A popular celebrity impressionist from California pleaded not guilty on Monday to killing his estranged wife and her friend on Thursday.
Deputy District Attorney Taren Brast said Ali Abulaban, 29, entered a high-rise San Diego apartment, shot Rayburn Cardenas Barron, 29, three times at point-blank range, then shot his wife, Ana Abulaban, 28, in the head. After the shooting, Ali called his mother and confessed, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Afterward, Ali allegedly picked up his daughter and called the police as he drove on state Route 94. He was arrested 45 minutes later with his daughter in the vehicle.
On October 18, Ali reportedly moved out of the shared apartment following a domestic incident. Prosecutors said Ana filed a restraining order against him and was looking into divorce, according to KSWB.
Prosecutors claimed Ali secretly kept a key to the home and was entering without his wife’s knowledge. At some point, he allegedly installed an app on his daughter’s iPad which allowed him to listen to what was going on inside the apartment on his cellphone.
On the day of the shooting, Ali reportedly accessed the app and heard his wife and a man talking at the apartment. Ali is believed to have driven from a motel to the apartment to shoot his estranged wife and Barron.
KNSD reported that Ali believed his wife was cheating on him. A neighbor’s Nest video camera reportedly filmed him leaving the apartment the day his wife and Barron were killed.
Brast claimed Ali not only confessed to his mother about the slaying — but he told his daughter that he “hurt mommy.”
Ali goes by JinnKid on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, where he posts skits and celebrity impressions to his hundreds of thousands of followers.
Ali has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder. He was seen sobbing on Monday as Judge Kimberlee Lagotta deemed him a flight risk and ordered him to remain jailed without bail.
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[Featured image: Ali and Ana Abulaban/KNSD; TikTok]
