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Trace Evidence

041 - The Vanishing of Lily Aramburo

Trace Evidence

Steven Pacheco

True Crime, Documentary, Society & Culture, History

4.74.2K Ratings

🗓️ 10 April 2018

⏱️ 116 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Twenty-three year old Lily Aramburo was on top of the world. She'd overcome her addictions, transformed her life and given birth to a son who she loved beyond compare. She'd recently moved in with an old friend, Christen, after each shared their true feelings and they were building a life together, but in early 2007, it would all begin to fall apart.

Christen was still using, and before long, Lily fell back into the powerful grip of addiction. After several disputes, Child Services removed her son from her custody, and Lily was sent to rehab. She later failed a drug test and was ejected from the rehab center, losing her chance to win custody back.

On June 1st, 2007, Lily and Christen had two friends over to their condo. At 2am, on June 2nd, Lily is alleged to have walked out of the condo wearing only a night gown and carrying bungee cords with her. She left behind her cell phone, wallet and personal items. Christen didn't report her missing for days, and when he did, he claimed that she may be suicidal.

Investigators with the Miami-Dade police waiting a week to investigate, and when they did, they quickly dismissed Lily as a drug addict who had run off. It wouldn't be until years later that they would officially question Christen, giving him a polygraph test. They reported the results, saying that Christen passed. Years later, it would be found that he had actually failed. This was only one of many mistakes discovered years after Lily vanished, and while the investigation was remarkably flawed, there was an utter media blackout leaving Lily's story untold and widely, unknown.

The diligence and determination of Lily's mother, Lucely and Lily's best friend, Janet Forte, was all that kept her name alive. Later, when detective Ray Hoadley took on the case, a true investigation was finally conducted and a myriad of mistakes, lies and unanswered questions were uncovered. Suspicions began to turn towards those closest to Lily and the inconsistencies were challenged.

What happened to Lily Aramburo? Did she simply walk off, into the night, never to be seen again? Was she overwhelmed by addiction, the removal of her son and her unhappy relationship, and as a result chose to commit suicide? Did Lily fall victim to a violent drug dealer with a history of murder? Or, does Lily's fiance and the man she lived with, Christen Pacheco (no relation), know more than he is saying? Join host Steven Pacheco as he examines this tragic, complex and sadly overlooked case in hopes of finding the truth. For more information about Lily Aramburo: Follow @Yogini on twitter and visit justiceinmiami.org Use #justice4lily to promote this episode and Lily's story, perhaps together, we can bring the attention this case deserves.

For more information please visit: https://www.trace-evidence.com
https://www.patreon.com/traceevidence

Social Media:
https://twitter.com/TraceEvPod
https://www.instagram.com/traceevidencepod/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/traceevidencepod

Music Courtesy of: "Lost Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Sources: https://www.trace-evidence.com/lily-aramburo

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This episode is brought to you by Hule. Between work deadlines and just living life, it

0:06.3

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0:23.1

forward slash Spotify to find out more.

0:36.3

23-year-old Lily Aramburo was a beautiful, sweet and kind woman whose life had been a quest

0:44.1

to find the beauty in nature and within herself. While Lily was fiercely independent, as she aged,

0:52.7

she found herself falling into the grips of drug addiction and was diagnosed with several mental

0:58.3

health issues. She had dropped out of high school at 16 and fallen deep into a world of

1:05.6

partying and drugs, but it wasn't a glamorous life. She had left home and taken to living in

1:13.3

abandoned buildings, crashing on friends' couches, and for a period of time, she even lived out of the

1:20.6

back of a Toyota. Lily's mother was constantly on the lookout for her daughter, wanting to bring

1:28.2

her home and help her sober up. But Lily was independent, and while she would call to check in,

1:35.4

she only returned to the family home for those short periods during which time she needed a break

1:41.3

from her hard and fast lifestyle. As she got older, those breaks became fewer and further between.

1:49.0

It seemed as if Lily would be forever lost to this world, but suddenly, everything changed.

1:57.9

In January of 2006, Lily discovered that she was pregnant. The realization that she was going

2:05.6

to be a mother awakened something in her that she had suppressed for so long. Now being responsible

2:13.1

for another life and wanting to provide all that she could for her unborn child.

2:19.1

Lily left her boyfriend, kicked her habit, and began putting her life back together.

2:25.8

She went out for and received her GED. She began taking classes in Buddhism and looking for new ways

2:33.6

to feel fulfilled that didn't need to come out of the end of a needle. Shortly after the birth of

...

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