The murder of Janet Christianson Abaroa in 2005 is one of the most horrific crimes in North Carolina history. Her husband, Raven Abaroa, was arrested and convicted for her death. He served just over eight years in prison before he was released a few months ago. He is currently living in Utah with his young son.

After the killing, Abaroa claimed he came home to find his wife dead on the upstairs floor of their home while their infant son, Kaiden, slept in another room. He claimed his wife was stabbed during a home invasion, though no signs of forced entry were found at the residence.

In Abaroa's trial, Durham Assistant District Attorney Charlene Coggins-Franks said that his story did not match up with the evidence. She claimed Abaroa did not wear the same sweatshirt as he described in a TV interview, and that his account of finding his wife on the floor hugging him also did not match up with the evidence, because there was very little blood on Abaroa's shirt at the time.

During the five years Abaroa was evading arrest on suspicion of his wife's murder, he met and married Vanessa Pond. Pond knew that Abaroa was a suspect in his wife's murder but she trusted him and believed his alibi. She says that he would become angry and often physically abusive when she confronted him about the murder and other allegations made by Janet's sisters against him.