Mistrial and Final Alford Plea

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Sell your car today on Carmana Pick up these maily Hello everyone and welcome to episode five hundred eight of the True Crime All the time podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson and with me as always is my partner in True Crime Mike Gibson, Giby, how are you? I'm doing good. about you? I am doing great, man. I'm feeling rested. and I are both coming off of vacation I went to Jamaica Y daughter got married. It was an amazing time. Awesome. And you went to Greece. I went to Greece and had an awesome time with Christina, got engaged. you know, so life is good. That's amazing. Congratulations to you. Thanks So We're both back, we're rested, we're ready for the rest of the year Let's go ahead and give our patreon shout outs. We had Penny Lewis. A Penny Jinxy all like some jinsi Mike Hawk. What's going on, Hawk? Heather Bellamy. Hey Heather. Jennifer Monroe. Well, thank you so much, Monroe. Desae Baker. Hey Desae. And last but not least, Fimkei Van Hiren. loveove that name. Yeah, you do. And if we go back into the vault This week we selected Jennifer Rack Well, thanks, Jennifer. Yeah, we appreciate all the patreon support We have a brand new episode out right now on True Crime All the Time Unsolved, where we're talking about Ben McDaniel. This is a guy who in twenty ten went Cave dive at a popular tourist spot. in Florida And he never resurfaced And they had a bunch of people looking for him And there's a lot of mystery around this because there are some who believe that he was never even in the cate Yeah So we dive into it all Want to go cave diving or? Belonging I definitely don't want to go for a little lunking or whatever you said Cave diving does not sound like fun to me, No. I'm sure if you're one of those real adventurous adrenaline seekers, that would be cool I am not that person They were lucky to get you to go snorkelings way Y. And I did though. Yeah. and had a black. All right, buddy, are you ready to get into this episode of True Crime all the time? I'm ready. We're talking about Janet Aberoa. On april twenty sixth, two thousand five. twenty five year old Janet Abaroa wasabbed to death in her Durham, North Carolina home. early on Investigators had suspicions about her husband Raven But it would take several years before they were able to make an arrest And we know, Gibbs, the husband is always going to be looked at has to be ruled out because husbands Most of the time will have some type of motive, possibly. to want to kill their wives and You know, wives will have a motive two to kill their husband I think you can Look at your spouse right across from right now, right now You know, just look at your spouse right now That spouse has a motive and why they might want to take you out. Yeah you probably have one I want to take them out. And I think it'd be healthy for everybody to sit down You know, husband and wife or husband and husband or wife and wife Yeah. And just talk about your motives. share your motives. Hh it out, Hh it out. Janet Marie Christansen Aberau was born on june nineteenth nineteen seventy nine in Alexandria, Virginia She was the seventh of ten siblings Her family were devoted members of the LDS church That is a big family. That is a big family Now I'm not an expert on the the LDS Church, faith But I believe tend to have larger families than other segments of the population Is that fair to say? It is. I think it's encouraged to grow the family. Yeah, to have bigger families Janet was described as a friendly, outgoing person In nineteen ninety eight, she met Raven at Southern Virginia University where she played soccer Raven also played soccer and the two fell in love quickly So they were both athletes in college, which means they were, you know Playing at a fairly high level, sure And I'm sure they bonded over that. Raven said in a two thousand seven interview with the TV show NC Wanted She was beautiful attractive, I just felt so much comfort When I was with her And we started this journey of getting to know each other and it was an amazing journey. I feel like I heard you say that about your wife Well she is beautiful and attractive And I'm very comfortable when I'm with her And it's been an amazing journey. I said thirty thirty years last month D. In august two thousand, Janet and Raven got married at the LDS Temple in Washington, DC They moved to Southeastern Virginia Soon after the wedding Both got job opportunities at Eurosport Sorting goods company in Hillsboro, North Carolina They settled in nearby Durham I wonder how common that is I think it's common for people to meet and fall in love it. Yeah. But how Con is it to get married and then for both people to find a job at the same company I think that would be Not very common. Less common for sure, right than the other way But eventually they started having marriage problems. According to twenty twenty, Janet's sister Sona Flut said He came to her one day because he wanted to be out of the marriage. 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 You know, I mean for your new husband to come to you I mean, it' a few years, but it's still new say, hey, I've been cheating on you I went out And then Mewhile, she's like, And I'm pregnant I mean, you feel like you got to be stuck Well, Janet did confide in her family that she felt helpless She didn't want to raise her baby as a single mother You know finding out that preregnant For most people is like It Just such a joyous time. Yeah. and it should be. should be happy But she's in the middle of this very bad situation where her husband, you know, is admitting to cheating on her not with one person with several different people Now she has to decide Should I cutem loose or keep them becauseuse I don't want to raaise this baby by myself Their son, Cadden was born on october seventeenth, two thousand four According to Janet's sister Sona, Raven swore he would not cheat on her again So on the outside, it seemed like maybe the two had worked things out But in deecember two thousand four, Raven was caught stealing from the sporting goods company. He embezzled almost ten thousand dollars and're stealing and reselling high end Burchanduck And I was a cheater on a different level which would be horrible. He worked there. by himself. Yeah You have the added element that his wife works there as well How shameful is that to her going to be shameful And it was said that she was mortified And although she wasn't involved in any way, she resigned And I do think it would be hard, right to continue to work there And people are going to talk behind your back and they're probably going to say things about you. Janet was murdered on april twenty sixth, two thousand five It seemed like a normal Tuesday for the family Janet picked Kaden up from daycare and went with Raven to drop her car off for repair A church member visited their home until about seven PM Raven said Janet was getting ready for bed around eight PM when he left to play indoor soccer with friends His game started at nine PM And he got home about ten forteen Raven called nine hundred eleven after finding Janet's body in an upstairs office He told the operator Janet had been shot But police officers quickly realized she'd been stabbed But I think if initially you walk in and see something like that, you could make that mistake. Well and we've heard other people in other cases, right? say something like that This person's been shy, but when you know, the authorities look into it They were stabbed or maybe even the other way around. Let's face it, I'm picturing a very Bloody scene may not be easy to tell what's going on Raven said he found Janet in a kneeling position. Investigators found her lying on her back with her arms above her head t shirt had been pulled up to expose her chest And there was a bloody palm print on her chest Raven reported that he turned her over when she didn't respond Janet was stabbed in the neck and chest. She had what were described as minimal Deensive wound And I think that's something that investigators would take a look at. Right? what does either the lack of defensive wounds or veryery minimal defensive wounds normally me. Yeah that you know the suspect. Yeah, that you weren't confronted by a stranger And that you needed to put up a fight. Yeah. Now you could say Maybe she didn't have defensive wounds because or metedimal defensive wounds because she was taken by surprise I think you can you have to keep all of those things in play The walls in the office were covered with blood, but otherwise the house was neat and order. Kayden was found in another room unharmed There were no signs of forced entry There were no signs of a struggle Raven's laptop and Hunting were the only things missing from the home Other valuables like Janet's engagement and wedding rings We're left in plain sight So you know, these are all things investigators are going to take a look at, right? No signs of forced entry No signs of a struggle kind of also things leading you to think that possibly she knew her killer And Raven's hunting knife is missing and his laptop But yet the person leaves Very valuable jewelry that is left out in plain sight. prettyretty questionable. It is because If you're a killer And you also decide that Well, I've already killed I'm going to take a few things hunting knife doesn't seem to be at the top of the lid. Yeah It's not particularly valuable Now laptop might be worth some money But obviously Her engagement ring, her wedding ring, things like that Those are things that could be worth something and pond relatively easy. Yeah Janet's autopsy revealed that she was in the early stages of pregnancy. So please question rape they didn't identify any suspects. weeeks and then eventually months passed with no answers. and Gibbs with everything we talked about No, obviously Not only does Raven have to be Qestioned But he has to be ruled out, right? He has to be thought of as a person of interest has to be ruled out Too much here Number one, he's the husband He is the person who found Janet, right He said that his laptop and hunting knife were missing this jewelry wasn't I mean, there's nothing there that you would say, o, well, yeah, obviously it's him. but There's all these are also things that potentially make it seem like maybe he had something to do with it. And if he did have something to do with it, did he turn her body over Purposeully That way he could use that as a reason why DNA or fingerprints, whatever We on her body But I keep coming back to this hunting nock She stabbed to death and his hunting knife is missing In august two thousand five, Janet's family reported that Raven and Cadden had moved to the Salt Lake City area On august twenty third, Raven pleaded guilty To five counts of embezzlement, he was sentenced to twenty four months of probation. in order to pay nine thousand six hundred dollars. in restitution A year after Janet was murdered, Police said they didn't think her death was random But they did not yet name any suspects In february two thousand seven It was reported that police traveled to Salt Lake City interview, Raven Police had not called him a suspect and said he was cooperate But that tells me They haven't given up on him Right? I don't think they've ruled him out. They still have questions of him But it also means that They don't have any evidence or at least enough evidence yet T him to the murder Noobody I think they have to keep an eye on Absolutely. And not a bad idea. So maybe every now and then go interview him again You know, is he going to slip up? Is he going to say something different than He said in a previous interview Maybe he'll change his story In december two thousand seven, Raven started dating a woman named Vanessa Pont. Vanessa was a single mom whose daughter was in the same daycare program as Kate Vanessa later told twenty twenty Raven seemed very upfront veryer honest and genuine And I found out that he was a single father And I really, really admired When they started dating Raven mentioned that his wife died And she felt sorry for both him and Kateen You know folks, it's summertime and that changes how I get dressed. You know, I want pieces that are breathable, easy, but still make me look put together. 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That's QuI ncE dot com d slash TCATT for free shipping and three hundred and sixty five day returns Quints dot com slash TCat Vanessa went online to find out more about Janet Step att the time, She wasn't convinced Raven was innocent but she talked to him And according to her, he removed any and every doubt from my mind According to VASA He had his stories about how people were trying to frame him about how horrible the cops were and how he continued to try to contact the police to find out what was going on. Not surprising that she went out to do a little research You know, before she took it to the next level. Yeah. I mean, I think it's a good thing to do And it doesn't surprise me either that Once she learned what really happened Right? Because he didn't say his wife was murdered. He said his wife died. Yeah In the research, she's going to very quickly find out that she was murdered in a very brutal way, you're going to have some additional questions, right for this person. I'm going to need some answers But according to her He erased any doubts that she had So maybe he's a very convincing person. They eventually decided to move in together. On Mother's Day, two thousand eight, they got en gaged When Janet's sisters found out about the engagement They felt they had to reach out to Vanessa. make sure she knew what she was getting into They told her they were fearful And that's to recall, I was heartbroke I didn't want to believe it at all that he had done this but surely before the wedding Raven began acting in ways She didn't understand On the day of her bridal shower Vaness and Raven got into an argument Raven shoved her into a wall poked her in the chest so hard that it hurt for several days after Vanessa pleaded with him to stop She later testified per WRAL He said he didn't careify doocs. He said he wanted to hit me so bad and that he couldn't get in trouble anymore He swung his hand back and stop just before Hitting her Okay Anger issues? Yeah, and it's a very bad sign for someomeone who is about to get married that It seemed to me all of a sudden she's starting to see a different side to this guy And you think it would be a good reason maybe to pause getting married. Well do you have to also couple it with Janet's family reaching out to you and say, hey worried about you. we want you to know what you're getting into I mean Think about all of the people listening Gibbs. A lot of whom have gotten married I'll ask the question. How many of you listening right now received a call from someone in your loved one's life who said You should not get married to this person. We're worried about you. He's dangerous. I mean, That would be a a real eye opener. It would be For a lot of people And I'm going to think we're going to get a couple calls where people will tell you that they did get a call like that. Yeah. But you know, when you think about You know NSsa I mean Red flags you know, you got two prettyty sizable red flags here Red flags, yes. But is Raven so convincing that maybe he's able to been some of these things Cause you think about the family calling Could he spin it and say Well You know, they have their suspicions. I didn't do it, but they think I did. So they're going to tell you a bunch of stuff about me. None of it's true. Now I don't know how you spin this act of domestic violence because She was the victim of She She was there. She witnessed it But if he can spin it He's going to find a way to spend it. Yeah, and maybe it's it's the old line of I'm sorry. I'm never going to do it again. trust me And maybe that that work because it does work sometimes Yeah for some people But they got married On september sixth, two thousand eight acccording to Vanessa on the first night of their honeymen. He was very drunk And he started talking about how mad he was after Janet died He just kept reiterating how mad he was. And then he cuddled up close to me and said Promise I'll never hurt you And I didn't know how to take that Yeah, it's a little strange. Jam at that moment Maybe, you know, this is Post Cidas. I don't know what's going on. It's honeymoon, right? Night. So You know, you're laying there, you're spooning whatever you're doing He is talking about the murder of his first wife and then When you add on to it promise I'll never hurt you Right Now I'm sure he didn't emphasize the you, but you could make it out that way. R? Yeah in that type of context If you just say it out of the blue, I'll always take care of you. I promise I'll never hurt you Okay But when you're talking about how your wife was murdered and you say, I promise I'll never hurt you It takes on a different gravity I feel like it, u It changes the mood of a honeymoon. But yeah I would think it would Raven became verbally abusive And he had rapid moot swings, Vanessa told twenty twenty Within moments, he could switch He could say the most horrible things And then moments later, he would apologize. And I think there are a lot of people out there especially When you talk about people who commit acts of domestic violence who are physically or emotionally abusive, They can flip on a dime But d Awards, it's all, you know, o, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry. It's it's whatever they can say to try to keep that person from either leaving them or calling the cops or both Vanessa said there were also further incidents of physical abuse She recalled, He grabbed me from the door and threw me up against the wall And then I fell Later, he tried to convince me that I tripp Is that the definition of gaslight Oh I think it is. Prime, rightight? Prime Vanessa began to fear for her safety and her daughter's safety She worried what would happen If she left So she tried to get Raven And he did so onn Christmas Eve, two thousand eight Vanessa said in an interview with NC wanted He was in the process of cursing me, calling me names saying how he hated me tellelling me he didn't care if I died Then he said, you know what I want to hit you so bad And I can't get in trouble for it anymore. So he was pushing me around in the bathroom and wouldn't let me out of the bathroom And later as Raven was leaving He went downstairs and grabbed Kaden and said, comeome on, we have to go Bommy doesn't want us anymore. Who does that to a child Their marriage was annulled after just four months Yeah, I can see why Yeah, I mean Just think about all the stuff that we talked about Prior to the wedding and then what happened after the wedding I mean, this just never was good from the get go. I don't think. I think it was four months of u What did I get myself into? I have made uh a terrible decision On the part of Vanessa He really I mean, and he's saying how he really wants to hit her. just Not good. But also what do you make of that canan't get in trouble for it anymore Yeah, it's almost as though He's gotten in trouble for it before And this would be an additional and maybe more severe punishment would follow I mean, you can take that a couple different ways. Yeah. I don'm not sure how he was leading this, but it There's something there In the spring of two thousand nine, Vanessa went public with her fears that Raven killed Jim In her interview with NC Wed Vanessa recalled how she searched Raven's name online and found his october two thousand seven interview with the program. He told Vanessa he spent months preparing for the interview And she wondered why he had to prepare so much. She also saw a video made by Raven that showed him opening a knife. front of Janet and talking about how he liked to collect nots She was disturbed by the video because Raven told her he never had a knife collection and was not fascinated by none. Okay I mean I have a knife collection So do I? You and I have talked about it before. Yeah And I like My knives. I't know if' Oly fascinated by them No, I wouldn't say Fascination is the word. But I like to collect a lot of things. You know I do. I do. I have a ton of different collections down here in the studio. I'm looking at at least three or four of them right now. Yeah. But that's just, you know, my personality And I never ask what's behind that door there that has the chain on it. And you should never. I don't really want to know But I don't think there's any doubt Right? That between turbulent marriage The stuff that she's finding online. the discrepancies between what she was told by Raven and what he said in interviews, what she sing in videos She just has a completely different opinion Right? then she did Maybe in the beginning when she was defending Yes She can't do that any longer. As the wedding approached, Vanessa's parents decided to ask Raven directly if he killed Janet A acccording to Jodeine Pond, And Raven's response to that was, I loved my wife. in a beating around the bush kind of way Yeah, I I mean if you want to have A sign that maybe this marriage is not going to work out The bride's parents having to ask the groom if he killed his first wife seemeems to be a real bad sign to me. I imagine if that would have happened this past week down down where you were at? Yeah, you know I just can't even imagine having to come out and ask that No. that just tells you extent to which they were worried about it, they were thinking about it This it's not Off the cuff question. There's a definite concern there. Absolutely I feel like Some of this conversation should happen happen Well before. comoming up on the wedding Well, and you don't we don't know, right? How much or what type of conversations they had with Vanessa about, you know, maybe this is not a great idea. we don't know. There's always some of that maybe here That year, the Durham police assigned detective Charlesl to review Janet's case Soul noted from the beginning. that Raven gave contradictory statements to law enforcement Soul also learned that the family was dealing with financial problems. Raven took out a life insurance policy on Janet, which He cashed in days after she died. Despite the fact that they were behind on bills and receiving aid from their church Raven never missed a payment on that life insurance policy. See, that's that's pretty telling It is. Now You and I have talked about life insurance policies before. I mean, they are a good thing. But you want to be able to take care of your family in the event that somethingomet tragic should happen to you But I would think for a lot of people If you can't pay your bills If you can't put food on the table That might be one of the first payments that goes unpaid. Yeah. you mean you're G've got to shift her priorities Chime is fee free banking built for you. They are not like the stuffy traditional old banks, charging you overdraft and monthly fees. Chime does things differently. They also have thousands of fee free ATMs. Why in the world would you pay to get your own money? Chime is rated five stars by USA Today for customer service They have real humans twenty four seven. 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Soul reviewed crime scene photos and noticed a key detail Janet's contact Lynn's case was sitting open in the bathroom indicating that she had not yet taken out her contact Family and friends told Seoul that Janet consistently removed her contacts before going to bed So this kind of contradicted Raven's story. that she was getting ready for bed When he left the house Sol also noted the lack of disturbance of the crime scene With stabbings, there's usually a violent struggle between the victim and the perpetrator And that's part of what we talked about Right? There were Quite a few things at least on the surface seem to indicate that either Janet knew her attacker. or she was taken So completely by surprise that she didn't have a chance to react reallyally whatsoever? On february first, twenty ten Raven Aaroa was arrested and charged with first agreemor In july twenty ten, the Christansen family agreed to have Janet's body exhumed to determine if she was still wearing her contact Forensic analysis determined Janet had AuView contacts in her eye which she always took out as she got ready for bed This was enough evidence to send Raven to trial Okay. It seems thin. It does. But there's a lot of stuff I think behind it But I wouldn't say I wouldn't call it smoking gun But it does contradict his story. It does. right? She always takes out her contacts When she goes to bed, he said she was getting ready for bed So They must have thought that was enough Jury selection began on april twenty second, twenty thirteen. In their motion to dismiss, the defense claimed investigators collected blood pointed to a third person at the scene and argued that a state Bureau of invvestigation agent who examined blood on Janet's shirt was discredited in twenty eleven for fabricating, ignoring, and withholding evidence in several other criminal trials An independent investigator did not agree with the original investigators' findings They also argued that evidence left at the crime scene which was destroyed by a church cleaning cre could have cleared But it doesn't surprise me that the defense is going to file a motion to dismiss I think what is a big problem And you do see this sometimes R When you have someone in a position of power In this case you know an agent with the Bureau of Investigations who is discredited And they were part of this case There's a little bit of tank there. Oh it's going to hurt and it does happen sometometimes The judge denied the motion to dismiss and the trial opened on april twenty ninth, twenty thirteen. The jury heard from eighty witnesses, including Raven's ex wife, Vanessa Pond. and several other women who testified to Raven's violent behavior several of Janet's friends also testified regarding Raven's abusive behavior that's not going to be good for him. No But it's just a piece of the puzzle It is Right? You can be an abusive person, but not be a murderer doesnn't make you a good guy. but it also doesn't necessarily mean you're No, it doesn't. Prosecutors offered no motive but said circumstantial evidence would build a picture of why Raven was guilty. I mean, yeah. you can Somehow toss in into the life insurance. Yeah You also throw in the fact that he was a cheater on several levels. Yeah, maybe one to be with someone else Maybe the motive was money They don't always have to prove motive or they don't have to prove motive But like I talk about a lot, I mean, I think so many of these cases Oh. in large part circumstantial And it's just putting buuy brick buildilding the case up where the jury believes beyond a reasonable doubt that the person is guilty I just don't always think it's like the Perry Mason episodes that we used to watch. I mean, you watched them when they first came out. I watched the reruns because they were in black and white. but you know, in Perry Mason, there was always that Aha bombshell. Oh yeah. where Now he was getting his client off because he was a defense attorney, right? But It's kind of the thing It was proven. somethingomething bombs Shelly was Right Proving that his client couldn't have done it I don't think in a lot of these cases the prosecution, you know, they always have O piece of evidence like DNA that proves conclusively the person did it. I think a lot of times it is just circumstantial But it's a lot of circumstantial evidence In their opening statement, the defense acknowledged that Raven wasn't perfect But there was no evidence to suggest he killed Janet The Durham police focused solely on him and ignored evidence that might have pointed to another suspect Investigators found an unknown fingerprint in the closet of the office began the disregard of evidence that might have cleared him. Investigators also found a bloody shoeeprint next to Janet's body and a bloodstain on the frame of the side door of the home that contained unidentified DNA That could come from anything Well, it could, but I do think, you know, if if you break down the defense's argument, they're making some strong points. They are trying to say That investigators got tunnel vision, right? They locked in on Raven pretty much disregarded anything else The one thing that you you can talk about an unknown fingerprint in the office or the closet of the office Yeah we. That could come from, you know, a lot of different The one that is kind of disturbing is a bloodstain that contains unidentified DNA. All right Could that come from Somebody doing some work on the house, somebody that came over from the church and was helping out happen to have a cud or something. Yeah, it could By. But you know, the defense is going to try to make it out that all right, this is the real killer right here. Why are you not trying to go get him The defense noted that There had been more than a dozen car and home break inss in the neighborhood prior to the murder, including a car break in on the night of the crime In that case, a jarve of coins in the car was disturbed Police ignored evidence of a canine leading investigators to a creek front of the Aberau home where they found a coin So they're trying to tie The murder into, you know, all of these car break inss and home break ins. Well if she couldn't For them, it benefits timeim all together Yeah, because you can see how, you know posossibly it could cast some doubts And A juror or jurors Janet's mother, who's also named Janet testified that her daughter confided in her, that Raven left the marriage because he was unfaithful Janon said that Raven verbally abused her but didn't hit her Janet Christensen testified per WRAO. She said that he would be up and happy And then that he would be way down. And when he was way down, she said what he did was verbally abuse him And we've talked about verbal and physical abuse a lot. overver the years And they're both terrible. But we have had listeners write in leave voicemails and say that They've experienced both And some people have said that the the verbal can actually be worse sometimes. Yeah, they get lingers with them But again Neither one is good. No. noobody should be doing that stuff Unfortunately, it does happen way too often Former neighbor Lisa Seealy testified that on several occasions, she could hear the couple having heated arguments twowo weeks before the crime She saw Janet holding onto the hood of the couple's car while Raven was driving They both laughed off the situation. and said they were kidding, but she was concerned because it was abnormal and because of the prior argument It seems like something you would see in a made for TV movie or just a movie. Yeah. like You have somebody hanging on a car while somebody else is driving it could have been that it was a real argument But then when they saw that, you know, one of the neighbors was Wing, they tried to play it off because they didn't want to look bad or something like that Durham officer Jason Williams testified that Raven was extremely composed When he spoke to the police after finding his wife's body He was crying, but not uncontrollable He had an answer for again on how people respond when they find their Thouse murdered. Some people are going to lose They're mine Other people will shut down. someome people find a way to be I don't want to say cool and cm, but it's kind of they're kind of cool and calm. Yeah, you know, and they're maybe they break down later when no one's around It could be. I mean, there is no one way, but you'd have to admit that the more calm and collected you are, The stranger is going to look to police and people who respond to these types of situations a lot because it's not going to be the normth Former medical examiner Thomas Clarark testified that Janet suffered three stabs One to her left hand. O to her chest. and one tour next The neck wound was fatal. She likely lost consciousness within a few minutes and died soon after The neck wound cut the right subclavian arteror and punctured her right lung. causing her to bleed about. two liters of blood into her chest. And It sounds like a very horrible way to die. It really does Janet's hormone levels indicated that she had recently been pregnant During cross examination Clark said the levels also could have been high after a recent miscarry And we just got done a little bit ago talking about possible motives The one that we didn't talk about was Raven finding out that Janet was pregnant and not wanting to be a dad after this marriage had crumbled justust really seems like a u A of rage how she died Somebody Really upset Clarark said it was impossible to determine the exact time of death because of factors such as the temperature of the house affecting decomposition Raymond Wilson Raven's former boss at the Sorting goods compompany testified that he played with Raven on the company soccer team Raven's personality on the soccer field was different He got into arguments. and sometimes physical, But I don't know what you make of that, Gibbs. I mean are people sometimes different when they play sports? I would say yeah. I think so. It's a pretty competitive sport too. I mean you're going be pus in and Jousting, you know out on that field and that's kind of normal. I know, I'm a different person on the basketball court than I am in the Oice Oh, I'm not sure. I'm not body checking people in the office. It's frowned upon by HR, I believe. But on the court, I mean, it's a physical game. And sometimes, you know, you're pushing, shoving, you're yelling at people, you're getting into arguments. That's why so many people at the office that play basketball with you After hours didn't really want to play basketball with you after hours. Yeah tend to be a little row Janet's friend, Megan Dowd Cnsesel, testified that Janet confessed to her that she was scared of her husband months before she was killed Megan said, she told me things were getting weird and that Raven was making her nervous that she was scared of him before Janet could elaborate Raven walked into the room. Megan told W R A L Janet bowed her head and just looked like a scared Megan also testified that Raven flirted with her shortly after her conversation with Jan. Raven was sitting on her couch and asked her to look at something on his computer He told her to sit in his lap And she looked at him like he was crazy as I would think most women would Whenin theirir friend's husband tells them to sit on their lap That is not a normal Interaction. No No, it's not. notot going to probably go over well with your wife either If she finds out about it. Yeah. And then the friendship's going to be in danger as well Be fearless in the sun. with Blue Lizard Australian sunscreen. Whether you're diving into ocean waves, or simply chasing your kids around the backyard, Blue Lizard has you covered so you can enjoy every moment worry free, designed for your whole family and free from fragrances, parabinens, and phalates. Blue Lizard is your go to mineral sunscreen, trusted by dermatologists, pediatricians, and parents Shop now on amazon. com and be fearless in the sun with Blue Lizard Australian sunscreen Meaggan testified that during another visit with Janet in early two thousand four Janet told her she thought her husband might have bipolar disorder Megan said she didn't know who she was going to have to deal with each day Raven was never the same person. His mood could be one way, one day. and completely different than that That's so scary, man It is Charlotte Ravel testified outside the jury's presence that in two thousand three Raven invited her to his apartment to discuss a problem she was having at work Janet wasn't there And Raven wanted her to watch a video of him and Janet having sex She didn't want to see it She tried to pull away At that time, Janet returned home from work to have lunch And Raven pushed her into a closet She was completely freaked out and didn't know what to do It's not funny It's not, but you you almost have to laugh because it's so Wow. And the fact that she went into the closet and probably stayed there. Because she didn't know what to do. Yeah But I do think what these people are doing is They're painting a real bad picture of rape Sure, right? This is the guy who obviously didn't care much about his wife because Where did he know he had numerous extramarital affairs You've got the this these testimonies of You know, he flirted with me. He asked me to sit on my lap He wanted me to watch a video of him and Janet having sex. I mean, this is just Very strange stuff It makes you just wonder. you know, next time you go over to a friend's house and they put a tape in You're like, 's tape about Yeah, first of all, I'm gonna to ask, why do you have a VHS in twenty twenty six? That's gonna be my first question. That's the first red flag right there How old is this Now, the judge ultimately allowed Charlotte's testimony because it helped establish a motive that Raven didn't want to be married. And I think that's important, right? If you're the prosecution, you are trying to get that across to the jury Here's a man didn't want to be married He has this life insurance policy that Despite having financial difficulties, he kept making the payments on. Can you put it all together And he casted it in within days Janet told her friend and coworker Kathy Cheek that As long as Raven took his medicine He was okay. And when he didn't, he was verbally me Janet told Kathy that they separated in early two thousand four but didn't tell her why Kathy said, Janna just said that she was sad and lonely and didn't understand why he left Why things were the way they were Janet feared Raven's reaction when she found out she was pregnant with Cayden because Raven didn't want to chop Well that's just going to time down even longer So you have to take that into account when she then finds out that she's pregnant later on before she's killed Oh yeah, I'm sure it's a u struggle for her to deal with. Kning how he felt about the First child And that's when maybe the relationship was actually halfway decent Now It's in the dumper Oh, it's teer time. bigig time dump dumper You saying you have a big time dumper I wonder if you're gonna pick up on that. on at least two occasions in the two months before her death Janet called Kathy from a payfound asking if she and Kayden could spend the day with her because Raven was in one of his mood Adrianne Nelson, a friend who worked for an insurance company in Utah testified that Raven asked her about different life insurance policies During a visit in late two thousand four Adrian told him that because of some of Janet's health issues It was unlikely she would qualify policy worth more than five hundred thousand dollars Raven said he could find a better insurance policy for cheaper Janet's friend Brittneany Remito testified that Janet considered moving away at one point But she decided to stay and work on the mor. When she became pregnant with Kaden However, she told me her greatest fear was that her child would ever be alone with Raven. I don't know about you, but I'm just getting this feeling that Janet was just in a horrible position I fel like she was, u loocked in between a rock and a hard place. I mean, She got married I think She saw who this guy really was A she was married and already had a child together It's kind of in our nature, most of us to try to make things work Especially when there's a child involved According to Brittanyy, Janett was once fun, happy, and strong, but she was beaten down byy ravens abuse Brittney testified The loving charismatic Jin that I knew no longer existed after being in a relationship that was so abusive for so long only motivation once Cayen was born was Kayaden and keeping Raven happy Witnesses testified about the couple's financial problems. Raven talked about selling his truck or motorcycle. and had to negotiate his lease for cheaper rent At the time of Janet's death, he was working as an admission specialist for a company that specializes in online courses. And he was making about thirty thousand dollars a year He was in jeopardy of losing his job if he didn't reach Sales go During a review of financial records from the couple's home Investigators learn that the couple spnd as much as they make. They had four auto loans a five hundred thousand dollars insurance policy for Janet and a one million dollar policy for rape There was a check in Janis organizer for more than e thousandleven hundred dollars to a bankruptcy attorney But they never filed for Definitely in financial distress. Yeah. But here's my question Why does a guy who makes thirty thousand dollars a year need a one million dollars life insurance Don't doesn't make any sense Right? mayaybe if you do ten times cururrent earnings so maybe three hundred thousand, but why? We five hundred, a million just seems very high. Now a person could make the argument that if you've got something nefarious in mind ? You want to have more out on you so that you can make the argument, well, you know, I didn't kill for money. I had a million on me We only had five hundred thousand dollars on her. I mean, it looks better than if it was if it was for The other way around or something like that Janet's sister, Sona Flood testified that Janet stayed in the marriage because despite everything. She wanted to keep her commitment to Raven and to God And that's another thing that we kind of haven't talked about in a while And that's the The LDS fate Yeah So, you know, how much of that played into it for Janet. wanting to keep this marriage together. I think it So made a big piece of. I imagine it did as well Sonya also testified that a few weeks after the murder, when Raven stayed with her at her home in Virginia. She found a CD backup of his computer hard drive dated april twenty fifth The day before the murder Her husband made copies And she waited to give them to the police because she was unsure and had mixed emotions accccording to WRAL, Sony said I was really mixed because Raven was someone Janet L And I loved Janet, even though thinking He had committed this act, it was still hard to Soort through it Vanessa Pond also testified about the abuse she underers during her marriage to Raven. She testified that despite her reservations about his innocence and the violent incident on the day of her bridal shower, She went through the wedding because as she said I was really the only one in the position to get the information that they needed, so I felt like I could do that I went through with the wedding. and if he wasn't guilty, then we could have a great relationship with a lot of bumps along the way. But if he was guilty, I was hoping that I could help She's trying to be positive, right? If it's Not good if he's If he's a killer? Yeah, then then what? I can help put him away. It does seem And I don't want to second guess people, right? That's not my place But it does seem like a strange reason to go through with a marriage. It does If he's not guilty, then maybe it'll be okay If he is, then I can help put him away. It's pretty strange rationale. It is, but Who am I to judge The jury also heard from Raven's former coworker who said, she had sex with him on a late night road trip because she was unsafe and was unsure what he might do to her They became friends when She was seventeen and still in high school Their relationship changed in college in the fall of two thousand three on the way back from a road trip to Charlotte Raven started making unwanted sexual advances And they pulled off at a highway resturop where they had sex testified. I finally realize that I'm going to need to follow through with what's happening. I felt like I was unsafe and that something was going to happen. I just wanted it to be over On the way back, she was so nervous that she left her hair in the car So investigators could find her DNA If something happens She never talked about that night with rape So he sexually assaulted her Yeah, I mean This is a very bad guy He's not yet convicted of Janet's murder But if All this other stuff is true. You know, he's an abuser He's a sexual predator. At the very least The jury also heard that when Janet was exhumed Contact lenses were found in I which discredited Raven's story that Jana was getting ready for bed when he left that night The defense maintained that Janet never spoke of physical abuse and that most people who knew them said they were a normal happy And I'm telling you, Gibbs, I've talked about it Time and time again There is a difference in many people's lives, between What happens behind closed doors And what they let those people around them see Very true. I actually think that's especially true some of these men who are phhysically and verbally abusive They don't want people to see that So they don't do that in front of friends and family They try not to. They sayve that for you know, behind closed doors where nobody else can see. In most cases, these are going to be Fun loving peoplee to hang out with. Yeah. you're not going to know it They have to have their facade Yeah Defense witnesses provided a different view of the couple's relationship. One witness said that Janet and Raven were a prime examplple of what he wanted for his future relationships. He never heard the couple argue Darius Narings testified that he lived with the couple for several months in two thousand three and never heard them argue or saw signs of mistreat During the trial The defense learned about Janet's work computer and hard drive which they didn't have access to before Forensic examiners found dozens of flirtatious emails between Janet and a former boyfriend which Essentially turnurn this case on its head acccording to the defense, The emails were dated within weeks of the crime So I think what they're trying to say there, Gibbs is Okay. So we have another person who may have had a motive to kill mean you can try to make that case. And I think that's something they would do or did. Prosecutors presented their theory of how Janet died in closing arguments She had likely finished washing dishes and was prepping lunch for the next day when she was killed Her rings were found by the kitchen sink Witnesses testified earlier that she never washed dishes with her rings on Peanut butter, jelly, bread and sandwich bags were also laid out on the counter It was likely that Raven called her to the office and stabbed her as soon as she stepped into the room There was little indication of a struggle. Janet never saw it coming A being stabbed in the chest She likely fell to her knees, clutching her throat Raven approached her from behind and stabbed her in the hand in the neck. She then fell face down The prosecution hinted at a financial movee Raven wanted to live beyond his means And he was in financial straightits, he was close to losing his job. and facing embezzlement charges He hadn't paid rent but never failed to pay the premium on Janet's life insurance policy, which could help solve all of his problems I In their closing argument, the defense noted that the police ignored evidence, including the computer hard drive found in storage at the Durham PD The hard drive allowed the state to present a dishonest picture of who Janet Abero was who Raven Aberoa is and what their relationship was like So the case went to the jury on may twenty ninth Then on may thirty first The judge declared a mistrial to a hung jury. The jury deadlocked eleven to one in favor of conviction Wow, eleven to one So there was one person who held out Raven rejected two plea deal proposals But then in twenty fourteen, rather than risk a retrial Raven agreed to enter an alfered plea on march twelfth, twenty fourteen Raven made an alered plea for voluntary manslaughter He was sinned to ninety five to one hundred and twenty three months in prison. Credit for four years time sir Raven said in Cord is quoted by WRAL I didn't receive a fair trial the first time and I don't think I'll receive a fair trial the second time The fact is that I love my family very much. And I don't think it's worth risking the possibility of spending the rest of my life in prison for something I didn't do. I take this plea to ensure that that doesn't happen And that's the only reason did not kill my wife Raven served three more years in prison and was released on Christmas Day, twenty seventeen And from what I could tell, Gibbs, He's not spoken publicly about this sense I don't know why you would want to open that up. And I'm with you. I don't know what he would have to gain by talking about it. at all But I want to go back to the Alford play I mean, really, Gibbs, if you think about it, It was probably the best thing for him wayay this was headed for sure I mean, eleven to one to convict Hung jury is pretty close Yeah thinking that you're going to spend possibly the rest of your life in prison I mean, he's arrested and twenty ten. He's released in two thousand seventeen. So he did seven years I mean, yeah, pretty lucky, right? I mean, seven years after he pleaded Now If he's not guilty He lost seven years of his life Yeah And I will say that, you know, this is not a slam dunker. There's a there's a lot of evidence that doesn't make him look good, right? leans toward him being guilty. It doesn't surprise me that eleven people voted to convict him. I could see that. sure can. I could also see how a person maybe had some reservations then maybe the state just didn't quite have enough In twenty nineteen, Raven's ex wife, Vanessa Pon told twenty twenty that Her advice for women who might meet rape is to stay far away from him She said, please listen to what's out there What's available on the internet, please don't be drawn in And please get away as fast as you can So for me You know, as we wraped this one up, He did serve seven years in prison Like I said, If he didn't do it, He lost seven years of his life. Yeah But if he killed his wife in cold blood, as I believe a lot of people think he did He got off really light in my eyes. He really did But the offered plea to me It takes both sides Right? So that means Maybe the state wasn't all that confidence. I think they had to be lacking something for them to even consider it. That's usually how it goes. Yeah.