TikTok star breaks down in tears he is discovered responsible of murdering spouse

A former TikTok star known for his impersonations of Al Pacino‘s character under the pseudonym JinnKid in Scarface was reduced to tears as he was found guilty of murdering his wife and her friend in San Diego in 2021. 

Ali Abulaban, 32, learned his fate Wednesday after a trial in which he never denied killing Ana Abulaban, 28, and Rayburn Barron, 29, after stumbling upon them snuggled up on the sofa in the couple’s home three years ago. 

Both victims were shot dead. The jury in the case affirmed a special-circumstances allegation as he was accused of multiple murders, meaning it could have become a death penalty case had prosecutors pursued it. 

As the verdict was read out, cheers erupted from the public gallery in the court, prompting Abulaban to turn to look at the commotion, with tears streaming down his face, reports NBC San Diego. 

He will return to court on June 28 for sentencing which could see him spend the rest of his life behind bars. 

‘Finally, my brother and Ana got a little bit of justice. 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,’ Barron’s sister Jordana told the NBC affiliate. 

‘It’s the relief. We’ve been waiting almost three years for this,’ Ana’s friend Julia Stuntz added. 

The TikToker, who has a history of domestic violence, was allegedly kicked out of the couple’s apartment at the Spire San Diego luxury apartment complex. 

Prosecutors allege that he secretly obtained a room key and gunned down his wife and Barron while they sat on the couch. 

During his lengthy period on the stand in the case, Abulaban admitted to punching and pushing his wife on various occasions – but claimed that he would have never done so before the family moved from Virginia to San Diego in early 2021. 

Abulaban then painted a picture of the volatile state of his relationship with Ana following the couple’s move – a decision he insists was driven by his wife.

Ana became obsessed with moving to San Diego – and grew angry if anything interfered with their plans to move, according to Abulaban. 

After his brother suffered a mental health episode, Abulaban wanted to postpone the move – but Ana allegedly said ‘take me to San Diego or I’m divorcing you.’

When the pair finally moved, they dove head first into a life of drugs and partying – a lifestyle which was allegedly brought on by Ana’s friend group. Abulaban claims he felt like an outcast and struggled to fit in during his time in San Diego. 

‘We were a close-knit unit and then we brought in these friends into our life,’ Abulaban testified. 

Abulaban said the pair began arguing frequently about alleged infidelity on both sides. He recalls a particular fight in July 2021 in which Ana claimed she had slept with one of his friends.

High on cocaine at the time, Abulaban said the remark ‘shook me and I snapped.’ He then punched her three times in the face.

The accused murderer testified in court that he was using cocaine to cope with his emotional struggles, but that the drugs were making him violent and aggressive.   

A few days after the argument, the couple fought again because Ana was going to a girls only party, which Abulaban felt was an attempt from her friends to ostracize her. 

He was also concerned because his wife mentioned bringing their young daughter to the party, which he felt would not be appropriate because he assumed there would be drugs there. 

He testified that he tried to block Ana from leaving through the front door and in his effort to keep her out, pushed her and she struck her head against their refrigerator. 

 Prosecutors previously said Abulaban had surreptitiously installed a listening device on his five-year-old daughter’s tablet device, and when he heard his wife and another man talking, he went to her apartment in San Diego and shot them to death. 

Around 3.10pm on the day of the slayings, police discovered both victims dead on the 35th floor of the Spire San Diego luxury apartment complex.  

Prosecutors said that the ‘jealous’ TikToker believed that his wife was cheating on him with Rayburn, as Brast said that Ana and Abulaban had already been separated ‘for quite some time’ before that.

According to Brast, Ana had asked her husband to move out on October 18 as he checked into a hotel. 

Three days later, Brast said, Abulaban sneaked back into the apartment and trashed it while his wife was gone. While he was there, she said that he also installed the listening app on his daughter’s iPad.

Prosecutors believe that Abulaban copied a key to Anna’s apartment and used it to get in. 

Abulaban then listened to the app hours later and heard his wife and a man talking and giggling, before he raced back to the high-rise, Brast said.

Security camera video showed him running out of the elevator on the 35th floor toward the apartment.

Brast said Abulaban shot Rayburn three times at close range – in the neck, cheek and back of the head – before he turned the gun on his wife, shooting her once in the forehead. 

The suspect then called his mother and confessed, Brast said.

‘The defendant then fled the building, went to pick up his daughter from school, still had the loaded gun in his car,’ Brast said. ‘[He] told his daughter that he “hurt mommy” and then he was soon apprehended by the police.’ 

With his young daughter still in the car, Abulaban was stopped by police later that day and arrested, according to investigators.