GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A South Florida man was found guilty Friday evening of killing his friend while he was away at college.
It took jurors about three hours to reach a guilty verdict on a first-degree murder charge and six other counts Pedro Bravo was also facing.
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Bravo, 20, did not appear to react to the verdict.
Bravo was sentenced Friday night to life in prison with no chance of parole on count one with various sentences on the other six counts all to either run concurrent or as time served.
Bravo was accused of killing University of Florida freshman Christian Aguilar in 2012.
Prosecutors claimed Bravo plotted to kill Aguilar after learning he was dating Bravo's ex-girlfriend, whom both had known during their days together at Doral Academy.
Erika Friman was dating Aguilar at the time of his disappearance in September 2012.
Prosecutors portrayed Bravo as being so obsessed with Friman that he moved to Gainesville in an attempt to win her back.
Aguilar's body was found three weeks after he was reported missing. His remains were partially buried in a remote field.
Aguilar was last seen alive with Bravo. Bravo admitted the two were in a violent fistfight shortly before the disappearance.
Aguilar's blood was found in Bravo's SUV and store surveillance video captured Bravo purchasing duct tape, a hunting knife, intoxicating over-the-counter drugs and a shovel.
Soil samples from the shovel matched dirt from the grave site and dirt on Bravo's vehicle, which he took to a car wash in the overnight hours of the day Aguilar was reported missing.
Bravo even testified in his own defense, telling the jury that the shovel was for his own suicidal plans.