Janet Abaroa was at home with her 6-month-old son the night of April 26, 2005 when she was attacked, stabbed repeatedly and left huddled in a pool of blood on her bedroom floor.
She didn’t know it, but she was in the early stages of pregnancy, and despite some problems in her marriage, Janet’s family told NC WANTED that she was living a good life.
“I think she wanted to just have it work out between her and Raven so that they could have a happy family and raise Kaiden together,” said Janet’s sister, Erika Christiansen.
Her husband, Raven Abaroa, has not been fully cooperative with authorities and moved to Utah with Kaiden shortly after Janet was killed. He is a person of interest in her death, authorities said.
NC WANTED took an in-depth look at the Janet Abaroa murder investigation in November 2007. Raven agreed to sit down for an exclusive interview, where he recalled his version of events the night Janet was murdered. (You can watch our exclusive interview with Raven Abaroa by clicking the links in the gray sidebar at right.)
“The bottom line is that I was not involved with the death of my wife…that I would do anything in the world to keep her here with me and that's just, you know, that's something I know and that's something that Janet knows and I think that's something the people who truly know Janet and truly know me, can understand and appreciate,” Raven told NC WANTED.
But rumors of Raven’s infidelities and his refusal to take a polygraph test have raised suspicions.
“I feel, looking at the evidence that has been presented in this case, that Janet was killed by somebody that knew her,” said Sgt. Perkins of the Durham Police Department.
Raven described April 26, 2005 as an ordinary day. Raven and Janet got off work, picked Kaiden up from daycare and came home to make dinner. A home teacher from their Mormon church came over around 6:30 p.m., and the three read and discussed Scripture together. The teacher left at 7 p.m., not knowing that he would never see Janet again.
From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., according to Raven, he and Janet were at home with Kaiden. Police have no independent confirmation of these events. Raven told police they had a normal evening together, fed Kaiden and put him to bed. Janet watched television while Raven got ready for an indoor soccer game. As he was leaving, Raven told NC WANTED, Janet begged him not to go.
Team members confirm that Raven attended the soccer game, that he arrived on time and left around 10 p.m. to head home. Investigators confirmed that he made one stop on the way home and walked into his unlocked house around 10:40 p.m.
Raven called 911 at 10:58 p.m. to report that he arrived home to find that his wife wasn’t breathing and he thought she had been shot. According to the autopsy report, Janet sustained stabbing injuries at 10:50 p.m., one in the chest and one in the neck. She died at 10:55 p.m.
“I got home and, you know, go upstairs. I'd always go in and give Kaiden a kiss... and just feel his warm little body,” Raven said. “That’s when I found out that something wasn't wrong… Janet died that night. I wasn't there.”
Although investigators are publicly calling Raven a “person of interest,” no charges have been filed and the crime remains unsolved.
If you have any information about the murder of Janet Abaroa, call NC WANTED toll free at 1.866.43.WANTED (1.866.439.2683) or click on "Report a Tip" Your identity can be kept confidential.
Copyright 2009 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.