Araujo sentenced to 25 years

The judge accepts the prosecutor's recommendation

Following an emotional hearing Friday afternoon at the Apalachicola courthouse, during which murderer Christina Araujo broke down in tears while expressing remorse for the killing, Circuit Judge Jonathan Sjostrom imposed a sentence 25 years in prison.

With about five and a half years of credit for time served in the Franklin and Liberty county jails since the April 2018 murder, Araujo, 44, likely won't see freedom until he has 60 years.

Describing the April 23, 2018, bludgeoning of Aileen Seiden, 31, in an Eastpoint motel room as a “death by torture,” Sjostrom denied a motion from Araujo's attorneys, Scott Richardson of West Palm Beach, and Henry Coxe, of Jacksonville. , that he takes less than 20 and a half years, the minimum required by the guidelines of the match sheet.

Following a trial in April, Araujo's original co-defendant in the homicide, Zachary Abell, 36, of North Miami Beach, was sentenced to life in prison by Circuit Judge Frank Allman.

In contrast, Araujo pleaded guilty before Sjostrom in May 2023 to a similar charge of second-degree murder for participating in the beating and for helping Abell dump the body in a cul-de-sac just east of the high school before the two of them returned to South Florida, where they were later apprehended and extradited to Franklin County.

She agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and testify against Abell. His sentencing was then assigned to Sjostrom, who had accepted his initial guilty plea.

Richardson and Coxe argued Friday that Araujo's willingness to testify, without any future sentence stipulated, was “substantial, voluntary and impactful” for prosecutor Jarred Patterson in making his case.

“She voluntarily agreed to cooperate and assist the state in the prosecution,” Richardson said. “The prosecution brought her to the stand and helped solve the case and provide direct evidence. If she hadn't, it would have been a circumstantial case and if the verdict had been the same, no one knows.

Patterson acknowledged that Araujo had been helpful, but questioned other assertions by Araujo's lawyers that the crime had been “simple”, defined by his lawyers as a “sudden act of violence” (to which she) had no significant participation.

“I don't think the state can stand here and say without hesitation that his testimony was not helpful,” Patterson said. “As for unsophisticated, I don’t know what that means. I don't know if a beating is simple.

“There was a massive effort to cover it up, to get away with it, to run and hide and not report it,” he said. “These things show sophistication, at least in trying to avoid punishment.

“The state has never argued, implied or attempted to understand that this was not an act done in concert,” Patterson said. “The State has never argued that these were not two people acting in concert.”

The hearing began with Seiden's sister Franceascaappearing on Zoom from California, just as she did during Abell's sentencing.

“This is the last time the court will be able to provide justice for Aileen and my family,” Seiden said. “I hope to get this over with.” I no longer have a fight in me; I need to heal.

Seiden, who helped raise Aileen after both their parents died when she was 22 and her younger sister was 14, said she did not believe Araujo was representing herself honestly and that she was not “disagree” with anything less than a life. sentence for the convicted murderer.

“She was behind it all,” Seiden said. “She used the excuse of jealousy, which made her (Aileen) so scared that she was terrified. When my sister's body was found, it didn't look like a body, but like trash.

“She (Araujo) is not a human being,” Seiden said. “She’s psychotic, she’s angry and she’s violent. She's what nightmares are made of. It's enough to give anyone chills. »

Seiden said that when she first heard the whole story in April, she was furious to learn “how violently Christina and Zachary damaged her internal organs, how they stopped to refuel gasoline and put it down like it was an old tire.

Seiden noted that Araujo's father was in law enforcement, then added that years earlier she “got away with manslaughter and then moved on to second-degree murder.”

“She has no remorse,” Seiden said. “She was hoping for a deal and she chose to place the blame on her co-conspirator. This person, this creature, if released, will take on a third life. Once a killer, always a killer

“He’s a beast, just like the devil. Pure evil and pure hatred,” Seiden said. “I’m devastated fighting this. Please have mercy on me and my sister's memory. No matter what my sister Aileen did, she didn't deserve any of it.

In calculating Araujo's scorecard based on his criminal record, there was mention of a past offense, but no inclusion of a prior manslaughter charge or conviction. “I didn’t see anything about it in the records,” Sjostrom said. “I don’t know what it is.”

The judge also personally apologized to Seiden for the more than six years it took for the case to come to trial, much of that time overseen by Sjostrom while he served in Franklin County.

“It’s my responsibility,” he said. “There is nothing I can say to justify this. We have our reasons, due process, which restricts government and is hard on families. I sincerely and deeply apologize.

Araujo's father, Tony Araujo, a high-ranking officer with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, spoke on behalf of himself and his wife, Pam, who was also present in the courtroom.

In sharing the statement he submitted in writing to the court, he spoke from memory, without notes, looking directly at the judge. Only at the end did he speak directly to his daughter, encouraging her that redemption for her life was possible. .

“We hope that from this point on, her (Christina’s) purpose in life will be to help others, regardless of her circumstances. In prison or out of prison, for the duration of her life, and in debt to the victim in this case, someone we never knew, but of whom we think often. ” said Tony Araujo. “We are hurting for the victim's family, but it pales in comparison to the pain felt by the victim's sister and family. Words seem hollow in times like this, but our reality is that we are deeply saddened and forever burdened by knowing that our flesh and blood were part of this event.

“We offer our deepest and respectful condolences to Aileen’s sister, family and friends. Our daughter will have to pay her penance and we hope that the court will pronounce a fair and just sentence,” he said. “Our daughter feels deep remorse for her actions and will forever have to live with the memory of the unnatural death of someone she considered a friend.

Tony Araujo also detailed how he reacted when Michael Picavet, the Davie man to whom Abell and Araujo had fled, called him early in the morning asking to meet him. Araujo said Picavet did not explain to him the reason for the urgency of his early morning visit and that when he learned his daughter had been involved in a homicide, “my knees gave way.” My knees gave way.

“As the record shows, I immediately took action with the law enforcement agencies I work for when I learned of the alleged murder,” he said. “As a 42-year veteran of law enforcement, I knew how crucial time and the legal process were in apprehending the suspects in this case, one of them unfortunately being my daughter. Even though I was heartbroken, I did my duty without fail. “

He said he gave a statement to the Palm Beach detective assigned to the case and then went home to tell his wife. “This has been by far the most difficult and heartbreaking time of my life. Although the information was preliminary, the reality of the moment was overwhelming and beyond a parent's understanding,” he said. “We knew a young woman was dead and that our daughter was involved in some way. The pain and devastation we felt, that we feel today, is beyond words.

Araujo said that when he and his wife later met with Richardson, “we informed and reiterated to Scott and the legal team that we wanted vigorous discovery so that the truth would be evident.”

He concluded by saying that he “has been on the moral side of justice all his life, as has my wife, and we are not giving up on that now.” We have not and will not give up on our daughter, and we will never give up on the memory of the victim in this case. We will carry the burden this brought to our graves, as will Christina, I am sure.

“Redemption is a big word, too often used for smoke and mirrors,” said Tony Araujo. “We have faith in the justice system and are confident that a fair and just punishment will be meted out to Christina taking into account all the circumstances. A phrase that leaves room for the redemption we all seek in our imperfect world. In or out of prison, we will support Christina on a path of redemption that is satisfying to God, so that a simple life of simple pleasures that are not offensive to God will be the norm.