TikTok Star Accused of Bugging Daughter's iPad Before Murdering Wife and Friend

Ali Abulaban, a popular TikTok user accused of killing his estranged wife and a man Abulaban believed was her romantic partner, pleaded not guilty on Monday to two counts of murder as well as special-circumstance allegations.

During the court proceedings in San Diego, a prosecutor said Abulaban installed a listening device on his 5-year-old daughter's iPad. After listening on the tablet to his wife talking with another man, he then allegedly went to her apartment and shot her and the man to death on October 21, according to the prosecutor.

Abulaban, 29, is a popular star on TikTok, where he is known as JinnKid. He has more than 940,000 followers on the social media app, and his account features comedy skits and impersonations of the character Tony Montana, originally played by Al Pacino in the 1983 film Scarface.

Deputy District Attorney Taren Brast said Abulaban was captured by a security camera video running out of the elevator to his wife Ana Abulaban's 35th-floor apartment in the East Village neighborhood of San Diego on October 21.

Once in the apartment, Abulaban allegedly shot Rayburn Barron, 29, three times before shooting Ana, 28, in the head, according to Brast.

After leaving, Abulaban allegedly picked up his daughter from school while he was still armed.

Brast said she believes Barron and Ana Abulaban were only friends.

Ana Abulaban asked her husband to move out of the apartment on October 18, and he checked into a hotel, according to Brast. Three days later, the suspect allegedly snuck back into the apartment they once shared and trashed it as well as installed a listening app on his daughter's iPad.

CBS affiliate station KFMB-TV reported Abulaban was detained after a traffic stop. His daughter, who was in the car at the time of the stop, was taken into protective custody and is reportedly now in the care of other family members.

Brast said that Abulaban called his mother and confessed to the alleged crimes.

According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, Brast also said Abulaban has a history of domestic violence and that his wife called police last month after he allegedly became physical with her.

The charges and special allegations against Abulaban allow prosecutors to pursue the death penalty if he is convicted. The District Attorney's Office has not yet announced whether it plans to seek the death penalty or life in prison if he is found guilty.

Abulaban's attorney did not comment on the allegations during the hearing, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Newsweek contacted the San Diego District Attorney's Office for further comment but did not hear back in time for publication.

judge, court, law, gavel, stock, getty,
A TikTok star is accused of murdering his estranged wife and her friend. This undated stock image shows a judge's gavel. Getty

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