FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Authorities have arrested a man and a woman in Broward County in connection to the death of a North Miami woman in the Florida Panhandle.
Investigators said Zachary Abell and Christina Araujo killed 31-year-old Aileen Seiden last week in Franklin County.
According to Franklin County Sheriff A.J. Smith, the victim was returning to South Florida from a road trip to Texas.
“Very horrific. Her death was a very horrific death,” said Smith.
Officials said Abell and Araujo worked with Seiden at Abell’s used car business in North Miami Beach.
Smith said the trio’s trip to Texas was supposed to be for business purposes, but he described their relationship as a love triangle.
“They were traveling through town, stopped at a local motel, and at some point over their stay, there was an altercation in the room, and she was beaten to death,” said Smith.
The victim’s sister, Franceasca Seiden, said she was struck severely. “They beat her face and her throat and her ribs in,” she said.
Seiden’s body was found on the side of the road near the North Florida town of Eastpoint, April 23.
Franceasca described her sibling as a very special person. “She was gorgeous, she was hilarious, she was strong-headed,” she said. “She had an affinity for animals. She loved her friends; her friends loved her.”
After the crime, authorities said, Abell and Araujo made it back to South Florida. The accused killers stayed with a friend in Davie.
However, that friend told 7News he called police when he learned about what happened in the Panhandle.
Agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement took the duo into custody on April 24.
Nearly a week later, a business neighbor in North Miami Beach, who asked not to be identified, said she found it odd that she hadn’t seen Abell, Araujo or Seiden around work in a while.
“I was totally shocked,” said the neighbor. “I would’ve never thought that of them. They were just regular people.”
Abell and Araujo have been charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence. They are currently being held at the Broward County Jail, as they await extradition to Franklin County.
Franceasca, who lives in Los Angeles, is now making funeral arrangements. “I’m laying my baby sister to rest. It’s the most surreal thing in the world,” she said.
As she grieves her sister, Franceasca said she is glad those allegedly responsible for her death are behind bars. “I do believe in karma … What I want is justice, and I want them to never have freedom again,” she said.
A vigil for Seiden has been scheduled for Thursday at North Shore Park in Miami Beach, beginning at 7 p.m.
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