Kriti Mehrotra
It was on April 23, 2018, that the bruised, battered, and bloodied body of Aileen Seiden was found off Highway 98 in Southern Florida, leaving the entire nation baffled to the core. That’s because, as chronicled in CBS’ ’48 Hours: Who Killed Aileen Seiden in Room 15?,’ it soon came to light that she’d been disposed of there after having been attacked in her room at Sportsman’s Lodge Motel. She’d actually been sharing this room with Zachary “Zach” Abell and Christina Araujo, her partners, as well as her eventual killers.
Zachary Abell, Christina Araujo, and Aileen Seiden Were a Throuple
Having endured a lot of heartbreak by losing her mother to cancer at age 9 and her father to a heart attack at age 14, Aileen Seiden was quite independent by the time she was in high school. She did have her elder sister as her legal guardian as well as her support system, but she also already had a sense of responsibility and freedom that other teens didn’t. It was while she was at this point that she first met fellow teenager Zachary “Zach” Abell, who allegedly didn’t have the best reputation at the time owing to his fun-loving ways.
Nevertheless, a few years later, Aileen and Zach briefly dated before things fizzled out, only for everything to turn upside down in 2016 as they reconnected out of the blue. By this point, Zach was romantically involved with Christina Araujo, with whom he also shared a home as well as a used car dealership business, considering they’d been together for four years. Yet, as per reports, he still entertained the idea of being with Aileen until it became a reality before going as far as to allegedly tell her that he would leave Christina for her.
However, Zach never left his girlfriend, and then the situation for Aileen became such that she ended up being unconventionally and convolutedly involved with them. She suddenly lost her job as a project manager in 2017, after which the couple ended up giving her a job at their business while Zach continued dating them both. Upon facing a lot of pressure, Zach tried to call it quits with Christina for good, only for her to then propose they become a throuple – Aileen initially was not on board but ultimately conceded.
Zachary Abell, Christina Araujo, and Aileen Seiden’s Bond Was Abusive and Dysfunctional
According to records, while Zach, Christina, and Aileen all got into a relationship together in the hopes of finally being happy and settled, cracks formed within weeks and months. There was often a lot of alcohol consumption between them, leading to arguments, irrational behavior, and physical fights that ended with either Aileen or Christina supporting a black eye. While some believe that the two women were the ones fighting on their own, others believe Zach was the primary aggressor as he allegedly threw hands at his partners too.
Aileen’s best friend and sister gradually learned all about this dynamic, yet neither could get her to leave, despite the former even documenting the incidents to make her see how bad things were. She once even told her friend, “Someone’s gonna end up dead,” after Aileen refused to tell the doctors where she got her injuries from following a sudden emergency room visit. Instead, in 2018, she moved in with Zach and Christina, only for things to get worse – and for her to finally realize she needed to walk away before it was too late.
However, in early April, following a reportedly terribly violent fight between Zach and Christina, it was Aileen and Zach who decided to leave their third partner behind and went on an impromptu road trip. Within 24 hours, they received over 150 angry, panicky, and threatening texts from Christina, along with several calls, all of which they ignored for at least 2 days. Yet, as they made their way to Texas and Christina’s tone changed, Zach actually responded to her and decided to invite her to join them, which she did in Dallas mere hours later.
According to records, this was when the tensions between the trio started to reach their peak, resulting in Aileen contacting her best friend and letting her know she needed help. Since the trio had made a stop in New Orleans, Louisiana, and were on their way back to Florida, the friends secretly planned for her to get a Greyhound Bus from Tampa and never look back. However, Aileen never got on the bus – she was killed in the small town of Apalachicola following a night of heavy drinking before she even got a chance to escape.
Zachary Abell and Christina Araujo Are Currently Serving Their Time Behind Bars
Zach and Christina knocked on the door of the former business partner, Mike Picavet, the day after the incident, only to tell him that Aileen had run away. When the latter didn’t believe the duo, Zach allegedly told him in secret that his girlfriend had ended up killing her in their motel room while he was asleep. As per his accounts, he awoke to find his other girlfriend dead next to him, and when he tried cleaning up or calling 9111, Christina stopped him. He allegedly also kept saying that despite everything, he needed to protect Christina.
Thankfully, Mike had no such reservations and almost immediately contacted the police, resulting in both Zach and Christina’s arrest from his home on April 28, 2018. They were both indicted on the charge of first-degree murder, but by the time they stood trial for the incident over 6 years later, the latter had already pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder. She eventually cooperated with the authorities and was the primary witness against Zach, telling the jurors that it was actually he who killed Aileen in a fit of alcohol-fueled rage.
Per Christina’s testimony, she never really put her hands on Aileen, but she did help cover up the crime as she never expected that she would be dead by the time the trio awoke that fateful morning. She also detailed how Zach had assaulted the victim with a shower curtain rod before using his wooden walking stick to hit her in the back until it broke and then sexually assaulting her with it. The fact the rod had Aileen’s blood and Zach’s palm print essentially corroborated her tale in the eyes of the law, resulting in the jury convicting him of the same charge she had taken a plea for. Zach was found guilty of second-degree murder in early 2024.
While Zach was subsequently sentenced to life in prison, Christina was handed down 25 years (with credit for about 51/2 years already served) owing to her cooperation and testimonies. So, today, at the age of 38, Zach is incarcerated at the mixed-security Century Correctional Institution in Escambia County, Florida, where he is expected to remain for the rest of his natural life. Florida does not have parole for those sentenced to life. As for Christina, at nearly 46, she is incarcerated at the minimum-security Homestead Correctional Institution in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Her release date is scheduled as February 3, 2043, which means she will be in her 63 by the time she attains her freedom.
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