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Dateline: Deadly Denial covered the case of Janet Abaroa, who was just 25 years of age when she was discovered lifeless in her bedroom in her Durham residence in North Carolina in April 2005. She was stabbed to death, and Raven Abaroa, her husband, informed the police that he came home after attending a soccer game to discover that she was dead. They shared a six-month-old baby who was discovered unharmed elsewhere.
The case resurfaced after Dateline aired it on their show "Deadly Denial," exploring events surrounding her murder and the years that preceded the investigation. Dateline reported that the initial investigation found no signs of a break-in or burglary. Household valuables had been left in plain sight.
One thing that caught our attention was the finding of Janet's contact lenses in their case—a fact opposing Raven's affirmation that Janet had been awake checking emails when he left for the soccer game. Police lacked enough evidence to arrest someone at first, and the case went cold for close to five years.
Dateline also reported the testimony of Janet's friends and relatives, recounting long-standing problems in the marriage, including financial issues and allegations of adultery. Janet had reportedly given thought to divorce but had not pursued it. There were also reports by some that she was pregnant at the time of her murder, news which further unnerved investigators and her family.
Early investigation and physical evidence
Dateline revealed that from the very beginning, the case presented detectives with contradictory information. While she was stabbed several times, Janet had no sign of forced entry and no defensive wounds. The scene of the crime was poorly preserved in physical evidence. A bloody mark and an unknown mark were observed, but they did not point to any known suspect. These observations, though included within the case file, were later labeled as inconclusive.
Police observed Raven Abaroa's inconsistency and conflicting narratives of what had been happening at night, but without concrete forensic facts, the detectives could not arrest. The investigation remained stagnant for five years before 2009, when the case file was reopened by Detective Charles Sole, and the contact lens inconsistency was the key point of detail. This detail became a turning point in refuting Raven's narrative.
The case reopened, and an arrest
Dateline showed that among the reopened investigations was the exhumation of Janet's body to verify if she was using contact lenses at the time of death. According to the forensic analysis, she had indeed been wearing them, which discredited Raven's earlier claims and cast doubt on the credibility of his timeline by the authorities. Raven Abaroa was apprehended in Utah in February 2010 and extradited to North Carolina, where he was indicted for first-degree murder.
Pre-trial, additional inconsistencies were generated, such as histories of adultery and domestic violence. While circumstantial evidence was employed primarily by the prosecution, the defense maintained that other suspects were being overlooked by police and emphasized the lack of any forensic evidence implicating Raven beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Trial, alford plea, and sentencing
Raven's trial started in 2013 but was thrown out on a mistrial when the jury was unable to agree on a verdict unanimously. Facing the chance of retrial, Raven Abaroa pleaded in 2014 to voluntary manslaughter. On the Alford plea, he did not admit guilt but acknowledged that the prosecution had enough evidence to likely secure a conviction. He was sentenced to 95 to 123 months in jail, credited with time served.
Raven Abaroa was released from prison in December 2017. The case was officially closed with the plea bargain. Legal experts have since used the case as precedent when employing circumstantial and behavioral evidence in charging cases where there is no forensic evidence.
Media coverage and public reaction
The case was featured on the majority of the national television networks, such as Dateline NBC, 20/20 on ABC, and 48 Hours. All of the above programs had interviewed the relatives of Janet, police detectives, and other people who were involved in the case.
Dateline's own "Deadly Denial" show particularly highlighted the long period taken to crack the case and emphasized some of the most important turning points in the investigation.
Aftermath and continuing legacy
There have been no additional charges made since Raven's release related to the murder of Janet Abaroa. Her family remembers her and has publicly expressed their hope for increased awareness of domestic violence and cold case homicide awareness. Although the case was solved through a plea and sentencing, it is still used as a case study in investigative persistence and the importance of media coverage in solving cold cases.
The case continues to be of interest because of the conjunction of family dynamics, investigative interest, and legal complexity. It also serves as a reminder of the potency of a small forensic detail—i.e., the placement of her contact lenses—to breathe new life into a case, which ultimately leads to prosecution.
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