Christina Araujo: Plea Deal, Abell’s Conviction, and Sentence

Christina Araujo is a Florida woman who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2018 beating death of 31-year-old Aileen Seiden and was sentenced to 25 years in prison on June 7, 2024. The Christina Araujo murder case grew out of a violent three-person relationship between Araujo, her longtime boyfriend Zachary Abell, and Seiden, and ended with Araujo cooperating against Abell, who was convicted at trial and sentenced to life without parole.

The Relationship That Led to the Killing

Araujo and Abell had been together about four years when Abell reconnected in 2017 with Aileen Seiden, a woman he had known since they were teenagers. They began dating in secret. When Abell tried to leave Araujo, she proposed instead that all three enter a “throuple.” Seiden was initially reluctant but agreed. The three lived together in North Miami and worked at a used car dealership co-owned by Araujo and Abell.¹

The arrangement was violent from early on. An acquaintance, Mike Picavet, described it as “overcrowded, wrought with jealousy and peppered with hotheaded brawls.” People who knew the group characterized Araujo as controlling and domineering toward both partners. Physical fights between Araujo and Seiden were common, often fueled by heavy drinking, and often left visible injuries.² Seiden had lost her own apartment and job before moving in, and friends and family said she felt financially trapped. By April 2018 she was secretly arranging a Greyhound ticket back to Miami with a friend.¹

Aileen Seiden was the youngest daughter of Frank M. Seiden, a Miami businessman whose company sold furniture to luxury hotels, cruise ships, and Disney Resorts.² Both of her parents died when she was young: her mother of cancer when Aileen was in elementary school, her father of a heart attack when she was 14. Her older sister Franceasca, then 22, became her legal guardian.¹

What Happened at the Sportsman’s Lodge Motel

In April 2018 the three set out on a road trip from South Florida to Texas and back. Seiden told her sister Franceasca during the trip that she feared for her life and had been told to “run,” but felt she could not get away.²

On April 22, 2018, the group checked into Room 15 of the Sportsman’s Lodge Motel in Eastpoint, in Florida’s Franklin County, and bought large quantities of vodka and Fireball whiskey at a nearby liquor store. That evening, Seiden was beaten to death inside the room. A medical examiner later testified that her injuries were comparable to those seen in car crashes: nearly every rib was broken, and she had extensive bruising across her face, abdomen, and upper body.² Investigators determined the weapons included a shower curtain rod and a wooden walking stick that broke into pieces during the assault. Araujo and Abell tried to clean the room with vinegar, then loaded Seiden’s body into their car and dumped it at the end of an abandoned cul-de-sac off Highway 98, about six miles away. A couple discovered her body there on April 23, 2018.³

How Araujo and Abell Were Caught

After leaving the Panhandle, Araujo and Abell drove roughly 400 miles south to Picavet’s home in the Fort Lauderdale area. Picavet testified that when he asked where Seiden was, Abell answered flatly: “She’s dead.” According to Picavet, Abell said Araujo had killed Seiden while he slept and that she refused to let him call 911.¹

Picavet contacted Araujo’s father, Colonel Tony Araujo of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, through social media. The colonel met Picavet at a gas station and brought him to the sheriff’s office to give a formal statement. Before Araujo and Abell could leave Picavet’s home, police arrested them there. Both were initially charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence; the charges were later upgraded to first-degree murder.⁴ Christina Araujo had allegedly used her father’s position as a threat during the relationship, telling Seiden he could make problems “go away.”⁵ At her sentencing, Colonel Araujo testified he never used his position to protect her: “As heartbroken as I was, I did my duty without fail.”¹

Inside Room 15, investigators found blood saturating the bed. Lt. Ronnie Jones of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office said the volume of blood loss indicated Seiden had died in the room, and luminol testing revealed what he called a “bloody spectacle” in the bathroom. Forensic testing tied the blood to Seiden, connecting the motel room to the body found the day before.¹

Araujo’s Plea Deal

The case took nearly six years to reach a resolution. In April 2023, Araujo pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder. There was no agreement on the length of her sentence. She cooperated knowing she could still receive life in prison.¹

As part of the deal, she became the prosecution’s key witness at Abell’s trial in January 2024. She testified that the violence began after Seiden started to say, “Christina, guess what?”, a remark she said sent Abell into an immediate rage. Araujo admitted hitting Seiden herself but said she left the room during the worst of the beating. She testified that when she returned she saw Abell striking Seiden with the shower curtain rod and the walking stick, that she eventually tried to intervene, and that she did not realize Seiden had died until the next morning.¹

Abell’s Conviction

Abell pleaded not guilty and stood trial alone at the Franklin County Courthouse in Apalachicola in January 2024. His attorney, Alex Morris, blamed Araujo entirely, calling her “manipulative, cunning, a chameleon” and arguing she killed Seiden out of jealousy. Morris pointed to threatening text messages Araujo had sent Seiden before the trip, including one that read, “You come near me hoe, I will kill you,” which he said “read like a confession.”¹ He also cited a photograph Picavet had taken of the couple after the killing that showed injuries to Araujo’s hands and feet, and a medical expert’s testimony that she had severe cellulitis in her hand at the time of her arrest.⁶

The jury could not find the specific intent required for first-degree murder and convicted Abell of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to the maximum penalty: life in prison without parole.⁷

Araujo’s Sentence

On June 7, 2024, Circuit Judge Jonathan Sjostrom sentenced Christina Araujo to 25 years in prison. She received credit for roughly five and a half years already served in Franklin and Liberty County jails since her 2018 arrest, meaning she will likely remain incarcerated into her early sixties.⁸

Judge Sjostrom described the killing as a “torture death” and rejected a defense request for a sentence below the 20-and-a-half-year minimum called for by sentencing guidelines. He acknowledged Araujo’s cooperation but imposed the full 25 years, and apologized to Seiden’s family for the more than six years the case had taken. Before the sentence was imposed, Araujo told the court: “I think about that day every day of my life. The details haunt me, and the memories keep me up.” Seiden’s sister Franceasca appeared by video and called Araujo “psychotic,” a “beast,” and “what nightmares are made of,” telling the court she was “not OK” with anything less than a life sentence.⁸

1
CBS News. Aileen Seiden Florida Throuple Murder Investigation
2
Fox News. Friend Who Heard Murder Confession Thought Furniture Heiress Would End Up Dead
3
Franklin County News. A Body Found, a Room in Disarray
4
MyPanhandle. Investigators Release Victim’s Name in Franklin County Murder
5
CBS News. Aileen Seiden Throuple Florida Murder Mystery
6
MyPanhandle. Defense Attorney Points Finger at Co-Defendant in Franklin County Murder Trial
7
Franklin County News. Abell to Spend Life in Prison for Seiden Murder
8
Franklin County News. Araujo Sentenced to 25 Years