MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – The friends and family of the 31-year-old murder victim who police say was mired in an abusive love triangle met to honor her memory Thursday night at North Shore Park in Miami Beach.
They remembered Aileen Seiden as a gorgeous woman, a loyal friend and a compassionate animal lover. She lived and worked with the accused killers, Christina Araujo, 38, and Zachary Abell, 30, in North Miami. She worked at Araujo's used car dealership, where Abell was listed as president.
Seiden told a friend she had left on a road trip with Araujo and Abell to Dallas. Her friends said they were on their way back, but she never made it home. Detectives believe the trio checked into a room at the Sportsman's Lodge April 21 and Seiden was killed the next day.
A housekeeper found blood on the mattress, a broken shower curtain and a damaged drape. Detectives believe the couple took Seiden's body and left it on the side of the road in Eastpoint in Franklin County. She had suffered fractures to her skull, limbs and ribs.
Abell and Araujo drove back to Davie, where they told a friend who notified police. Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents arrested Araujo and Abell on April 24 in Davie. They both face charges of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
Abell had a history of domestic abuse and he and Araujo had both been arrested for drug possession, according to the FDLE. Araujo’s father, Tony Araujo, is a colonel with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, a 36-year veteran of the force and the agency's fourth highest-ranking official.
