MIAMI – When Christian Aguilar went missing, his mother and father held on to their faith and they prayed their son would be found alive. They did not get the outcome they were hoping for, and Tuesday, they attended a funeral mass for their son and later a burial.
In a procession led by police, the body of Christian Aguilar was brought to St. Dominic's Catholic Church in Miami. Hundreds attended the funeral.
"The mood of the service was very peaceful," said Dennis Rodriguez. "I came to support the family."
For those who knew and loved the University of Florida freshman, the past month has been agonizing. On Sept. 20th he was at a Gainesville Best Buy with his former Doral Academy classmate, Pedro Bravo.
Police said Bravo confessed that after that trip to the store, he beat Aguilar and left him in a patch of woods. After days of rescue teams searching the woods around Gainesville, they found nothing. But Aguilar's father still had hope his son was alive.
"We're not gonna give up," said Carlos Aguilar. "If the police are telling me that they're going to keep supporting me, you know, I'm gonna become part of Gainesville until I find my son."
Carlos Aguilar though, would soon get the news he was dreading. Sixty-miles from Gainesville, hunters found the body of his son. A cross now marks the spot.
Detectives have charged Bravo with murder and kidnapping. He was sitting in jail as the Aguilar's gave their final goodbyes to their beloved Christian.
Even though police said they believe Pedro Bravo murdered Christian Aguilar, police are not saying what they think was the motive for the murder or Christian's exact cause of death.
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