Murder Mystery: What Happened to Janet Abaroa?

From the outside, newlyweds Janet and Raven Abaroa, who met on the soccer field at Southern Virginia University, appeared to have the perfect life.

(Courtesy Krista Christiansen)
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Marital Problems Plague Newlyweds

"He came to her one day because he wanted to be out of the marriage," said Sonja Flood, Janet's sister, "and explained to her that he had been cheating on her with several different people. And very soon after that, she found out that she was pregnant."

It should have been the happiest time of Janet and Raven's lives, but instead Janet confided in her family that she felt helpless. Her older sister, Dena Kendall, said that Janet "didn't want to raise the baby as a single mother."

But after Abaroa received some advice from close friends to "grow up," the young couple was able to work things out, and welcomed son Kaiden into the world on Oct. 17, 2004.

"He promised, swore up and down, that he would no longer cheat on her, that she was the only one for him. He would make it work," Flood said.

With the birth of their beloved baby boy, the Abaroas' marriage seemed to be on the mend, until they suffered yet another blow: Abaroa was caught stealing from the sports apparel company where they both worked in December 2004. Mortified, Janet resigned from her job, but did not give up on her husband. He would eventually plead guilty to five charges of embezzlement, but would avoid serving any jail time.

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911 Call: 'My Wife Is Dead'

On April 26, 2005, Janet was doing the laundry and Abaroa was working in the house before he left to play soccer with friends, according to his account of that night. He said he returned home at around 10:45 p.m. to a horrifying discovery: His wife had been killed. Several stab wounds mark her chest and her neck.

In a 911 call, Abaroa told the operator, "My wife is dead ... She's been shot or something -- there's blood everywhere," he said. "She's not breathing."

Though Abaroa said Janet had been shot, Durham Police quickly realized that she had been stabbed. The weapon they were looking for was a knife. Despite years of looking for clues, Durham Police say it is an open investigation.

Abaroa Starts New Life Out West

Shortly after his wife's death, Abaroa moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, with their son. There he eventually met Vanessa Pond, a beautiful single mother whose daughter was in the same day care program as Kaiden.

Vanessa Pond told ABC News about her first impressions of Raven Abaroa. "He seemed very up front ... very honest and genuine. And I found that he was a single father. And I really, really admired that."

Pond also said that as they were starting to date, Abaroa mentioned to her that his wife had died and she felt "so sorry for him ... and Kaiden," and she decided to take them into her home.