As the search for a missing UF student moved to northeast Gainesville, police released new information Wednesday about what the suspect purchased before Christian Aguilar’s disappearance.
In a press conference at the Alachua County Fairgrounds Wednesday morning, Gainesville Police spokesman Ben Tobias said police confirmed that Pedro A. Bravo purchased a shovel and a roll of duct tape several days before Aguilar went missing.
Tobias said police did not recover either of the items. He added that Aguilar’s last known cellphone activity was at 8:14 p.m. Sept. 20 when it was turned off. However, the phone has not been found.
Aguilar, an 18-year-old biomedical engineering freshman from Miami, was photographed while walking into a Best Buy with Bravo, an 18-year-old student at Santa Fe College, to purchase Kanye West’s “Cruel Summer” CD at about 3 p.m. Sept. 20.
Tobias said Bravo and Aguilar met at UF earlier that day.
Police recovered the disc jewel case and wrapping, but not the CD. If the CD is found, it “may lead us to some more information,” Tobias said.
Police named Bravo a person of interest Friday, after he said he fought with Aguilar and left him in a parking lot in the 4900 block of Northwest 13th Street.
Police arrested Bravo on Monday on a charge of depriving a victim of medical care, which is a third-degree felony.
Bravo remains in the Alachua County Jail with a $100,000 bond and hired a lawyer.
Volunteers and officers combed through the wooded areas Wednesday near the fairgrounds, the Gainesville Regional Airport, the Airport Industrial Park and the State Road 121 corridor, but no new evidence was found, Tobias said.
Carlos Aguilar, Christian Aguilar’s father, also spoke with reporters Wednesday.
In lieu of the new information from police, Carlos Aguilar, 45, said he and his family will continue to look for his son.
“We still believe there is hope,” he said.
Carlos Aguilar talked about the relationship between his son and Bravo, saying he never saw any problems within their group of friends.
“Pedro was a boy who never demonstrated fighting, and we never knew of him getting into any conflicts,” he said in Spanish at the press conference. “And at least to my knowledge, I never knew that one of the boys from Doral was involved in drugs or any of those activities.”
Carlos Aguilar said he saw the court video from Bravo’s first appearance Tuesday, and described him as not the same person he knew.
“That’s a criminal walking with a cold-blood mind,” he said.
Carlos Aguilar said he believed his son’s disappearance wasn't tied to his relationship with Erika Friman, who is Bravo’s ex-girlfriend.
“I know that in this circle of lies that he’s thrown out, he said that it’s because of a love story, and that’s a lie,” Carlos Aguilar said in Spanish.
Carlos Aguilar said he also believed Bravo lied about the information he gave to police.
“Pedro is a pathological liar,” he said. “He’s been telling lies right from the beginning, and right now, we know we cannot believe him.”
Carlos Aguilar said he told his family that they “have to start thinking the worst.”
A reporter asked what his wife’s reaction was to the new information about Bravo.
Holding back tears, Carlos Aguilar said his wife told him, “He killed my son.”
Marjorie Nunez translated Carlos Aguilar’s statements.
Contact Chris Alcantara at calcantara@alligator.org.
Volunteers and officers continued the search for Christian Aguilar, 18, in the woods around the Alachua County Fairgrounds on Wednesday during a press conference.
