TikTok star pleads not guilty to murdering estranged wife, her male friend
TikTok star Ali Abulaban, better known to his thousands of followers online as “JinnKid,”has pleaded not guilty to murdering his recently estranged wife and her male friend in a fit of jealousy last week.
Prosecutors said Abulaban raced to his 28-year-old wife, Ana Abulaban’s, high-rise in apartment in San Francisco after he overheard her talking with a man through a listening device he installed on his 5-year-old daughter’s tablet. When he arrived at the residence Thursday afternoon, the social media personality gunned down Ana and her friend, who has since been identified as 29-year-old Rayburn Cadenas Barron.
Still armed, Abulaban picked up his child from school and then called police, who took him into custody about 45 minutes later. During his arraignment in San Diego County Superior Court on Monday, the TikToker pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder as well as special-circumstance allegations of multiple killings, according to the Union Tribune.
Deputy District Attorney Taren Brast told reporters outside the courtroom that Abulaban, who boasts more than 940,000 followers on TikTok, confessed to detectives and accused his wife of cheating. At this time authorities believe Barron was just a friend to Ana, who just days before her death requested that her husband move out of their apartment.
He checked into a hotel on Oct. 18.
Brast said Abulaban shot Barron three times before shooting his wife in the head. Abulaban then called his mother, to whom he also confessed, Brast said.
Judge Kimberlee Lagotta ordered the TikTok star jailed without bail. The judge also issued a protective order that requires Abulaban to stay away from his daughter, who is being cared for by family.
With News Wire Services
