TikTok star accused of double murder
Popular TikToker Ali Abulaban, known by his username @jinnkid, was arrested on Oct. 21 and is accused of murdering his wife and her "companion," police told Fox 5 San Diego.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the content creator, who has over 940,000 followers on the platform, pleaded not guilty to "two counts of murder as well as special-circumstance allegations of multiple killings" during his arraignment on Monday.
Abulaban is known for his comedy sketches and impersonations, particularly that of Tony Montana from Scarface.
According to Fox 5 San Diego, the prosecution said that Abulaban moved out of the apartment he was living in with his wife on Oct. 18 due to a "domestic violence incident." The prosecution alleged that " his wife [Ana Abulaban] had filed a restraining order against him and was seeking a divorce" and that "Ali Abulaban secretly kept a key to the home and had been going inside without his wife’s knowledge," Fox 5 reported.
The prosecution also reportedly said that he "installed an app on his daughter’s iPad that allowed him to listen in on conversations in the apartment through his cellphone." Deputy District Attorney Taren Brast spoke at the arraignment and reportedly said that Abulaban heard his wife's voice along with a man's voice, drove to their apartment, and shot and killed both his wife and the man she was with. That man was reportedly later identified as Rayburn Cardenas Barron.
"Neighbors had heard the gunshots, witnessed the defendant leaving the apartment," Brast reportedly said on Monday, "Then he made a phone call to his mother admitting that he shot and killed his wife.” The prosecution alleged that Abulaban shot Barron three times—once in the neck, another in the cheek, and a third in the back of the head—and shot his wife once in the forehead.
If Abulaban is found guilty and convicted, he reportedly faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Prosecutors would also reportedly get the chance to pursue the death penalty; the district attorney's office has not yet indicated if it would plan to pursue the death penalty.
On his most recent videos, the comments sections are filled with mentions of the alleged murder. "Who's here after hearing the news?" one person asked.
Others are urging TikTok to take down his account. "I would take down this account after what happened," another person wrote while tagging the platform's official account.
The San Diego Police Department told the Daily Dot that "the investigation is ongoing at this time, however, there are no outstanding suspects."
TikTok did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot's request for comment.
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