Mistrial, Hung Jury - Raven Abaroa Murder in the 1st

[thefragile7393]

I am thinking it was because he thought it was 11-1 not guilty myself. I know that Karen didn't realize it was 11-1 Guilty and I wonder if she had a big vacation planned for September or something.

I get that Raven is her son. If he was my son I would be upset, sad, devastated but I would also have been devastated that my daughter in law was murdered. I would be upset that my son was a cheater, an embezzler and I would be hurt and disappointed in him. She always has anger. It's her anger that caused Raven to be the way he is I believe. I believe that Karyn is a sociopath and I still, for the life of me, can't understand why Jim puts up with her and I wouldn't want Raven back in my home.

He's a murderer whether or not he's found guilty and I bet there are some sighs of a relief in Utah that he didn't get to come home. I don't know if he'll end up being found guilty with a new set of jurors, but if he's not, the world will definitely be a scarier place.

You nailed it....it Isn't always obvious that someone is a sociopath but it is very obvious to me in this case...dysfunctional fam and a family history....oh its there and in his interviews its soo obvious

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

 

[joe jones]

have any of the jurors spoken about deliberations?

 

[borndem]

Originally Posted by FallingStars [ame="http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9525930#post9525930"]

[/ame]
I think, given the type of controlling personality RA has been portrayed to have, that LWOP is a worse fate than DP.

depends on the prison environment. sociopaths love to manipulate and have people to talk to and do what they are best at. Raven would be miserable on DR in this state. In another state...could be different.

The LWOP environment vs. the DR environment was quite a discussion on the Jodi Arieas threads as well. JA is a classic narcissistic sociopath and a Borderline Personality. "All About Me" and all the rest of it.

One of the investigators comes into the interrogation room to tell JA that she is about to be arrested for murder, and she asks about getting some makeup for the mug shot. Seriously. We, too, discussed the living conditions of gen-pop vs. the solitariness of death row for JA, and we agreed that DR would drive her nuts since she would have no audience at all. We agreed that it wouldn't take her long, OTOH, to make a lot of friends and have lots of fellow cons in her fan club in gen pop. There was no one to please on DR. (I will add that in Arizona, the first 2--3 years of lwop are in essential solitary -- the prisoner is graded on how soon they would be ready for gen pop if ever). We also agreed that we liked that arrangement for JA.

RA would have no one to please on DR as well -- maybe he would at least be provided a mirror...

 

[terminatrixator]

Raven would have suffered more on DR than GP. He hates to be alone. He needs a stage, he needs an audience. He will be fine in general population. Read if I were a Bird, he learned at an early age to adapt and mold himself and change easily.

I'm not saying that prison won't be hard for him, especially the congical visit issues, but he's not the blonde hair, blue eye, chipmunk cheek, strong jaw, hard lean body, handsome handsome boy his mother described him as anymore, he's a scrapper, he will find a way to buck up and fit in somehow. He's a team player with an attitude and he hits just hard enough to give pause and so he will fit in just fine.

His insides have reached his outsides. Look back at his wedding photo, that's not the Raven we see now. His darkness shows up now.

Raven will be fine in prison, but the Christiansens said in an interview that Janet was taken away from Kaiden and they didn't want Raven to be put to Death. At least with Raven locked away he can still have communications with Kaiden (something the Christiansens are NOT afforded). He can still talk to his mother, Karyn Abaroa Bolton, something Janet's not afforded with her family. As Kaiden grows up he can visit Raven (something the Christiansens are not afforded with Janet or Kaiden.)

I myself am not opposed to the Death Penalty. In the case of Michael Morales who is serving time in San Quentin prison for the murder of Terri Lynn Winchell, I vehemently oppose the fact that he was not put to death and that some (insert extreme cuss words here) jerk faces had the nerve to say that the lethal injection was "Cruel & Unusual Punishment". Well let me tell you what Michael Morales did to Terri Lynn, he took his belt and while she was in the front seat he strangled her and the belt broke, he then took a claw hammer and hit her about the head, he pulled her out of the car, raped her, stabbed her, mutilated her body, then he left her outside, naked, dead in a field and before him and his cousin took off, they ran her over. She didn't get the chance to graduate high school. This happened in 1981, he was sentenced in 1983 and this lump of excrement actually has a ton of attorneys saying that lethal injection is cruel & unusual punishment.

I just had to put my beloved cat to sleep last year. I loved my cat dearly. I know many people that have put their beloved dogs to sleep and they would tell you they loved their pets as much or more than people in their family. So I say bs to cruel & unusual punishment. What Michael Morales did was cruel & unusual punishment.

I think our society is getting so soft on crime. DP is cruel & unusual punishment? Now LWOP is too much? I don't know how or why the juror decided not to vote guilty, that's up to him, but would he have voted for a lesser sentence? Was Kaiden a factor? Was LWOP a factor? I don't know.

What I do know is that Raven is extremely smart, he planned and premeditated the murder of Janet. He was not in a rage, he was not pissed off that she didn't fold his clothes right, he was not angry that he found out that Janet & SH sent each other emails, it probably turned him on in some ways that she was still desirable to other people, he was not angry she didn't want him to play soccer, he knew she was pregnant, he didn't want to be tied down anymore, he didn't want any other person to have her, he didn't want Janet to take his mini-me, Kaiden and leave, he needed money, he needed it quick, he was sinking so he planned and premeditated Janet's murder because that is the only option that would take care of all his problems.

If a man would this to someone that he is suppose to love for all time and eternity, does the defense team, or any of his friends that came forward, does any of the Jennifers want to take the chance that he could do that to them or someone they love?

Do the people that he has messed up over the years, the women he has hurt that NEVER came forward, the people he HAS stolen from, who never came forward, want him out and about and near their loved ones? I think 1/2 the people that should have come forward didn't because they are afraid of him (edited to say or his mother!)

Raven will be fine in prison, he's thrived for 1194 days now in Jail, he will be fine in Prison too, it's where someone like him belongs, so he doesn't hurt anyone else.

 

[Madeleine74]

I think there's often a fantasy that prison gen population is like some kind of party or social gathering. And while there are some opportunities to "socialize," it all depends on a prisoner's classification in the system, along with other factors. And socializing means hanging out with people who could (and have) killed, raped, battered, have anger issues, and are kind of crazy and unpredictable.

Raven may be a raging sociopath, but it's not like he won't be surrounded by other raging sociopaths in a prison system. I don't know of any person who would choose to be warehoused for the rest of their life in prison if they weren't forced to--it's not remotely a pleasant environment and even the most raging of narcissistic sociopaths wouldn't want to be there even if they had other humans around them. It's a cesspool.

It's easy to get caught up in a revenge fantasy or the opposite--believing that the killer will enjoy themselves in state prison and do just fine.

Similar to the Arias case where many people think she will be some kind of homecoming queen with prisoners and guards to do her bidding unless she ends up on death row. So laughably wrong, perhaps born of bad Hollywood movies from the 1970's and beyond, depicting prison life.

 

[Moxie]

Trix,

Many good points. Especially that his insides have reached his outsides and his darkness shows. After all of the facts and evidence that came out during the trial, I truly believe that Raven does need to be in prison - LWOP. He is fortunate, in that the State could have gone after the death penalty, but Janet's family asked the State not to do so. This way, Kaiden would still be able to speak with his father, and still be able to have at least one parent left in this world. And who knows, after enough time in prison has passed, maybe Raven might even be open to allowing the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ into his heart - for real. And then Raven could tell Kaiden the truth and ask for his forgiveness.

The facts and evidence all point to Raven. No one else wanted Janet dead, no one else had anything to gain from her death. Only Raven. Personally, I am not in favor of the death penalty - like you referenced in your post, we had to put our dog to sleep earlier this year, and I am still not over it. I would not want that responsibility for a person ~ a human life. Only God truly has that power. And Raven tried to take that power away from God by murdering Janet. So hopefully Raven will be in prison as punishment for his crimes here on earth ~ for a long, long time. Because if he goes free, I cringe at how many other innocent people he will hurt. And, at the end of his life, Raven will go before the Ultimate Judge - and his heart will be read, and God will decide his eternal fate. Until then, though, LWOP is a fair punishment for the murder of his wife and unborn child.

Raven would have suffered more on DR than GP. He hates to be alone. He needs a stage, he needs an audience. He will be fine in general population. Read if I were a Bird, he learned at an early age to adapt and mold himself and change easily.

I'm not saying that prison won't be hard for him, especially the congical visit issues, but he's not the blonde hair, blue eye, chipmunk cheek, strong jaw, hard lean body, handsome handsome boy his mother described him as anymore, he's a scrapper, he will find a way to buck up and fit in somehow. He's a team player with an attitude and he hits just hard enough to give pause and so he will fit in just fine.

His insides have reached his outsides. Look back at his wedding photo, that's not the Raven we see now. His darkness shows up now.

Raven will be fine in prison, but the Christiansens said in an interview that Janet was taken away from Kaiden and they didn't want Raven to be put to Death. At least with Raven locked away he can still have communications with Kaiden (something the Christiansens are NOT afforded). He can still talk to his mother, Karyn Abaroa Bolton, something Janet's not afforded with her family. As Kaiden grows up he can visit Raven (something the Christiansens are not afforded with Janet or Kaiden.)

I myself am not opposed to the Death Penalty. In the case of Michael Morales who is serving time in San Quentin prison for the murder of Terri Lynn Winchell, I vehemently oppose the fact that he was not put to death and that some (insert extreme cuss words here) jerk faces had the nerve to say that the lethal injection was "Cruel & Unusual Punishment". Well let me tell you what Michael Morales did to Terri Lynn, he took his belt and while she was in the front seat he strangled her and the belt broke, he then took a claw hammer and hit her about the head, he pulled her out of the car, raped her, stabbed her, mutilated her body, then he left her outside, naked, dead in a field and before him and his cousin took off, they ran her over. She didn't get the chance to graduate high school. This happened in 1981, he was sentenced in 1983 and this lump of excrement actually has a ton of attorneys saying that lethal injection is cruel & unusual punishment.

I just had to put my beloved cat to sleep last year. I loved my cat dearly. I know many people that have put their beloved dogs to sleep and they would tell you they loved their pets as much or more than people in their family. So I say bs to cruel & unusual punishment. What Michael Morales did was cruel & unusual punishment.

I think our society is getting so soft on crime. DP is cruel & unusual punishment? Now LWOP is too much? I don't know how or why the juror decided not to vote guilty, that's up to him, but would he have voted for a lesser sentence? Was Kaiden a factor? Was LWOP a factor? I don't know.

What I do know is that Raven is extremely smart, he planned and premeditated the murder of Janet. He was not in a rage, he was not pissed off that she didn't fold his clothes right, he was not angry that he found out that Janet & SH sent each other emails, it probably turned him on in some ways that she was still desirable to other people, he was not angry she didn't want him to play soccer, he knew she was pregnant, he didn't want to be tied down anymore, he didn't want any other person to have her, he didn't want Janet to take his mini-me, Kaiden and leave, he needed money, he needed it quick, he was sinking so he planned and premeditated Janet's murder because that is the only option that would take care of all his problems.

If a man would this to someone that he is suppose to love for all time and eternity, does the defense team, or any of his friends that came forward, does any of the Jennifers want to take the chance that he could do that to them or someone they love?

Do the people that he has messed up over the years, the women he has hurt that NEVER came forward, the people he HAS stolen from, who never came forward, want him out and about and near their loved ones? I think 1/2 the people that should have come forward didn't because they are afraid of him (edited to say or his mother!)

Raven will be fine in prison, he's thrived for 1194 days now in Jail, he will be fine in Prison too, it's where someone like him belongs, so he doesn't hurt anyone else.

 

[terminatrixator]

I agree, it's not going to be fun for him, nobody said that it would be fun. My point is there are laws for a reason, if you don't want to do the time, don't do the crime.

In the case of Arias and Raven, they are born survivors and both will adapt to their surroundings. Is it going to be easy, no, but that's the life they decided to chose.

There should be no "do-overs" just because he has a child, sorry he killed Janet, but Kaiden needs him so give him a free pass. Prison is meant to be hard, it's not a country club and it should be hard on him.

Raven is a survivor, If I were a Bird from his own lips tells it all.

PS - EDITED TO ADD - I agree Moxie, LWOP is better than the DP. I am not pro or against DP. However, I do believe that they need to either abolish the death penalty or go through with it, because of the cost of the appeal process and the emotional strain it puts on a family when they are waiting for the punishment to be fulfilled.

 

[thefragile7393]

I think there's often a fantasy that prison gen population is like some kind of party or social gathering. And while there are some opportunities to "socialize," it all depends on a prisoner's classification in the system, along with other factors. And socializing means hanging out with people who could (and have) killed, raped, battered, have anger issues, and are kind of crazy and unpredictable.

Raven may be a raging sociopath, but it's not like he won't be surrounded by other raging sociopaths in a prison system. I don't know of any person who would choose to be warehoused for the rest of their life in prison if they weren't forced to--it's not remotely a pleasant environment and even the most raging of narcissistic sociopaths wouldn't want to be there even if they had other humans around them. It's a cesspool.

It's easy to get caught up in a revenge fantasy or the opposite--believing that the killer will enjoy themselves in state prison and do just fine.

Similar to the Arias case where many people think she will be some kind of homecoming queen with prisoners and guards to do her bidding unless she ends up on death row. So laughably wrong, perhaps born of bad Hollywood movies from the 1970's and beyond, depicting prison life.

Unfortunately they do adapt and find their way in the pecking order. They have to in irder to survive. Some come to enjoy it and make a game out of it. And yes...many do just fine for the situation they are in.I have seen it, looking back in ppl I have known in the past who are sociopaths. Sociopaths like her thrive in LWOP. Same as Raven would. Not for social.status but because of the way they adapt and are able to manipulate and spin stories and have opportunities for things that their victims did not. It is amazingly...words fail me I can't describe it. These are ones beyond rehabilitation.
Many want DP for these people because to truly make a sociopath suffer you have to take away their coping tools. Alone (in Arias) case for 23 hours in and 1 out, no contact, no one to spin stories with charm and manipulation is a sociopath's worst nightmare. No one to play mind games with. Never leaving prison? Thats ok, they can make the most of it by making friends and using them, maybe gaining status in certain groups. Its a challenege...and amazingly many love it. Thats why, even if death isn't carried out, DR itself is a good place for people like this....ones who are different than your average . Solitary confinement is a punishment in gen pop, not a constant thing.
Obviously DP isn't on the table in Raven's case...but he will sing the Jeffrey MacDonald song until he dies. He could have a harder time because of his crime and diff state rules and prison environments. At least he will be away off the streets.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Madeleine74]

Since there's no cure for sociopathy and you cannot control how well or to what extent someone will or won't adapt to life in prison, the thing to concentrate on is that they are taken out of society and the public is safe. That's the most important thing to me. His day is coming. Arias' day already came. Behind bars, the public is safer.

 

[NCEast]

Raven would have suffered more on DR than GP. He hates to be alone. He needs a stage, he needs an audience. He will be fine in general population. Read if I were a Bird, he learned at an early age to adapt and mold himself and change easily.

I'm not saying that prison won't be hard for him, especially the congical visit issues, but he's not the blonde hair, blue eye, chipmunk cheek, strong jaw, hard lean body, handsome handsome boy his mother described him as anymore, he's a scrapper, he will find a way to buck up and fit in somehow. He's a team player with an attitude and he hits just hard enough to give pause and so he will fit in just fine.

His insides have reached his outsides. Look back at his wedding photo, that's not the Raven we see now. His darkness shows up now.

Raven will be fine in prison, but the Christiansens said in an interview that Janet was taken away from Kaiden and they didn't want Raven to be put to Death. At least with Raven locked away he can still have communications with Kaiden (something the Christiansens are NOT afforded). He can still talk to his mother, Karyn Abaroa Bolton, something Janet's not afforded with her family. As Kaiden grows up he can visit Raven (something the Christiansens are not afforded with Janet or Kaiden.)

I myself am not opposed to the Death Penalty. In the case of Michael Morales who is serving time in San Quentin prison for the murder of Terri Lynn Winchell, I vehemently oppose the fact that he was not put to death and that some (insert extreme cuss words here) jerk faces had the nerve to say that the lethal injection was "Cruel & Unusual Punishment". Well let me tell you what Michael Morales did to Terri Lynn, he took his belt and while she was in the front seat he strangled her and the belt broke, he then took a claw hammer and hit her about the head, he pulled her out of the car, raped her, stabbed her, mutilated her body, then he left her outside, naked, dead in a field and before him and his cousin took off, they ran her over. She didn't get the chance to graduate high school. This happened in 1981, he was sentenced in 1983 and this lump of excrement actually has a ton of attorneys saying that lethal injection is cruel & unusual punishment.

I just had to put my beloved cat to sleep last year. I loved my cat dearly. I know many people that have put their beloved dogs to sleep and they would tell you they loved their pets as much or more than people in their family. So I say bs to cruel & unusual punishment. What Michael Morales did was cruel & unusual punishment.

I think our society is getting so soft on crime. DP is cruel & unusual punishment? Now LWOP is too much? I don't know how or why the juror decided not to vote guilty, that's up to him, but would he have voted for a lesser sentence? Was Kaiden a factor? Was LWOP a factor? I don't know.

What I do know is that Raven is extremely smart, he planned and premeditated the murder of Janet. He was not in a rage, he was not pissed off that she didn't fold his clothes right, he was not angry that he found out that Janet & SH sent each other emails, it probably turned him on in some ways that she was still desirable to other people, he was not angry she didn't want him to play soccer, he knew she was pregnant, he didn't want to be tied down anymore, he didn't want any other person to have her, he didn't want Janet to take his mini-me, Kaiden and leave, he needed money, he needed it quick, he was sinking so he planned and premeditated Janet's murder because that is the only option that would take care of all his problems.

If a man would this to someone that he is suppose to love for all time and eternity, does the defense team, or any of his friends that came forward, does any of the Jennifers want to take the chance that he could do that to them or someone they love?

Do the people that he has messed up over the years, the women he has hurt that NEVER came forward, the people he HAS stolen from, who never came forward, want him out and about and near their loved ones? I think 1/2 the people that should have come forward didn't because they are afraid of him (edited to say or his mother!)

Raven will be fine in prison, he's thrived for 1194 days now in Jail, he will be fine in Prison too, it's where someone like him belongs, so he doesn't hurt anyone else.

Very well said Trix!

 

[JusticeJunkie]

Woke with Janet's family on my mind this AM. I'm wondering if they have gone home to rest up for the next round, or if they'll be there tomorrow. Do they have any input at all as to the timing, or is it totally at the mercy of the court's schedule?
As I was looking at past testimony, I noticed the article on the possible plea deal offered. I either missed that, or forgot it already. Are there any court minutes, or a way to search court documents in NC?
Continuing prayers for Janet's loved ones.

 

[mrshopkins524]

Tamara Gibbs with ABC11 just tweeted on Twitter that they are working on a plea deal.

 

[mrshopkins524]

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=9128067

 

[terminatrixator]

Woke with Janet's family on my mind this AM. I'm wondering if they have gone home to rest up for the next round, or if they'll be there tomorrow. Do they have any input at all as to the timing, or is it totally at the mercy of the court's schedule?
As I was looking at past testimony, I noticed the article on the possible plea deal offered. I either missed that, or forgot it already. Are there any court minutes, or a way to search court documents in NC?
Continuing prayers for Janet's loved ones.

The new trial date will be set tomorrow, between the DT, PT and Court's schedule. Neither family has a say on the schedule.

I pray that Janet's mother has her surgery and goes for her cancer treatment because I think she's held out long enough. Raven has done so much to hurt this family, I want her to be able to see Justice served.

Regarding the plea deal that may or may not be on the table, I understand in situations like this that is normal after a trial so close as this was but we'll have to wait until tomorrow.

I truly don't see Raven taken a plea deal, he's narcissistic enough to think he's going walk and he'll find ways to push this trial off. I said it in the other thread, I foresee him firing Tyndall and finding ways to push this trial off a bit.

 

[johnfear]

For soem reason, they are all in Durham County Court this morning. Except Raven. Making a bunch of motions and noise.

 

[terminatrixator]

What motions and what noise? I thought the motions were to be heard tomorrow. Are you there?

 

[johnfear]

I was here (for something unrelated and someone texted me they were in court) and I walked in on the tail end of something from the state.

I'm assuming it's re: a plea.

 

[NCEast]

LOOK!!!!
from WRAL's noon news

Plea deal could be in works for Raven Abaroa

RELATED

Durham, N.C. — A plea deal could be in the works for Raven Abaroa, whose first-degree murder trial for the stabbing death of his wife ended Friday with a Durham jury deadlocked at an 11-1 vote in favor of a guilty verdict.

More Info Janet Abaroa murder case Complete trial coverage

Durham County Assistant District Attorney Charlene Coggins-Franks and Mani Dexter, a member of Aberoa's defense team, were in court Wednesday morning, but he was not, Dexter said, because of media attention surrounding the case and the possibility that he will face a new trial.

Coggins-Franks, who indicated in court Friday that the state plans to re-try Abaroa, argued that he should be present for certain matters before the court, including discussions about a possible plea deal.

Dexter, would not comment about a deal, and Coggins-Franks could not be reached for comment following Wednesday's hearing.

A new trial date has not been set.

Abaroa, 33, who is being held in the Durham County jail without bond, is accused of fatally stabbing Janet Marie Christiansen Abaroa, 25, in their Durham home on the night of April 26, 2005.

He has maintained his innocence, saying he was playing in a soccer game and returned home to find his wife crouched on the floor. He was arrested nearly five years later in Idaho, where he lived with the couple's son, who was 6 months old when his mother was killed.

If a plea deal were to be offered, it wouldn't be the first time. Defense attorneys reportedly rejected an offer prior to the five-week trial.

Defense attorneys argued that police focused only on their client as a suspect and ignored or explained away any evidence that could have helped identify another culprit in the case.

But prosecutors argued that Janet Abaroa's death wasn't random and that Raven Abaroa was the only person with any reason to kill her.

 

[terminatrixator]

I love the spin....you mean explained away a plastic print, and explained away that one ileel...on a very well used storm door, where there was NO other dna located on, near, around Janet or any of the blood drips, smears, stains in the home isn't "explaining away" anything. Also, the Scott red herring didn't work, he was married, in Virginia, bedridden with a back injury awaiting surgery. The next trial that little hard drive issue, SH issue will be completely moot and they will lose out on that towards any sort of reasonable doubt. Their finger print so-called expert, who had no training in 30 years, didn't debunk the fact the finger print was a plastic print. So they are down to nothing nothing.

The blood came from Raven's sweatshirt sleeve (funny one of the only known places he actually had blood) when he went outside. If someone else was in that home there would have been more dna in that home besides one tiny little spot on the well-used back door.

Regarding the defense's character witnesses, none were believable, the only person who seemed to tell the truth was Jim Bolton, to the dismay of his wife. These people came off as thinking it okay or normal that he was a chronic cheater and chronic theft issues, heck we hear on Websleuths that Raven started his thieving ways as A CHILD.

With this case coming forward, i wonder how many more women will now have the courage to come forward with their tales of how Raven forced himself on them, how many more companies, will come forward stating Raven is a thief, how many more people will come forward with Raven's anger issues.

11-1 Guilty with all that the State had, which wasn't a whole whopping lot, will end up being 12-1 Guilty next time. There will be plenty of time to shore it all up by the next trial, I think.

 

[JusticeJunkie]

Mrshopkines, thanx for the link. We were on the same brainwave, but months apart! I would *swear* when I was looking at past testimony this AM, there was an article dated MAY FIRST, that mentioned a rumor of a possible plea deal. Of course, I can't find it now, and the article you linked today, mentions there was a possibility of one before the trial started, and again now.
The reason I asked if I missed it in an earlier post - it would have happened only days after the trial started, and I don't remember us talking about it.
(For some reason, my computer is doubling certain words and phrases that make me look *nuts*, and question my sanity. I *know* it sounds weird, but it just did it again, I swear!! Just pretend I am stuttering.)

I realize the state has a budget to consider, but gosh. Being *so* close, and not reaching for the justice ring would be disappointing. I wonder how Janet's family would feel about a plea deal, and if they have any input.
I'm with ya Trix. I think RA is way too arrogant and self assured to accept a plea.

Oh, one more thing. Your link showed short clips, Mrshopkins, of this AM's court procedure, and I'm wondering why they don't have the entire procedure available to view since it was obviously filmed.


Funny story. My husband is on a business trip out of the country, and it is already tomorrow there. My girlfriend's tween daughter asked this:
"Why can't your DH just watch the court thing nine hours ahead of you, and tell you what happened before it's even on here?" lol
If only.