California TikToker Ali Abulaban was found guilty by a San Diego jury Wednesday of killing both his estranged wife and her friend in 2021, facing possible life in prison, according to local reports.
The 32-year-old influencer, who went by “JinnKid” on his social media platforms, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder along with allegedly using a gun within the killings of his deceased wife Ana Abulaban and her friend Rayburn Cardenas Barron, according to NBC San Diego. In addition to his first-degree charges, the San Diego jury slapped Abulaban with a special circumstance allegation of committing multiple murders. (RELATED: 14-Year-Old Girl Accused Of Beating Grandmother To Death, Authorities Say)
“Finally, my brother and Ana got a little bit of justice,” Barron’s sister, Jordana Barron, told the outlet. “Obviously nothing is going to bring our brother or Ana back, but at least he is never going to be able to do this to another person again.”
JUST IN: TikTok star Ali Abulaban found guilty of killing his wife after he caught her with another man on his couch.
He was found guilty of first-degree murder of Ana Abulaban and Rayburn Barron.
Abulaban had installed a listening device on his 5-year-old daughter’s… pic.twitter.com/yzmvmKYFn7
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 29, 2024
In October 2021, authorities were called to a downtown high rise, only to find Ana Abulaban and Barron deceased on a couch within the Abulaban’s 35-floor apartment, NBC San Diego reported. The influencer was later stopped by police while driving with his 5-year-old daughter, eventually confessing to authorities and his mother that he had committed the murders.
Prosecutors alleged during the trial that the Abulaban’s had been separated “for quite some time,” before the influencer allegedly began to believe that his wife was cheating on him while he attempted to reconcile their differences, the outlet reported. Throughout the trial the jury heard from multiple witnesses on how Abulaban went through with the shootings, with his mother testifying that she had received a call from the 32-year-old only moments after the incident, according to People.
Since the incident, Barron has been sitting in prison and admitted on the stand to committing the crimes, leaving the jury to deliberate on if he committed the acts intentionally, premeditated them, or committed them in the heat of passion, the outlet reported.
“The jury came in and listened to the evidence for weeks, and they came to the right decision,” Deputy District Attorney Taren Brast stated, according to NBC San Diego.
Abulaban’s sentencing is scheduled for June 28.
