Ali Abulaban, the former TikTok influencer serving life without parole for the 2021 shooting deaths of his wife and her friend in San Diego's East Village, appeared before a California appeals panel Wednesday seeking a new trial. His attorney argued that Abulaban's online fame turned his 2024 trial into a referendum on his character rather than a fair review of the evidence.
The hourlong hearing before the California Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One, drew a three-justice panel weighing whether legal errors during the trial warrant overturning Abulaban's conviction, according to CBS 8. Abulaban, who built a following of more than 940,000 TikTok followers and 170,000 YouTube subscribers under the handle JinnKid primarily through comedy skits and impersonations of Al Pacino's Tony Montana character from Scarface, according to the LA Times, was not present for the hearing.
Appellate courts face a steep legal standard in these situations, focused on identifying trial errors rather than re-litigating the facts a jury already decided, and CBS 8's report notes the panel is not in the business of reevaluating witness credibility or evidence. Each side was allotted 15 minutes to argue its position, with attorney Laura Schaefer representing Abulaban and the California Attorney General's Office defending the conviction.
Defense Says Jury Judged the Man, Not the Evidence
Schaefer argued that Abulaban was, in her words, put on trial as a person rather than on the evidence, contending that the jury viewed the case through a prejudiced lens shaped by his online notoriety. She acknowledged that Abulaban livestreamed a substantial part of his life but pushed back on the prosecution's premeditation theory, arguing the killings were not planned.
Schaefer also pointed to Abulaban's decision to photograph the crime scene, arguing that recording the incident was inconsistent with planning to kill someone. Abulaban maintains the shootings were a crime of passion rather than premeditated first-degree murder, and separately argues he was improperly sentenced. Schaefer declined News 8's request for comment following the hearing.
The Attorney General's Office countered that the jury understood exactly who Abulaban was, noting he testified in his own defense for three days during the trial. Prosecutors at the hearing also referenced racial remarks Abulaban had made in social media videos and brought up the finding of what they described as teen pornography on his phone, an allegation Abulaban has denied.
A Case Built on Digital Surveillance and a Deadly Confrontation
A San Diego Superior Court jury convicted Abulaban on May 29, 2024, of two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances, capping a 16-day trial in which defense attorneys had urged jurors toward a voluntary manslaughter verdict instead, according to the Times of San Diego. Prosecutors had built their case around Abulaban's covert conduct in the days before the killings. Three days after his wife, Ana Abulaban, asked him to move out of their 35th-floor apartment at the Spire San Diego high-rise on Island Avenue, prosecutors say he secretly re-entered the home, vandalized it, and installed a listening app on his 5-year-old daughter's iPad, then drove nine miles to confront Ana and her friend Rayburn Cardenas Barron after overhearing them talking and laughing through the app, per the LA Times. Ana Abulaban, 28, and Barron, 29, were shot while sitting on a couch, the outlet reported. Immediately afterward, Abulaban photographed the crime scene, texted the image to his mother, and picked up his 5-year-old daughter from school while still armed, before eventually calling 911. Police arrested him roughly 45 minutes later with his daughter in the vehicle.
Judge Jeffrey Fraser sentenced Abulaban on September 6, 2024, to two consecutive terms of life without parole, plus an additional 50 years to life for firearm enhancements, the Times of San Diego reported. Fraser denied defense requests for concurrent sentences and described Abulaban as selfish and lacking remorse. News 8 has previously interviewed Abulaban from behind bars following his sentencing.
A True-Crime Documentary and a Broader Pattern
The case drew national attention beyond the courtroom. Peacock released a true-crime documentary titled TikTok Star Murders in mid-2024, later broadcast on Oxygen, examining the couple's history after they met in 2014 while both served in the U.S. Air Force in Japan, according to TIME. The film detailed prior instances of domestic verbal abuse and drug use the couple had streamed online, TIME reported. Abulaban has claimed that extensive media coverage, including his own online celebrity, compromised his right to a fair trial.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan noted after Abulaban's sentencing that domestic violence claims an average of 13 lives each year across the county, according to a San Diego County District Attorney's Office release, with domestic violence homicides historically accounting for about 14% of all homicides in the county. More recent figures underscore the pattern: San Diego County recorded eight domestic violence-related homicide deaths in 2024, alongside 15,298 domestic violence calls for assistance to local law enforcement that year, per the Times of San Diego, with seven of the eight victims that year women killed by current or former partners.
What Comes Next
The three-justice panel that heard Wednesday's arguments must issue a written opinion within 90 days under California appellate practice, as CBS 8 reported. Appellate courts in these cases evaluate trial judge rulings and constitutional procedures rather than re-examining witness credibility or factual findings, meaning the justices will weigh Schaefer's arguments about prejudicial publicity and sentencing against the Attorney General's Office's position that the jury fairly assessed the evidence, including Abulaban's own three days of testimony. Until the ruling comes down, Abulaban remains in custody serving his life sentence without the possibility of parole.
