SAN DIEGO (CNS) — Jurors in the murder trial of Ali Abulaban, the social media personality convicted of murdering his wife and another man at an East Village high-rise apartment, were presented with extraneous, irrelevant character evidence about Abulaban that prevented them from viewing him objectively, a defense attorney argued Wednesday.
Abulaban, 34, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 50 years to life, for gunning down Ana Abulaban, 28, and Rayburn Cardenas Barron, 29, inside the Abulabans' 35th-floor unit at the Spire San Diego apartments on Oct. 21, 2021.
Abulaban is appealing his convictions for two counts of first-degree murder, plus special-circumstance allegations of committing multiple murders.
At trial, Deputy District Attorney Taren Brast argued Abulaban -- who was known in online circles as a content creator dubbed "JinnKid" -- was possessive, jealous and abusive to his wife, prompting Ana to want to leave the marriage.
On the day of the killings, Abulaban concealed an iPad inside the apartment in order to catch his wife with another man. Later, while at a hotel, Abulaban overheard Ana and Barron's voices, sped over to the apartment, and gunned down both victims as they sat on a couch.
Abulaban's trial attorney, Jodi Green, told jurors that after months of suspecting his wife was cheating, Abulaban was overcome with emotion upon seeing her on the couch with another man and opened fire on the pair without any control over his faculties.
Abulaban, who testified in his defense, said he "snapped" upon seeing the victims and the next thing he knew, "I'm shooting and I can't stop."
Green argued the killings were committed in the heat of passion and sought a voluntary manslaughter conviction.
Laura Schaefer, who is representing Abulaban in his appeal, argued before a three-justice panel of the Fourth District Court of Appeal that a large portion of the trial testimony was dedicated to negative evidence about Abulaban's character that had nothing to do with the homicides.
Some of the evidence -- much of which Schaefer argued was hearsay -- dealt with racist and homophobic slurs Abulaban allegedly stated and his pornography viewing habits, the attorney argued.
Schaefer argued this evidence was improperly admitted and only served to portray Abulaban as a bad person, while having no relevance to what his state of mind was during the shooting.
"I think it would be very difficult for a jury to even view my client's testimony objectively after hearing this kind of evidence," she argued.
She also argued jurors were not properly instructed on how intoxication may have played a role in Abulaban's mindset on the day of the killings. Jurors heard evidence of Abulaban's cocaine addiction, as well as defense evidence regarding undiagnosed mental health issues and an abusive upbringing.
Deputy Attorney General Arlyn Escalante, arguing on behalf of the state, said any potential errors related to the character evidence admitted at trial were "demonstratively harmless," especially amid "overwhelming, uncontroverted evidence of appellant's guilt."
Escalante said that while Schaefer argued jurors were not allowed to gain a complete picture of Abulaban's character, they were in fact allowed to hear directly from Abulaban during three full days of testimony he delivered on the stand.
Justice Terry O'Rourke agreed that there was "overkill" in terms of trial evidence focused on Abulaban's character, but said he felt there was also ample evidence of his premeditation and intent to kill.
O'Rourke cited Abulaban's internet searches for pictures of dead bodies not long before the killings, as well as statements he made to others in which he claimed he'd kill any man he saw Ana with.
The panel took the matter under submission and will publish a written ruling at a later time.
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Previous Coverage:
- TikTok star charged with murder admits to violent relationship in court
- Trial to begin for TikTok star accused of killing wife, man in East Village
- Trial begins for TikTok star accused of murdering wife, man in East Village
- Mother, psychologist, testify in 'JinnKid' trial of East Village killings
- Former TikTok star outraged during trial for killing his wife
- Jury deliberations begin in trial of former TikTok star accused of double murder
- TikTok star Ali Abulaban convicted of killing wife, her friend
- Ex-TikTok star Ali Abulaban sentenced in killings of wife, man in East Village
