A police detective reviewing a cold case claimed that a contact lens case led to a husband being charged with the murder of his wife.
Raven Abaroa was arrested in February 2010 and charged with first-degree murder in the death of his first wife Janet.
Five years earlier in 2005, Janet Abaroa 25, was stabbed to death in her home in Durham, North Carolina.
Raven Abaroa, (right), pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter over the 2005 death of his wife Janet Abaroa, (left). The couple married in August 2010 and lived in North Carolina
Raven Abaroa was arrested on Feb. 1, 2010, and charged with first-degree murder in the death of his first wife after detectives reviewed evidence in the death five years previously
Raven Abaroa said he discovered his dead wife's body in their home office after returning home from playing soccer that evening.
Their 6-month-old son, Kaiden, was left unharmed in another room. Janet Abaroa's murder remained unsolved, but her family suspected her husband was involved in her death.
In 2009 Durham Police assigned a new detective to Janet Abaroa's case and Charles Sole reviewed the evidence again.
He claimed he noticed a contact lens case on the counter when reviewing crime scene photos and something struck him as odd based on a previous interview with Raven.
An ABC 20/20 program, entitled 'The Secret in her eyes', revisits the tragic case of Abaroa's death as the man charged in connection with her death is free after spending seven years in prison.
In an interview Sole said: 'Raven never kept the lies straight. His statements to law enforcement, initially, they were contradictory.
'I noticed the contact case on the counter with the top off of it indicating to me that the likelihood that the contacts were probably not in there, which would be contrary to her going to bed or, as Raven said, in the bed going to sleep.'
When police interviewed Janet Abaroa's family and friends, Sole said they told them Janet Abaroa always removed her contacts before going to sleep. He said he found this detail 'suspicious.'
The couple did have marital problems according to Janet's family. But they went on to have a son called Kaiden, (far right), who was just six-months-old when his mother was killed
In July 2010, Janet Abaroa's body was exhumed and authorities determined that she had been wearing contacts when she was buried, which was a key factor in proving Abaroa's guilt
'Then the next thing is not seeing any disturbance based on the manner of her death. A stabbing.
'I mean, is not immediate. It's usually violent, [with] struggling, [a] disturbance.'
In July 2010, Janet Abaroa's body was exhumed and authorities determined that she had been wearing contacts when she was buried.
This conflicted with Raven Abaroa's claim that she had been going to bed before she was killed.
There were also no signs of forced entry at the home, again contrary to Raven's claim.
Raven was arrested the following February and charged with first-degree murder in the death of his first wife.
Abaroa pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter March 12, acknowledging that there was evidence to convict him but not admitting guilt.
Janet Abaroa's death was a mystery that captivated North Carolina and the case remained unsolved for years until detectives examined evidence and arrested her husband in 2010
