Pedro Bravo emerged from a side door in courtroom 3C Tuesday, his hair shorter than in his mugshot from last year. He wore a red jumpsuit and glanced quickly around the packed courtroom.
About 50 feet away, the Aguilar family members sat in the audience as they watched the accused killer of their 18-year-old son, Christian Aguilar, take the lectern as part of a case management hearing at the Alachua County Courthouse.
Bravo, 19, stands accused of his connection to the murder of Christian Aguilar, a UF freshman who went missing in September. In October, two hunters found Christian Aguilar’s half-buried body in a Levy County hunting area about 40 miles southwest of Gainesville.
As of Tuesday, Bravo is charged with premeditated murder, mishandling dead human body remains, filing a false report to police, lying to police, kidnapping, destroying evidence and poisoning food, water or medicine with the intent to kill, according to jail records.
Although the case management hearing led the case to be rescheduled for another hearing in April, Carlos Aguilar said making the journey from Doral to attend Bravo’s court hearings is a way to show the court he and his family are still interested in the case.
“For me, it’s important to be at every single one,” he said. “That shows him that we are going to be here, and we’re still looking for justice.”
Carlos Aguilar said his family has not spoken to Bravo or his family since Bravo’s arrest Sept. 24. Seeing him at Tuesday’s hearing reminded Carlos Aguilar about his son’s death.
“[Bravo] saw us,” Aguilar said. “It was important to me to see his face and also that he sees me and I’m there and that my family’s there.”
Carlos Aguilar said the family is seeking the death penalty or a life in prison sentence for Bravo.
“It’s very difficult because we know what he did, and he’s alive, and he’s there,” he said. “And I’m going to have to wait at least one or two years to see justice.”
Since the recovery of Christian Aguilar’s body, Carlos Aguilar said he doesn’t want people to remember his son only from the tragedy.
In November, he and his family started the Christian Aguilar Search and Rescue Foundation, an organization dedicated to using trained tracking dogs to find missing victims.
Aguilar said Strike Force K9, a Miami-based dog training company, donated two dogs to his foundation.
Jai, a 9-month-old Belgian Malinois, and Atos, a 2-year-old Dutch Shepherd, are being trained to work with the foundation, said Scott Vega, director of operations and president of Strike Force K9.
“I’m a firm believer there is no nose better than a dog’s nose,” he said. “Whatever you don’t see and whatever you don’t smell, the dog will see it and smell it long before you do.”
A third dog, a 7-month-old Belgian Malinois named Yafi, will join the ranks once training is complete.
Vega said the foundation is working to get certified by FEMA to send trained search and rescue professionals to assist investigators in missing persons investigations.
“We have to work hand in hand with law enforcement agencies,” he said. “We don’t want to step on their toes.”
Vega said the foundation will begin operating in Florida “in the near future.” He said the goal is to expand nationwide.
“There are a lot of people missing in the country, and there are a lot of families that are hurting right now,” he said. “The bigger picture is wanting to help humanity.”
Until the April hearing, Carlos Aguilar, his family, friends and supporters will have to wait for more answers and, eventually, justice.
“Every day you wake up, and you think about my son,” Carlos Aguilar said. “And every night, we go to sleep, and we think about Christian. So the pain is still there. I think it’s not going to go away. It’s in our heart, and we’re going to continue praying.”
Contact Chris Alcantara at calcantara@alligator.org.
Carlos Aguilar, father of slain UF student Christian Aguilar, speaks to reporters outside of the Alachua County Courthouse Tuesday afternoon after the case management hearing of Pedro Bravo, who is accused of Christian Aguilar’s kidnapping and murder.
Pedro Bravo walks into a case management hearing Tuesday at the Alachua County Courthouse. Bravo, 19, is accused of kidnapping and murdering Christian Aguilar.
