Taking the stand in his murder trial on Thursday, Pedro Bravo said University of Florida student Christian Aguilar was still alive the last time he saw him.
Bravo testified shortly after the prosecution rested its murder case against him. He faces murder, kidnapping and other charges related to the slaying of Aguilar, 18, in September 2012.
At many times smiling and looking at jurors while he described his own disturbing suicidal thoughts, the 20-year-old from Miami-Dade County said he was "breaking apart piece by piece" when he and Aguilar got together to talk about Bravo's depression.
"I have scars both on my neck and wrists from near attempts in moments where I was pushed to the edge," he told jurors about his lifetime of suicidal thoughts.
Prosecutors have painted a picture of Bravo as a jealous ex-boyfriend who followed his ex, Erika Friman, to Gainesville to win her back, only to find she was dating Aguilar.
Bravo said he came to Gainesville seeking a fresh start.
"I wanted to go to Gainesville ... maybe a fresh start would help me erase everything in my slate," he said. "And at the same time I wanted to see if I could get back together with Erika."
After learning that Friman and Aguilar, both of whom he had attended high school with in Miami, were dating, Bravo requested a meeting with Aguilar to talk it out. Aguilar said he had problems, too, and that he could relate to Bravo's.
Aguilar's remains were discovered weeks after the men talked, buried in a shallow grave in a wooded area.
"I'm suicidal," Bravo said about why he wanted to talk to his friend, Aguilar. "It's not because of Erika but all these other things that are adding up."
Bravo and Aguilar went to a fast food restaurant and an electronics store before stopping for about two hours in a Wal-Mart parking lot.
Local
Prosecutors say that's where Bravo used a strap to strangle Aguilar. Bravo said he and Aguilar got into heated exchanges and that he hit Aguilar as they drove out of the lot.
"I turned around and hit him in the nose with my left fist." Bravo said that injury accounted for Aguilar's blood found in his car.
Bravo later spilled black paint over the blood stains, prosecutors said.
Bravo said the fight in the vehicle then escalated and caused him to pull over again. He said Aguilar got out of the car in the rain and approached him.
"I swept him off his feet," Bravo said. He said he fell on top of Aguilar and hit him in the face repeatedly. "He didn't get up right away, but he was still moving."
Bravo said he left Aguilar there on the ground, taking his book bag and cellphone with him, and never saw him again.
Under cross examination, prosecutor Brian Kramer asked why Bravo hid Aguilar's book bag in his closet, even after he'd spoken to police about his friend's disappearance. Bravo said he was worried his parents, who live in Miami, would find it.
"You took the bag out of your car and took it into your room because you knew you would encounter law enforcement really soon, didn't you?" Kramer asked. Bravo denied it.
Bravo said he got upset about the fight later that night, and decided to kill himself. He said he drank a bottle of Gatorade mixed with sleeping pills and pesticide to try.
That Gatorade bottle with drug residue was found in his car, and prosecutors have suggested he used it to drug Aguilar before strangling him.
Bravo said the concoction made him vomit.
"I took it as a sign from God that maybe it's not supposed to happen this way," he said.
