This Creepy North Carolina Cold Case From 11 Years Ago Has Finally Been Solved

On the evening of April 26th, 2005, 26 year old Janet Abaroa was brutally murdered inside her home while her six-month old son slept soundly in the next room. The gruesome murder of a young mother shocked the city of Durham and left family and friends devastated.

Facebook /

Her husband, Raven Abaroa, called 911 in a distraught frenzy. He was the one who discovered her body not long after her murder.

Raven and Janet had met in college, and married shortly after graduating. Everything in their relationship seemed perfect on the outside, but family and friends grew concerned.

The most shocking recent detail leading up to Janet's death was that Raven was caught embezzling from his employer. He stood to receive $500,000 from his wife's life insurance policy, Another shocking revelation: Raven's knife collection was somehow missing from the house on the night of Janet's murder.

ABC News 20/20 via Facebook / Tears For Janet

But Raven had an alibi: he was playing an evening soccer game. He told police that before he left, Janet was in bed watching TV (her nightly routine). Little did he know, this small detail would later lead to a new discovery in the case.

For five years, the case went cold. Raven moved on with his life, moved to Salt Lake City Utah with his son and married Vanessa Pond.

But Durham detective Charles Sole couldn't get over one detail of Janet's case...the fact they never found her contact lenses when searching the house after the murder. Janet's family told investigators it was her nightly routine to take out her contacts before watching TV. If Raven's alibi was true, she shouldn't have been wearing her contacts. So where were they?

Advertisement

Related Stories

Get Away From It All At This Remote And Beautiful Campground In North Carolina

The Magnificent Lakefront Airbnb In North Carolina That Is Perfect For A Spring Retreat

The Breathtaking Scenic Drive Through North Carolina That Celebrates The New River

Flickr / Andy Simmons

"So what happened was, a detective called me and asked: Would it be possible to identify contact lenses from a body that had been exhumed after five years?" ophthalmologist Charles Zwerling of Goldsboro, North Carolina, told Buzzfeed News. "I told him contact lenses disintegrate, but never say never, I would be willing to try."

Eventually, Janet's body was exhumed to see if the contact lenses were still in her eyes. Raven's attorney objected to the exhumation, citing no credible correlation or "scientific validity," between contact lenses and murder.

Advertisement

Flickr / Michael Lovitt

In 2013, Zwerling got the evidence package - with dried up contact lenses included. When he added a saline solution the contact lenses rehydrated...proving that they had been in Janet's eyes at the time of her murder and after her burial.

But this 'scientific' evidence did not hold up in a courtroom, and Zwerling had to test his theories on pig eyes to prove the rehydration process and thus the fact that Raven had been lying about his wife's contact lenses...and his wife's death.

It wasn't until March 2013 that Raven was tried for the murder of his wife. He took a plea deal, and still denies his guilt. He could be released from prison before his 40th birthday.

While Raven still claims he did not murder Janet, everyone else, including his second wife, believes him to be a killer. She claimed he had violent outbursts and drastic mood switches which scared her to the point of leaving him. It’s one thing to murder your wife, but another to marry a murderer. You can watch the full 20/20 segment on the Janet Abaroa case above.

This heartbreaking story is a reminder that you never really know anyone, including who you marry. It’s scary to think this happened in our home state, but it’s also heartbreaking to think of the pain and sorrow her young son and family have experienced after her death.

Many think Raven is guilty…but his plea deal could mean he could do this to someone else. What do you think? Who do you think is guilty in this case? Have you heard this story before or personally know the family?