Evidence

[lauriej]

OK, now that makes so much sense to me. You are a co-worker of Janet's. Janet is going through these hard times in her life due to her husband's actions. You know the circumstances of her life. You are watching the news and hear "just in".....they talk about a women being found dead on Ferrand Drive! My immediate reaction would be to run to the phone (no answer)....run to the computer and email or IM (no answer).....jump in my car and drive over there. I would not be able to sleep if I knew my friend was possibly dead and I didn't go over there to at least check it out. If she was a co-worker, she probably lived close. I don't know why this didn't hit me before......thank you SES for this speculated unconfirmed post. At least this one makes more sense to me then what else we have come up with on this issue.

.......if someone emailed or IM'd me at 11 p.m.....chances are they wouldn't get an immediate response, and i would think with janet having to work in the a.m. that normally she'd be in bed by that time...
....if it was already on the news...........and LE were already at the house, would LE answer the phone if it rang ?

...i'm with you on your theory if..........the co-worker and janet had been IM'ing earlier in the evening ( while raven was at the game ) , janet suddenly stopped responding practically mid-sentence...........then...the co-worker hears it later on the news , and thinks OMG could it be janet? is that why she just disappeared earlier tonite ??

 

[ewwwinteresting]

It is very frustrating to not know of any actual evidence in this case. I have gone back and listened to and read some of the news media coverage on this case, together with my opinions, to try and put together the following. Please add to this as I’m sure I didn’t think of everything

Janet Abaroa was stabbed to death on April 26, 2005.
Husband found her in their residence located at 2606 Ferrand Drive, Durham, NC.
Husband called 911, reporting it as a gunshot wound.
Death is a homicide, not a suicide.
LE has stated the crime was not random and the public has no need to fear.

Quoting Mark Fuhrman, former LAPD Homicide detective (who appeared "On the Record" with Greta Van Susteren): "When they issued that statement it is not a random crime, that means that the victim was the intended victim to be killed."

Janet was the intended victim to be killed.

Mark Fuhrman further stated some reasons why LE would state it was not a random crime:

No visible signs of forced entry
No ransacking
No theft
No attempt to moving the victim
Everything taking place in the bedroom

Eric Olson: Reporter from the Durham Herald-Sun (who also talked "On the Record" with Greta Van Susteren) gave a description about that night something like this:

Raven comes home and calls in to report a gunshot wound to this wife, Janet. First officer arrives, spoke with Mr. Abaroa outside the house and Mr. Abaroa informed him his wife was upstairs and that she was hurt. Officer went inside the house to find her in an upstairs bedroom lying on her back dead with what appeared to be a stab wound to her chest.

Raven outside of house when LE arrives thinking they are responding to a gunshot wound.

During the interview with Greta, Mark Fuhrman expressed his disturbance that Husband describes victim of gunshot because it distances himself from the cause of death and also said it would be very disturbing if no blood was on Raven’s clothes since your first reaction would be to rush to the victim, try to revive them.

No report as to whether blood was on Raven’s clothes.

Mark Fuhrman further went on to say that since the police were able to, by affidavit, convince a Judge to search the house, truck and husband’s clothes - they are definitely seeing him as a possible suspect. They are doing a job to eliminate Husband and if they can eliminate him, they will and if they can’t, they will push farther on this toward the Husband.

Two search warrants issued - second one to determine relationship of vehicle to homicide.

It has been reported that the Police are not talking at all, saying they don’t want to hinder the investigation and Police have not said if they have suspects in this case.

Police have not stated that they have NO suspects in this case.
Husband has not publicly been eliminated as a suspect.

Out of the Norm
No normal off the record tips to reporter
Searched only residence and Dodge Durango
LE being tightlipped - not requesting help from public

Raven’s questionable behavior after death of Wife
No website memorial
No outward speaking calling for justice
No reward for information leading to the arrest of the murderer
Trust Fund set up in Janet’s name in Utah

Possible circumstantial evidence against Raven
Collected knives
Found body
Reported gunshot wound on 911 call
Police arrived: stated Wife upstairs hurt
Marriage problems - infidelity, Hot or Not site
Financial problems - embezzlement, fired from job, rent assistance from landlord and church
"Starting Over" Blog and other websites created by Raven

Still Needed
TOD
911 Tape
Autopsy Report
Other Search Warrants
Physical evidence results
Raven’s alibi confirmed
Kaiden’s whereabouts during and after murder
Computer and other electronics whereabouts

Possible motives for Janet’s murder
Life insurance
Crime of Passion
Self-defense

Raven’s Profile
Narcissist
Materialistic
Sociopath
Hot tempered
Selfish

To moderator: This is my opinion and unconfirmed directly to me.

 

[golfmom]

Now, if I in fact were privy to ANYTHING FROM THAT PERSON, DIRECTLY, that would make me leap to the conclusion that the murder victim could be that person, then yes, sure, absolutely, I'd be on my way, IF, I had heard the story, then tried to get ahold of this person first....remember, if I was calling someone at 11, midnight, 1AM, whenever, and I knew they typically are home then (on a weeknight remember), and, that they have a 6 month old baby...I may very well start to get anxious....

And again folks, this is all total heresay and unconfirmed information, coupled with a big ol' load of speculation from me.... so please, only take it for what it's worth...

When my best friend was going through her issues with her sociopath husband, if I heard a story on the news about a murder in her area I would have run over to her house immediately. There were many a night, when things got really flakey, I wouldn't let her go home because I was worried about her safety.

I feel that if her friend was worried about her, then it was for a very good reason.

 

[cappuccina]

If I were LE, I would really wonder why he was OUTSIDE the house waiting for their arrival...The only time I could see that being approrpriate is if one's house was burglarized, or something like that...Since he reported his wife as being "hurt", rather than "deceased", WHY WASN'T HE IN THE ROOM WITH HER, unless he was "finished with her", if ya know what I mean...

 

[SouthEastSleuth]

Be forewarned, this is yet another long, rambling post from me. (sorry)

I've been spending time again this morning with my good pal the search warrant! (UGH) But, I keep going back there, as in reality it is the only hard information we have from LE...

Several observations:

First, I think it might be important to at least TRY and establish a timeline of events for Tuesday, April 26, 2005.

We have confirmed reports that Janet had started a new job at Martin Marietta in Raleigh.

We do NOT have confirmed reports as to Raven's employment situation.

If would be helpful if anyone knows, factually, what a typical day was like in the Abaroa household during this time, i.e., what time did Janet have to be at work? If Raven was working, what time did he have to be at work? Generally, what time did one or both of them leave the house? If they were both working, what are the whos, whats, etc., regarding Kaiden? And, on the flip side, generally what time did everyone return from his or her workday, etc. Pick up Kaiden, if necessary, etc. Raven did post, as I recall on a VX board?, in some context, that they had a good friend who babysat for Kaiden (Everyday? As needed?)

Taking this a little farther... it would also be helpful to know if they had a typical routine in the evenings:

Did they generally try to have dinner around a certain time? What time was Kaiden put to bed? What time did Raven and/or Janet typically go to bed?

In trying to sketch out at least some details of that evening, the obvious missing piece of the puzzle is still TOD. But, that aside, maybe we can at least speculate on some things -

As Janet was working in Raleigh, and this was a Tuesday, we might GUESS that she went to bed fairly early? Who knows really, especially with a 6-month-old baby. Her drive to work would easily be 25-30 minutes, maybe even a little more, depending on traffic. And if we assume she had to be there by 8, maybe 9, then she would be up fairly early, presumably, to also deal with Kaiden in the morning. And, as noted, we don’t really have an idea about Raven’s work situation, much less his work hours, etc.

And, along the lines of "family schedule", if you will, it would be interesting to know how Janet was dressed when LE arrived. Was she dressed for bed, i.e., a nightgown or something, or, was she still in street or work clothes? (Could possibly speak to TOD issues….)

So, to some facts –

10:58 PM, Tuesday, April 26. Durham Police Department (DPD) responds to a 911 call, regarding a possible gun shot at 2606 Ferrand.

-What we don't know is the actual time the 911 call was received. We can assume it was somewhere in that general timeframe.

-What we don't know is IF Raven had been out that evening, at the soccer game, what time he ARRIVED HOME. And, what was the time delay between him arriving home and making the 911 call? Or, was he actually home the entire time, never having gone to a soccer game?

10:58PM - DPD responds, and according to the warrant, Officer Williams (OW) "spoke with Mr. Raven Abaroa who advised this his wife was upstairs, and that she was hurt. Officer Williams entered the residence*, and observed a white female in an upstairs BR, with what appeared to be a stab wound to her chest."

* I note this because all along I guess I had this mental image in my head of Raven sitting downstairs... Eric Olson (WTVD) reported on the Greta show that the Officer met Raven outside the house, then the officer went in. So, as we've always been amazed that Raven was not actually WITH JANET, who knows, maybe he was, and then ran downstairs to meet LE when they arrived?? Speculation.

11:50PM, April 26 - Investigator Early (IE) from DPD arrives.

11:55PM, April 26 - IE speaks to OW

12:13AM, April 27 - IE enters the residence. Notes the same observations as OW with regards to the body. He additionally notes the large amount of blood, blood on the wall, etc.

12:25AM, April 27 - IE departs residence

During this time, we can ASSUME that LE was talking to Raven perhaps,doing some sorts of initial investigations, etc.?

3:15AM, April 27 - IE receives search warrant

5:45AM, April 27 - Search warrant is executed

Search warrant fact, speculation, questions –

It is interesting to note that on the very first page of the request for the warrant the incident is listed as HOMICIDE. Period. So one can infer that at least by that time (the warrant was rec’d at 3:15AM remember….so SOME conversations, observations, investigations HAD to have occurred already in order for LE to come to the conclusion that this was a HOMICIDE, not accidental, not suicide.)

Now, if you look closely at the second page of the typed narrative of the search warrant, the text of the page ends with the sentence, "At approximately 12:25am, I departed the residence (no period at end, but, perhaps inadvertently omitted.)

The next page of the typed narrative begins "Based on the fact set forth in this affidavit…", blah blah blah .

The flow there is off. Speculation for sure, but, I think there are missing pages of the typed narrative. This would be where, presumably, IE would make the case for a warrant, based on interviews, etc. Again, pure speculation.

Search warrant items that I have questions about –

Items 4-10 - The clothes that LE took from Raven. Sweatshirt, "sports shirt", shorts, undershirt, two pairs of sock, "Climcool" shoes (which are actually Adidas ClimAcool shoes…they come in models for running, tennis, golf, hiking, and basketball… Climacool is fabric that Adidas uses on some clothing and shoes, to wick away moisture)

Ok, so they took the clothing he was wearing. But, you’ll note they also took some additional clothing.

Items 29, 30 – One pair Skechers, size 10. One pair Nike sandals

Items 37, 38 – One purple Pierre Cardin shirt, size 16-16 ½ (IMO this would be a man’s dress shirt. Men’s shirts are usually only sized that way if they are long-sleeved dress shirts.) Then again, there are many women who sometimes will wear a man’s dress shirt sometimes, to perhaps just hang out in, or, even sleep in. And yet ANOTHER pair of shoes, Adidas, size 10 ½

I can’t help wondering the deal with taking the dress shirt, as well as all of these additional (3 pairs) shoes. I mean they took the clothes he was wearing. So why these others? Many things I suppose could be possibilities – maybe there was blood splatter on these items? Or, was there some other reason?

I’ve often wondered too if there were recently laundered clothes in the washer or dryer?

Ok, I’ve rambled on and on, and I’m sure a number of you are rolling your eyes right now. LOL

But, if we COULD, SOMEHOW start to piece together the sequence of events from that day, it could lead a long way towards knowing what actually happened that evening, and, when…..

Ps- I SWEAR, I don't intend for my posts to be so darn longwinded and incoherent........but a lot of them sure turn out that way. Sigh....

 

[Timex]

Items 37, 38 – One purple Pierre Cardin shirt, size 16-16 ½ (IMO this would be a man’s dress shirt. Men’s shirts are usually only sized that way if they are long-sleeved dress shirts.) Then again, there are many women who sometimes will wear a man’s dress shirt sometimes, to perhaps just hang out in, or, even sleep in. And yet ANOTHER pair of shoes, Adidas, size 10 ½


Could these items be soccer clothes?

 

[SouthEastSleuth]

Items 37, 38 – One purple Pierre Cardin shirt, size 16-16 ½ (IMO this would be a man’s dress shirt. Men’s shirts are usually only sized that way if they are long-sleeved dress shirts.) Then again, there are many women who sometimes will wear a man’s dress shirt sometimes, to perhaps just hang out in, or, even sleep in. And yet ANOTHER pair of shoes, Adidas, size 10 ½


Could these items be soccer clothes?

Well, anal ol' me, LOL.... I searched and searched, and I could find NO evidence anywhere that Pierre Cardin makes soccer clothing, of any sort. Now, that said, maybe they do....but I could find no evidence of it, at least online. Perhaps someone who's a "soccer person" can shed some light on that as well.....

 

[cappuccina]

...although you would think that they would list them as "soccer shoes" or "molded cleats"...the Pierre Cardin shirt, definitely no...Soccer apparel typically comes in the S,M,L,XL-type of sizing, unless they are marked with European sizes...

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Someone's probably already responded to this, Timex, but I see what your'e saying about group chat. However, in a one-on-one IM, if you're chatting, and the person suddenly disappears not to return, it would certainly be concerning.

But something you mentioned brought up an interesting idea. (This might be mentioned somewhere), but perhaps the person with whom Janet was IM'ing is the perp. They're chatting, she mentions that Raven's at a soccer game & won't be home for hours, Kaiden's sleeping so she' bored ... voila, person knows that Janet is alone. This person later calls 911 or shows up on the scene with their story. Maybe that's why that story's all but disappeared ... maybe LE has something to do with it because this person is being investigated. Maybe that's why the computers aren't there, (although LE might have them). Maybe the perp took them because they had just been IM'ing. Sounds far-fetched but without any details being released, who knows?

I also wanted to ask everyone ... is it standard to release a search warrant to LE with certain items not disclosed? Why would LE do that? Would LE release a search warrant with only certain information disclosed to lead people to believe one thing while investigating another - throw people off the trail, so to speak. Or would they release information to try to encourage discussions like this one to see what stones get turned over? In other words, could they be either trying to fool us or trying to get help without directly asking?

 

[Timex]

Thanks, just the color purple seems strange to me for a mans shirt. Maybe it wasnt really "purple". I assume the police officers were male, which would mean they would call anything that came close as being purple. Then again, maybe Raven liked strange colors.

 

[SouthEastSleuth]

I also wanted to ask everyone ... is it standard to release a search warrant to LE with certain items not disclosed? Why would LE do that? Would LE release a search warrant with only certain information disclosed to lead people to believe one thing while investigating another - throw people off the trail, so to speak. Or would they release information to try to encourage discussions like this one to see what stones get turned over? In other words, could they be either trying to fool us or trying to get help without directly asking?

I've wondered about this very same thing Jersey. Is releasing some, or all, of a search warrant standard procesure in an on-going homicide invesigation? I remember the day it was released, clearly - and I thought it was odd then. Do notice, it was only initially reported (and posted online) by ONE media outlet. I wondered at the time if it was possibly leaked even???

 

[Timex]

IMO, we are lucky to have what we have. Many times NOTHING is released while the investigation is on-going. Heck, many times things are sealed even after a trial has taken place. I dont read too much into the fact that not much has been released. Honestly, it's good policy IMO.

 

[cappuccina]

...first of all - Timex, a low of men are currently wearing dress shirts in deeper tones right now...like purple, burgundy, dark green, chocolate brown, the richer darker blues, etc. Even my fashion-conservative hubby had me buy him some shirts like this - I bought the darker green, a rich dark red, a dark cafe-au-lait and a dark blue one...

Also, according to a few of the media articles, the 911 call came in about 11 p.m. - sooo...Raven could have been home for a while before the murder occurred....maybe Janet was IM'ing to a friend that they were fighting, and that his temper had gone off the walls, and the friend became concerned...JMO...

As far as the warrant...I have a feeling that they may not have released all of its pages, or as per other discussions here, there is more than one warrant out there, and they chose to reslease the "safest" one to show that they were investigatiing this case...

 

[SouthEastSleuth]

IMO, we are lucky to have what we have. Many times NOTHING is released while the investigation is on-going. Heck, many times things are sealed even after a trial has taken place. I dont read too much into the fact that not much has been released. Honestly, it's good policy IMO.

Oh, and I agree... I think we are incredibly lucky to have the search warrant, even if it's just SOME of the pages.

But Timex, from your experience/knowledge, etc., is it customary in a case like this that LE would release ANY of the search warrant, especially within a week of the murder? I just always thought that was strange. ( I appreciate it, LOL, as it's provided all sorts of info...but thought it was strange, nonetheless...)

 

[Timex]

Oh, and I agree... I think we are incredibly lucky to have the search warrant, even if it's just SOME of the pages.

But Timex, from your experience/knowledge, etc., is it customary in a case like this that LE would release ANY of the search warrant, especially within a week of the murder? I just always thought that was strange. ( I appreciate it, LOL, as it's provided all sorts of info...but thought it was strange, nonetheless...)

I go back and forth on what I think about this. Sometimes I feel it wasnt meant to be released at all, then other times I feel maybe they just dont feel anything in that warrant was of any importance, so they didnt care that it was released.

But, each jurisdiction is different...each case is different, so its difficult to try and second guess just what is being done.

The big thing that is throwing me off in this case is...crimes that are not random usually result in an arrest fairly quickly, as the list of suspects is small. When I do a search on crime in durham...there have been so many others that have occurred and an arrest already made SINCE Janet was killed. Im not talking petty crimes, Im talking shootings, etc. So, if it wasnt random...why is it taking so long?

 

[SouthEastSleuth]

I go back and forth on what I think about this. Sometimes I feel it wasnt meant to be released at all, then other times I feel maybe they just dont feel anything in that warrant was of any importance, so they didnt care that it was released.

But, each jurisdiction is different...each case is different, so its difficult to try and second guess just what is being done.

The big thing that is throwing me off in this case is...crimes that are not random usually result in an arrest fairly quickly, as the list of suspects is small. When I do a search on crime in durham...there have been so many others that have occurred and an arrest already made SINCE Janet was killed. Im not talking petty crimes, Im talking shootings, etc. So, if it wasnt random...why is it taking so long?

That is exactly the question. And if you look back where it was reported that LE specifically said that it was NOT random, they also said in that same sentence, something to the effect that Durham citizens need not be concerned (with regard to it being a random killing). That said, the implication is clear to me - they either had a suspect or suspects, or, SOMETHING that led them to make the non-random, citizens have nothing to fear, statements.

The ONLY thing I can come up with are lab results. Waiting on them, doing more testing, something... Otherwise, your question is THE question - WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG???

 

[Timex]

This is why I say the citizens of Durham need to be pushing the issue. LE has told them there is nothing to fear...if LE is so confident about this...why hasnt there been an arrest, or at least something to assure the citizens LE knows who did this?

Im not saying LE wasnt being honest when they made their statement, but IMO, they often use such a line to keep the public pressure off of themselves.

 

[SouthEastSleuth]

Procedural question for anyone -

In a case of this sort, would dusting for fingerprints be something that was done AUTOMATICALLY?

And, if so, would that be outside the boundaries of the search warrant?

 

[cappuccina]

....they should have sprayed Luminol in the apartment and on the vehicles and clothes as well at some point...They can also use cryanoacrylate vapor (done under a hood/or in a specialized chamber in the crime lab) to lift prints off of many objects if dusting for them does not work...

Forensic techniques and which ones they choose to use would not be listed in the warrant...

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

It is very frustrating to not know of any actual evidence in this case. I have gone back and listened to and read some of the news media coverage on this case, together with my opinions, to try and put together the following. Please add to this as I’m sure I didn’t think of everything

You did an outstanding job with this post! It made me think that if Raven is NOT the perp, he would have to be kicking himself by now for the portrait that he's painted of himself. He really sounds like a class-A piece of work when you see it all listed outright like that!

Reading your post made me go back to one of the earliest details that we knew ... that Raven stated that Janet had been shot. I'm trying to think of how I might react or what I might say to 911. And if I was too freaked out to go near the body to determine for sure that it was a gunshot, I would most likely say something like "my wife is hurt - she's got a big wound on her chest - I can't tell if she's been shot or stabbed but there's a lot of blood - please come quickly". I can't say what Raven would say in the same circumstances if he's not the perp but I can tell you that he really set himself up to look like the perfect suspect, IMO. Stating that Janet was shot when she was actually stabbed is probably the number one thing that makes me suspect Raven. It's just too damned convenient, and definitely seems like something Raven would say, thinking that it would make LE think he's innocent. It seems just like Raven ... a pretty smart idea in theory but one that had he given it more thought, he might have realized that it wasn't the brightest thing to do or say after all. JMO.