A state appeals court panel Thursday rejected a bid to overturn the murder convictions for Ali Abulaban, the social media personality sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 50 years to life for killing his wife and another man at an East Village high-rise apartment.
Abulaban, 34, was found guilty by a San Diego jury of two counts of first-degree murder, plus special-circumstance allegations of committing multiple murders, 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.
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…