Dead woman's family fears Durham DA change will delay case

Raven Abaroa, 32, is charged with first-degree murder in the April 26, 2005, death of his wife.

Janet Abaroa, 25, was pregnant with her second child when she was stabbed to death in an upstairs room at the couple's Durham home.

Raven Abaroa has maintained that he was at a soccer game when his wife was killed and that he found her when he returned home later that night. He was arrested two years ago in Idaho, where he and the couple's son, Kaiden, had moved after Janet Abaroa's death.

A judge removed Cline from office last week after determining that her continued public criticisms of another judge had adversely affected the Durham County court system and brought her office into disrepute.

Although Cline never handled the Abaroa case, her family has asked to meet with retired Superior Court Judge Leon Stanback, who is serving as interim district attorney, to make sure the case remains on prosecutors' radar, family spokesman Tim Dowd said.

“It’s time to move forward, and we just hope this doesn’t cause any delay in our case," Dowd said. "We want to make sure our case is on track.”