5 details about Aileen Seiden's murder

Season 34 episode 10 of 48 Hours on CBS will shed light on the 2018 homicide of Aileen Seiden. Seiden was in a 'throuple' or a love triangle with Zachary Abell and Christina Araujo, who were later found guilty of her murder.

The upcoming 48 Hours episode, titled, Who Killed Aileen Seiden in Room 15? will air on CBS on October 19, 2024, at 10 pm EST. The synopsis for the same reads:

"Three people check into a Florida motel room. Only two walk out alive."

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5 key details about Aileen Seiden's death to know ahead 48 hours on CBS

1) Aileen Seiden's body was found days after her murder

Aileen Seiden's body was found on April 23, 2018, on the side of a deserted road in northern Florida, close to Highway 98, days after her death. Authorities reported that Aileen was severely beaten up and had sustained multiple injuries. They even speculated that she might have been alive when the killer/s dumped her body.

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2) The autopsy reports revealed a brutal murder

An autopsy was performed on Ailen's body following death, which revealed her injuries to be extensive. There were bruises and lacerations on her face which were caused by hitting her multiple times without something hard and heavy. She also suffered injuries inside her mouth, several broken ribs, a fractured skull, and massive internal hemorrhaging.

As per Dr. Anthony Clark, who performed the autopsy:

“The cause of death was blunt force to the head and chest and abdominal trauma."

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3) A bloody motel room was connected to the murder

Reportedly, room number 15 of the Sportsman Lodge in Florida was discovered in a bloodied state and the police were called to investigate the matter. Incidentally, the motel was only a short distance away from where the victim's body was found. It was only a matter of time before police connected both crime scenes. After a sweep, the DNA found in the room ended up matching Aileen’s, leading authorities to believe that the crime was committed there.

Ronnie Jones, the police officer investigating this case, revealed to CBS that:

"I just put two and two together. It wasn't just somebody who cut themselves and bled a little bit on the bed. I mean, the amount of blood... tells me that whoever was here was probably deceased."

After investigation, it was discovered that Aileen and her partners, Zachary Abell and Christina Araujo, had stayed in that room before they killed her and disposed of her body.

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4) There was an attempt to conceal evidence

As revealed on CBS, when the lead investigator went inside the motel room to investigate this crime, he smelled vinegar inside the room, which made it obvious that the room had been cleaned. A shower curtain rod found at the scene had a bloody palm print on it. Also, when a luminol test of the bathroom was done, there was blood everywhere.

Here is how Peter Van Sant described it to CBS:

"When they did a luminol test for the presence of blood, you know they turned the lights off and they shined a special light; it’s like a black light on the walls. It lit up like a Christmas tree, which suggested a big bloody baffle had taken place inside that bathroom.”

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5) Both the suspects ended up blaming each other

In this shocking case, two lovers ended up killing the third, Aileen Seiden, and to date, it is not clear who committed the crime. The surveillance video recovered from outside the motel showed that three people went in alive and only two (Zachary Abell and Christina Araujo) came out carrying a body.

Although Zachary Abell and Christina Araujo admitted to carrying the body and disposing of it, neither have confessed to the murder.

In 2023, Araujo entered a guilty plea and got a 25-year prison sentence. Abell, who has not pleaded guilty to date, was sentenced to life in prison in 2024, as the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder.

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To learn more about this case, watch Who Killed Aileen Seiden in Room 15? airing tonight on CBS.