Who Is Ali Abulaban? TikTok Star Accused of Killing Wife and Friend
Ali Abulaban has been in court this week, accused of killing his wife, Ana, and friend Rayburn Barron. Abulaban, a TikTok star who goes by the name JinnKid on the platform, has been charged with two counts of murder relating to the October 21 deaths.
According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, Deputy District Attorney Taren Brast said Abulaban installed a listening device on his 5-year-old daughter's iPad, allowing him to hear the events taking place in her home with his estranged wife, Ana.
Brast told the court that Abulaban heard Ana and another man talking and drove to their home and shot them both, before collecting his daughter from school.
Due to his charges and special-circumstance allegations of multiple killings, meaning more than one first-degree murder is being tried in the same trial, he could face the death penalty if found guilty.
Who Is Ali Abulaban?
Ali Abulaban is a TikTok star, who found fame as JinnKid on the platform.
He has 949,500 followers and is known for his impressions and comedic skits, mainly of character Tony Montana, who was played by Al Pacino in the 1983 movie Scarface.
Abulaban also does impressions and skits as a fictionalized version of 6ix9ine, an American rapper, and in scenes parodying the game Skyrim.
Before becoming a social media star, the 29-year-old from Virginia was a singer and began his music career aged 14.
Abulaban was married to Ana, with whom he had a 5-year-old daughter. However, Brast said they were estranged in the week before her death, and police were called due to allegations of domestic violence.
According to the Union-Tribune, Ana was allegedly seeking a restraining order against her husband, who had moved out of their shared home on October 18.
In her presentation to the court, Brast said Abulaban had installed a listening device on his daughter's iPad, and heard the voices of Ana and another man.
On October 21, Brast said security camera footage showed Abulaban running out of the elevator to Ana's 35th-floor apartment.
On that day, Barron was shot three times before Ana was also shot.
Brast said that after the killings, Abulaban called his mother and confessed to the crime before he went to pick up his daughter from school, while still in possession of a firearm.
Abulaban then called police while driving on Route 94 in San Diego, and was arrested 45 minutes later on Route 15. His daughter was with him at the time of his arrest, and is said to be with family as the court case continues.
Abulaban is currently being held without the possibility of bail, and Judge Kimberlee Lagotta put a temporary protective order in place so he cannot contact his daughter.
Newsweek has contacted the San Diego District Attorney's Office for comment.
