The Murder of Janet Abaroa #1

[NCBanker]

NCBanker,

would you be able to shed any light on the following statement for us? I'm curious as to why Raven would identify himself as a Lamanite. I've also found it interesting his obsession with tribes / teams / houses, as if he's desperate to find something to belong to and be a part of.

"I have just enough Native American and Hispanic blood to claim myself as Lamanite. Malfoy in the Harry Potter series would call me a Muggle or Mud-Blood. In any case, I am proud of my Native American grandfather and my Mexican grandfather. Both have overcome many obstacles to give their families the lifestyles we have now. It is what it is my friends! "

I'm not sure why he would care to distinguish himself as a Lamanite, but you are absolutely correct in your assumption that he's desperate to have an affiliation with a larger group. He may even be claiming that heritage in order to lay claim on some scholarship or grant money reserved for Native Americans. So there's no misunderstanding, there's nothing wrong with being a Lamanite, although their history is somewhat checkered. There are many righteous people who are of that heritage.

Relative to the earlier comments about him possibly serving a 2-year mission, I seriously doubt that he ever did. He would have referenced it somewhere on his website. Moreover, while I have no proof, whatsoever, I don't believe they were married in one of our temples. They were probably married in one of the local churches instead. This is uncommon for someone of Janet's background - her family's background. A very probable reason was that Raven was either an inactive member or unworthy to enter the temple, or both. I believe that Janet was a faithful member, but I don't get that feeling about Raven.

I called my cousin with the NC SBI today, but had to leave him a voicemail. Hopefully, I'll catch up with him tomorrow to see if he knows anything.

 

[misterallgood]

The police declared decisively that Janet Abaroa was stabbed to death.

Yet Raven reported specifically at first that she'd been shot. We've discussed this.

I take it for granted at this point that he said shot and that this was not the case.

Now -- why? If he didn't do anything, perhaps the horror of seeing her bloody, dead, wounded -- all of these confused him. It's not like he would have wanted to take a close look at her wound.

Mark Fuhrman on Greta's show the other night wondered aloud about this aspect of the case as much as anything else. Said something about the "person who reported" her being gunshot perhaps painting themselves into a kind of corner.

Say he did do it, for arguments' sake; why report a gunshot if he knew danged well she'd been stabbed?

What was he trying to indicate if this was part of some cover story?

-- Burglary? Typical weapon there is more often a firearm, if the primary reason to be in the house was the burglary but the robber is surprised.

-- Accident? Doesn't sound like she was the type to go cleaning the gun on a whim.

Any ideas?

 

[Thinkoflaura]

The police declared decisively that Janet Abaroa was stabbed to death.

Yet Raven reported specifically at first that she'd been shot. We've discussed this.

I take it for granted at this point that he said shot and that this was not the case.

Now -- why? If he didn't do anything, perhaps the horror of seeing her bloody, dead, wounded -- all of these confused him. It's not like he would have wanted to take a close look at her wound.

Mark Fuhrman on Greta's show the other night wondered aloud about this aspect of the case as much as anything else. Said something about the "person who reported" her being gunshot perhaps painting themselves into a kind of corner.

Say he did do it, for arguments' sake; why report a gunshot if he knew danged well she'd been stabbed?

What was he trying to indicate if this was part of some cover story?

-- Burglary? Typical weapon there is more often a firearm, if the primary reason to be in the house was the burglary but the robber is surprised.

-- Accident? Doesn't sound like she was the type to go cleaning the gun on a whim.

Any ideas?

Yes, I have an idea. First of all, it wasn't one stab wound to the chest, it was multiple stab wounds. Kind of hard to miss.. kind of hard to stand there and do nothing, I would think.

How better to feign ignorance and innocence than to say " She's been shot" when he knew differently? In other words, using that rationale, IF he wasn't there, how could he KNOW how his wife was killed?? So he " guessed" she had been shot- wrong, of course.

Blood = gunshot wounds
Raven= innocent of any knowledge of the crimescene.

Deny, deny, deny, if only to himself.
JMHO, but it is the simplest answer.

 

[lauriej]

Yes, I have an idea. First of all, it wasn't one stab wound to the chest, it was multiple stab wounds. Kind of hard to miss.. kind of hard to stand there and do nothing, I would think.

How better to feign ignorance and innocence than to say " She's been shot" when he knew differently? In other words, using that rationale, IF he wasn't there, how could he KNOW how his wife was killed?? So he " guessed" she had been shot- wrong, of course.

Blood = gunshot wounds
Raven= innocent of any knowledge of the crimescene.

Deny, deny, deny, if only to himself.
JMHO, but it is the simplest answer.

..........i just cannot understand why raven woulod not be AT HER SIDE if she was dying ??

http://www.wral.com/news/4443707/detail.html

. After officers got to the house on Ferrand Drive, Janet Abaroa's husband, Raven, told them his wife was upstairs hurt.

 

[golfmom]

..............

Say he did do it, for arguments' sake; why report a gunshot if he knew danged well she'd been stabbed?


Any ideas?

Did he have some reason to suspect Janet might have harmed herself? Maybe they had an argument before he left for his soccer game. It sounds like there is NO evidence of a burglery, and from the search warrant sounds like there was a large amount of blood throughout the room ... evidence of quite a struggle. All in all I just don't get the sense that Raven was surpised or shocked when he got home from the reports. So why report a gunshot injury in particular?

Maybe he just thought if I say gunshot, then LE will believe I didn't know what happened to my wife.

I am getting increasingly worried about the safety of the baby.

 

[golfmom]

I'm not sure why he would care to distinguish himself as a Lamanite, but you are absolutely correct in your assumption that he's desparate to have an affiliation with a larger group. He may even be claiming that heritage in order to lay claim on some scholarship or grant money reserved for Native Americans. So there's no misunderstanding, there's nothing wrong with being a Lamanite, although their history is somewhat checkered. There are many righteous people who are of that heritage.

Relative to the earlier comments about him possibly serving a 2-year mission, I seriously doubt that he ever did. He would have referenced it somewhere on his website. Moreover, while I have no proof, whatsoever, I don't believe they were married in one of our temples. They were probably married in one of the local churches instead. This is uncommon for someone of Janet's background - her family's background. A very probable reason was that Raven was either an inactive member or unworthy to enter the temple, or both. I believe that Janet was a faithful member, but I don't get that feeling about Raven.

I called my cousin with the NC SBI today, but had to leave him a voicemail. Hopefully, I'll catch up with him tomorrow to see if he knows anything.

Thank you so much for answering my question, I think that you'll be able to give us some unique insights as Janet appeared to be very faithful and strong in her faith.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Say he did do it, for arguments' sake; why report a gunshot if he knew danged well she'd been stabbed?

Any ideas?

My belief, if Raven did commit the murder, is that he wants to make it look as if he was nowhere near the body, not even near enough to know that it was a stab wound and not a gunshot. It gives the impression that he walked in the doorway, saw her immediately, panicked, and ran to the phone without getting near to her. He would probably think that if LE believes that he didn't get near enough to even recognize what type of wound it was, he surely couldn't have been close enough to have caused it. Obviously very flawed thinking if it is the case.

Of all of the things that we've heard or on which have been speculated, this is the one detail that makes me suspect Raven. This statement, and the tactic behind it, seem transparent to me, and I'm having a really hard time not feeling as if he's guilty based on this one statement. If he wasn't guilty, I would think that he would say, "My wife's lying on the bed, and there's blood all over the place", or something similar. But people often say strange things during stress and/or grief, and it comes out later that they were not involved. I'm trying to hold back, and wait to hear what the evidence says, (if it ever comes out!), but this statement makes it difficult - threw up an enormous red flag to me, FWIW.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

..........i just cannot understand why raven woulod not be AT HER SIDE if she was dying ??

http://www.wral.com/news/4443707/detail.html

. After officers got to the house on Ferrand Drive, Janet Abaroa's husband, Raven, told them his wife was upstairs hurt.

This article states that there was a lot of blood on the floor and the wall. I would think that seeing that amount of blood would make it obvious that it wasn't a gunshot. But then again, I haven't seen the crime scene, and maybe people that don't follow true crime don't realize the difference between a gunshot scene and a stabbing scene so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on this one.

I can see the doubt about why he wouldn't be at her side - did he not want to look at what he had done? Did he want to appear distressed? But again I wonder ... if it were me, and I was innocent, I don't know if I could stand there and look at my loved one like that. If they were still alive, I'm sure that I'd do what I had to do to stop the bleeding, and comfort them but if I felt sure that they were already gone, I don't know if I could do it. No time of death has yet been reported?

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

I am getting increasingly worried about the safety of the baby.

For some reason, even if Raven is guilty of this crime, I don't sense danger for the baby. I'm not sure why. He seems to be so in love with that baby that I can't see him harming him. I'm intrigued by the post that said that he views his baby as an extension of himself. At the same time, however, I remember Longo, and it gives me a bit of worry as well. If he killed Janet, and was capable of harming the baby as well, I think that he would have done it at the same time. I could be wrong, but I hope that I am right that the baby is in no danger. (Sorry, I'm thinking as I type.)

I do find the fascination with clans & tribes to be bizarre only in connection to this crime and the possible dynamics of his family life. This part in particular bothered me:

My Journal - Raven's Tree

War Chiefs won prominence through dreams or individual prowess. These war chiefs acted as keepers of the tribal war medicine, spokesmen for the heredity leaders, directed public celebrations, and were the guardians of the wild rice at harvest time.

The Speakers of the Tribe had no power, except that power which was given to them by Tribal members. Decision-making was a function of the tribal members as a whole and those decisions empowered the speakers and the band leaders to act.

... The Menominee clan structure reveals the thought and logic that was an important part of the tribal social relationships. For example, the system regulated the functions of government and marriages.

That's got me pondering some things but as of yet, I don't even know where my thinking is going with it. I've got to get some caffeine, and then I'll think about it some more.

BTW, I mentioned it to one of you but wanted to mention it to all of you. I hadn't heard about this case until Greta showed it. I commend all of you for e-mailing the media outlets, and pressuring them to show this case. I believe 100% that it was your e-mails & blogs that resulted in this case getting into the national media. You should all be very proud of what you've done, and Janet's justice will have a touch of each of your hearts for trying to see that justice is found for her. Again, I commend all of you.

 

[misterallgood]

A person posting as "justmad1" at my weblog, The Dark Side, posted the following. I'm quoting verbatim what they wrote, now, with emphasis added... and I understand why they're anonymous;

I was a coworker with both of them. This was very sad news to us all. First let me say that Raven has pleaded guilty to the embezzlement charges. Second he was very controlling and there are many of us who think he was involved. Raven was not the saint he tried to project he was dumber then he was arrogant. And that is why he got caught. By our employer. Also he was unfaithful in his marriage. They were in the process of separating when she found out she was pregnant.

​

Whoa.

This person is telling the truth about where they work, I can say that -- IP numbers are assigned in blocks to specific companies who buy certain domains, and the IP is stamped whenever someone comments on my blog.

I felt okay with re-posting this comment here because the person who made it surely was aware the comment would be publicly displayed -- they always are on weblogs unless the blogger chooses to delete them -- something I've certainly done in the past; usually only if offended.

Sheds major new light on all this, if true. Looking forward to comments.

 

[golfmom]

Don't you get the feeling that you just turned over a rock?

Wait I've got to get my checklist out ....

liar .... check
adutery ... check
controlling ... check
self-absorbed ... check

"Some people who end up in double lives start out simply as chronic liars ....... They're people who "badly need the truth to be different than what it is." Galatzer-Levy

"These people are consummate risk takers. If they aren't living on the edge, they don't feel fully alive."

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

A person posting as "justmad1" at my weblog, The Dark Side, posted the following. I'm quoting verbatim what they wrote, now, with emphasis added... and I understand why they're anonymous;

I was a coworker with both of them. This was very sad news to us all. First let me say that Raven has pleaded guilty to the embezzlement charges. Second he was very controlling and there are many of us who think he was involved. Raven was not the saint he tried to project he was dumber then he was arrogant. And that is why he got caught. By our employer. Also he was unfaithful in his marriage. They were in the process of separating when she found out she was pregnant.​

I can't say that this hasn't crossed my mind. Like I said, it doesn't seem like Raven was following the rules of the church. And the fact that he was on Classmates to "reconnect with an old friend", (the choice he selected in his profile). And all the time he seemed to spend on the computer. And the weird stuff on the way decisions are made in the tribe about which he wrote, (remember him & Janet not seeing eye to eye during their house hunting). None of this makes him a murderer but it is something I've pondered.

He sure does seem to love that baby. If he was planning on ending his relationship with Janet, (one way or the other), I can see him waiting until the baby was born. Then maybe thinking that the baby would heal their difficulties.

What a bold statement to make on your blog though, huh? If it were me, I don't know if I would have done the same considering this is someone that they must have known. Very brave & extremely interesting.
​

 

[misterallgood]

Don't you get the feeling that you just turned over a rock?

Wait I've got to get my checklist out ....

liar .... check
adutry ... check
controlling ... check
self-absorbed ... check

"Some people who end up in double lives start out simply as chronic liars ....... They're people who "badly need the turth to be different than what it is." Galatzer-Levy

"These people are consummate risk takers. If they aren't living on the edge, they don't feel fully alive."

Exactly. Raven was the inappropriate animal for him to have as a symbol, just as inappropriate as his apparent identification with the ultimate Gryffindor House Member in the Harry Potter Universe -- Harry Potter. The symbol of the house at Hogwarts School for Wizards that is most likely to turn out evil students, Slytherin, is a basilisk, or great serpent. Serpents, like we can find under rocks in the woods on a warm North Carolina day.

He said in a blog entry written the day before Janet's death; "If I were a bird -- wait, I am..."

He was not thinking so much of his name, I'd bet, but his impending freedom.

 

[golfmom]

If RA plead guilty to the embezzlement charges is that court date that's coming up soon (June?) for sentencing?

 

[misterallgood]

If RA plead guilty to the embezzlement charges is that court date that's coming up soon (June?) for sentencing?

Good question.

Also; if there is a missing computer, the statement about him allegedly being unfaithful adds to the significance of that.

If there is a missing computer or computers, and he spent an enormous amount of time online, then one can imagine what might be on those computers.

 

[Thinkoflaura]

A person posting as "justmad1" at my weblog, The Dark Side, posted the following. I'm quoting verbatim what they wrote, now, with emphasis added... and I understand why they're anonymous;

I was a coworker with both of them. This was very sad news to us all. First let me say that Raven has pleaded guilty to the embezzlement charges. Second he was very controlling and there are many of us who think he was involved. Raven was not the saint he tried to project he was dumber then he was arrogant. And that is why he got caught. By our employer. Also he was unfaithful in his marriage. They were in the process of separating when she found out she was pregnant.

​

Whoa.


I felt okay with re-posting this comment here because the person who made it surely was aware the comment would be publicly displayed -- they always are on weblogs unless the blogger chooses to delete them -- something I've certainly done in the past; usually only if offended.

Sheds major new light on all this, if true. Looking forward to comments.

I had suspected that things had gone way wrong in their marriage.. Obviously because of the change in his former website. It looks to me like Janet disappeared from the site in late 2003.

Kaiden was born in October 2004, in the midst of Raven's theft from Eurosport. Who the heck steals money from his employer while his wife is pregnant? Was money so important to him that one income wasn't enough? I bet he wasn't doing a very good job in sales, wasn't able to support his family!!

I think he is a complete fraud of a human being, that he lies with abandon. I wish her family could have somehow gotten her back home before it came to this.
She deserved so much better than him. I read his account of how they met and it seems like he was lying in wait for a vunerable young girl. He KNEW she was the student, but yacked it up with her brother to make himself look friendly to her parents. It's all about appearances to Raven. He wanted to look nice and concerned about a young boy, not like a guy who pounces on the fresh girls at college.. where he was apparently not even a student in the first place. I guess he hung out and did things for the soccer team.

My only question is why the heck haven't they arrested him and charged him with her murder yet?

I disagree about Kaiden not being in danger. If you look really closely at the photos, it looks like Raven was looking into a mirror for the shots, or photoshopped his face in after the shot of the baby was taken. He is mimicking Kaiden's expressions in almost every photo of the two of them. I studied every photo and was shocked to see this when I first went to his website. They don't look that much alike. He is playing " helpless little baby". I bet Janet did everything for Raven, completely carried that sick marriage.

If Kaiden gets in the way of any escape plan he hatches, the baby will definitely be in harm's way.
This man is Scott Peterson all over again.

We just haven't heard his girlfriend(s) names and stories yet.
I would bet a Hershey bar that there is at least one woman on the side, or perhaps now, at his side, in the open.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

He said in a blog entry written the day before Janet's death; "If I were a bird -- wait, I am..."

He was not thinking so much of his name, I'd bet, but his impending freedom.

I don't know why it didn't occur to me that that was written the day before she died. That's interesting.

One thing that I notice in that writing is his focus on his adaptability; the necessity to be outgoing & to make friends easily. Those same traits could probably also be called cunning or manipulative under certain conditions. I wonder if he was a chameleon of sorts, changing his personality repeatedly to blend in with his situation at the time. Very interesting personality trait.

I have a couple of ideas about what the title of that entry could mean but I wish I knew for sure. It's certainly an odd title. It does make ya' wonder.

ETA: Given the current state of affairs in his life, this line creeps me out:

One of the strengths my mother possessed was aggressiveness and the unwillingness to accept circumstances as final.

 

[PrayersForMaura]

wow Mr. All Good, what a great wealth of information you've brought!! You're truly an Internet detective. Ahh, I wish I could do this for a living!

I suspected Raven may have been hanky pankying.... another Scott Peterson for sure. Arrogant and trying to portray the exact opposite of what he really is.

I wonder if his "dear friend" who helped design his website is the other woman??

Edited to add, I posted this way back o nthe second page of this thread
"On the archived files of Raven's site, he thanks his "dear friend" ... a female. Wondering if there was anything going on between them? He thanks for helping him create his website ... this is a link to her site.
www.jenique.com"

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

I can't find anything at all to contribute to what's already been discussed. I hope that some information will be divulged soon.

I did a people search, and although I can't get any info, it gives Raven's middle initial as S. The records go back to October 2002. Unfortunately, you have to pay to get any more than that. I don't know if the reporting dates mean anything but here's the link to where I was in case you true sleuthers can do anything with it:

Intelius.com - People Search: Find Anyone Instantly!

ETA: The most recent report is from 5/17/05. Only his city is available in that report, no home address.

 

[Thinkoflaura]

wow Mr. All Good, what a great wealth of information you've brought!! You're truly an Internet detective. Ahh, I wish I could do this for a living!

I suspected Raven may have been hanky pankying.... another Scott Peterson for sure. Arrogant and trying to portray the exact opposite of what he really is.

I wonder if his "dear friend" who helped design his website is the other woman??

Edited to add, I posted this way back o nthe second page of this thread
"On the archived files of Raven's site, he thanks his "dear friend" ... a female. Wondering if there was anything going on between them? He thanks for helping him create his website ... this is a link to her site.
www.jenique.com"

PrayersForMaura, I posted her name as it is listed on a site she constructed.. Also, her location is UTAH.