, said Abel always had some kind of “side piece” before their relationship began.
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Zach Abel was sentenced to life in prison for second-degree murder in January 2024. Cristina Araujo (right) received a plea deal in April 2023 for the murder of Irene Seiden. (Broward County Sheriff's Office)
Mr Picavet said he did not believe Mr Abel was abusive. But she also said Araujo was always “very controlling and directing” towards his two girlfriends. He said Mr. Abel tried to break up with Mr. Araujo many times, but things got sticky because they were business partners.
“He tried many times,” Picavet said. “He just didn't know how…and there was also…all the time threats that she could make him disappear…she said weird things every time she got drunk.”
Seiden and Abel began dating in secret, but Seiden's close friend told the documentary that the man led her to believe that she would break up with the other woman.
When Seiden lost her job as a property manager in 2017, her friend told CBS that she began working at a used car dealership in Abel and Araujo. Picave said he also lost his apartment at the same time. When Abel finally tried to end the relationship with Araujo, Seiden's friend said Araujo countered with an unconventional proposal. The idea was that the three of them would go on a date as a “threesome.”
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On April 21, 2018, two days before Eileen Seiden, left, was murdered, the trio staggered out of the Red Pirates in Apalachicola, where they had dinner, played mini golf, and drank heavily. He was seen on surveillance camera footage. (Franklin County Court Clerk)
Friends and family told the documentary that Seiden had considered ending their relationship in the weeks before his death. But she shocked them when her best friend moved in with her lovers, calling it a “last chance to make things work.”
On April 7, 2018, Abel and Araujo got into an argument. Seiden picks up Abel and takes him out of the house, and the two go on a road trip.
According to the documentary, Araujo sent more than 150 angry text messages to Seiden and Abel in 24 hours. But after arriving in Texas, about 48 hours after the two lovers left, she had a change of heart.
“If you want to go home, come back. You'll never have to doubt my love,” Araujo wrote, according to the documentary.
Abel and Seiden then invited Araujo to fly to Texas to meet them.
“That's what I thought,” Picavet told FOX News Digital. [Seiden would] I'll end up dying there or something. [he] I didn't expect them to come back for good. ”
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Zach Abel and Cristina Araujo are pictured in a photo taken by their friend Mike Picave after they confessed to killing Irene Seiden in her home. (Franklin County Court Clerk)
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Ten days after the expedition, Seiden feared for his life and called his sister.
“I was like, 'Eileen, run to the nearest gas station,'” Francesa Seiden recalled, according to the documentary. “I said, 'Run, get out of there'…'Go!'…She's like, 'I can't do it.'
Back in Florida, on the way back to North Miami, the group decided to head to the Sportsman's Lodge Motel and spend one more day there to continue the party. On the morning of April 22, they stocked up on Fireball whiskey and vodka at a liquor store, according to surveillance footage.
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Zach Abel and Cristina Araujo are seen on toll plaza surveillance footage after Irene Seiden's murder. (Franklin County Court Clerk)
That day, Seiden called his best friend and made an escape plan. She planned to take a bus home once the three of them reached their next destination, Tampa. The friend bought Seiden a Greyhound ticket. Mr. Seiden went on a sudden expedition without his wallet.
However, Seiden's friend never contacted her again.
On the night of April 23, Picave said Araujo and Abel showed up on his doorstep.
“I was like, 'Okay, where's Eileen?' And right away, Christina said, 'Oh, she ran away.' …And I said, 'Bull–'” Picavet recalled. “I said, 'Where is she?' And Zach immediately…started choking and said, 'She's dead.'”
Abel told Picave that Araujo killed Seiden and convinced him not to call 911 when he found her body. Similarly, Mr. Picave was concerned about the violent consequences of reporting to law enforcement.
”“At the time, Christina made me fear for my safety,” he told Fox News Digital. This is crazy. she knows. know. I mean, I might end up…she might kill me. ”
Picave said Araujo described where he and Abel had dumped the body and began searching for the location on Google Maps. Eventually, he ends up pointing the police to the same location where Seiden's body was found.
Picavet took the photo after his friends fell asleep on the couch. They then found Araujo's father, Col. Tony Araujo of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department, on social media. When he finally made contact, Picave sent a photo and said he had urgent news about his daughter.
They met at a nearby gas station.
“I went there… and said, 'Christina killed someone.'” And he said, “You know I'm a police officer, right?” I thought, 'Yes, that's right,''' Picavet said. “He immediately said, 'Wait there.'”
Zach Abel and Cristina Araujo dated for four years after Eileen Seiden joined them in 2017. (Franklin County Court Clerk)
Mr. Araujo took Mr. Picave to the police station, where he made a formal statement. There he identified a photo of Seiden's battered body.
Police arrested Abel and Araujo and charged them with first-degree murder. However, due to court delays and complications, they were not able to receive a jury for six years.
In 2023, Araujo took a plea deal on a misdemeanor charge of second-degree murder. Abel will go on trial in January 2024 in Franklin County. Araujo confessed to hitting Seiden, making her a key witness in the trial.
Ms. Abel's lawyer, Alex Morris, argued in court that Ms. Araujo had a motive for killing Seiden: jealousy of Ms. Abel's distracted attention, and that she was the instigator of her death.
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In the end, jurors found Abel guilty of the misdemeanor charge of second-degree murder because they could not determine whether Abel intended to kill Seiden when he and Araujo beat him.
At sentencing, Abel claimed that he intended to leave Araujo and proposed to Seiden during a road trip with a ring pop.
“Me and Eileen were going to ignore Christina and go our own way,” he claimed.
Picavet believes Abel helped dispose of Seiden's body but did not take part in the assault that claimed Seiden's life.
“Just because I know Zach, I know he didn't kill her. And he'll tell me, you know, he's innocent of murder. He's stupid. Stupidly, he is not innocent for helping move the body,'' Picavet said.
Mr. Picave said he intended to help Mr. Abel prove his innocence in the murder case, and when his friend returned home that night, a hidden camera in the apartment showed Mr. Araujo contradicting the murder in court. He said he was captured on video admitting sole responsibility for his testimony. .
But the small camera disguised as an electrical outlet was taken into evidence by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Picavet claims investigators were unable to pull the files as evidence and says he wants the SD card back from the device so he can obtain footage that could help his friend.
“If that happens, Zach's appeal should be successful because there will be new evidence that Christina's testimony was all bullshit. And I hope it goes well for Zach.”
