TikTok star accused of wife's murder says she bragged about sleeping with friend

24 May 2024 , 12:32

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The pair reportedly split and began living separately several days before Ana's murder (Image: @jinnkid/facebook)

A TikTok star accused of murdering his wife has described how he “snapped” after she bragged about sleeping with one of his friends.

Ali Abulaban, 32, known JinnKid on social media, described how the couple's lives became a whirlwind of drugs and partying after they moved from Virginia to San Diego. Abulaban is facing first-degree murder charges for the shooting of his wife, Ana Abulaban, 28, and her friend Rayburn Cadenas Barron, 29 on October 21, 2021, in San Diego.

Prosecutors alleged Abulaban, who had previously separated from his wife and moved into a hotel, heard her speaking to a man in her apartment via a listening device on his five-year-old daughter’s tablet device. Abulaban then used a copied key to gain access to Ana's apartment, prosecutors said, where he shot Rayburn in the neck, cheek and back of the head before turning the gun on his wife, shooting her in the head.

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He described how he became violent towards Ana after the couple moved to San Diego and started using drugs and partying

Abulaban took the stand for trial on Tuesday but in day-long testimony, he did not touch on the events of October 21. Instead, he described his married life with Ana following their move from Virginia to San Diego, which he said she insisted on despite his reservations.

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He claimed she grew angry if anything interfered with their plans to move and when he wanted to postpone the move after his brother suffered a mental health episode, she allegedly told him: “take me to San Diego or I'm divorcing you.” He described how after they arrived in the city the couple quickly descended into a life of drugs and partying - which Abulaban said was a result of Ana’s friend group there.

Abulaban spent an entire day on the witness stand without even discussing the events of October 21 (NBC San Diego)

“We were a close-knit unit and then we brought in these friends into our life,” he testified. There were arguments about infidelity on both sides, he recalled, with a specific incident in July 2021 where Ana claimed she had slept with one of his friends.

Abulaban said the remark “shook me and I snapped.” He then punched her three times in the face - he admitted he was high on cocaine at the time. He blamed the drugs for making him violent and aggressive, claiming he was using them to cope with his emotional struggles.

Abulaban faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of all counts and allegations

He also recounted an incident where he tried to stop Ana from going to a girls only party, which Abulaban said he felt was an attempt from her friends to cut him off. He also claimed his wife mentioned taking their young daughter to the party, saying he did not feel it would be appropriate as he believed there would be drugs there. He testified that he tried to stop Ana from leaving through the front door, and in an attempt to block her he pushed her and she hit her head against their fridge.

Prosecutors claim the "jealous" TikToker believed his wife was cheating on him with Rayburn as the pair had been separated "for quite some time" before that. Ana reportedly asked her husband to move out on October 18 as he checked into a hotel. Three days later, Abulaban is said to have snuck back into the apartment and trashed it while his wife was gone. While there, he is also said to have installed a listening app on his daughter's iPad.

The pair reportedly split and began living separately several days before Ana's murder (@jinnkid/facebook)

Police discovered the dead bodies of Ana Abulaban and Rayburn Cadenas Barron in the luxury apartment on the 35th floor of the Spire San Diego complex at 3.10pm on October 21. Prosecutors said CCTV at the building showed Abulaban running out of the elevator on the 35th floor toward the apartment and he had called his mother after the shootings to confess his crime; he was arrested later that day.

Abulaban allegedly shot Rayburn three times at close range - in the neck, cheek and back of the head - before he allegedly turned the gun on his wife, shooting her once in the forehead. Abulaban faces life in prison without parole if convicted on all counts, jurors are expected to begin their deliberations at the end of the week.

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