A former San Diego TikTok star will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing his estranged wife and her lover in October 2021, a judge ruled during a heated hearing Friday.
Ali Abraban, 32, who went by the name “Jinkid” on social media, was sentenced to two consecutive sentences of 25 years to life in prison without parole for the murders of his wife, Ana Abraban, 28, and Rayburn Cardenas Barron, 29, at the Spire San Diego luxury apartment complex in the East Village. He admitted to the allegations at trial.
Ali testified at his trial in May that he couldn't stop shooting Ana and Barron after finding them in bed together. He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in May. NBC San Diego reported.
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Ali Ablaban was convicted in October 2021 of murdering his estranged wife, Ana Ablaban, and her lover. (Facebook/Jinkid)
The convicted killer went by the name JinnKid on TikTok and had about 940,000 followers at the time of the murders. Ali's account featured comedy skits and impersonations of Tony Montana, a character from the 1983 film “Scarface,” Assistant District Attorney Tarren Brust said after Ali's arraignment in October 2021.
“He's a very talented actor. When you watch the 'Scarface' video, it's almost like he became that Scarface persona when he committed these crimes,” San Diego Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Fraser said of Ali during the hearing. “Just cold-blooded, unrepentant murder.”
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During Ali's sentence, the crowd cheered and Ali responded with jeering applause. A video of the process will be shown.
“I don't know if he's truly remorseful,” Fraser told the court. “I can't say he regrets killing two innocent people.”
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Ana Abrabar was allegedly in a physical relationship with Rayburn Barron, pictured here, at the time of her murder. (Facebook/Rayburn Barron)
In a statement, Ali Ablaban apologized for what happened but claimed his actions were partly due to mental illness and substance abuse. He went on to defend his actions as a “crime of passion.”
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“The fact that I spent longer on the witness stand than the jury spent deliberating my fate is deeply disturbing,” he told the court. NBC San Diego reported.
“He will die in prison,” Fraser declared in court.
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Ali Ablaban testified in his own defense during his trial for the murder of his estranged wife and her alleged lover. (Facebook/Anna Marie Abraban)
During the trial, prosecutors said Ana demanded that Ali leave before he checked into the hotel, then sneaked back to the high-rise apartment he shares with his wife. He is said to have ransacked the apartment and left his daughter's iPad with a recording device in Ana's bedroom.
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The man, who heard the conversation between his wife and the other man on the recorder, allegedly returned to the apartment and shot Barron three times in the head and Ana once in the head.
“And before I could stop myself, I just couldn't take it anymore. I had the gun in my hand and next thing I knew I was shooting. And I couldn't stop. I was just shooting. I was shooting and I freaked out,” Ali testified at the trial. Fox 5 San Diego. “It's like I'm witnessing it all and I feel like I'm in the passenger seat of my own body.”
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Defendant Ali Abraban, 29, reacts during arraignment at San Diego Central Court, Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, in San Diego. (Jarrod Valliere/San Diego Union-Tribune via The Associated Press)
During a victim impact statement at the sentencing, Ana Abraban's sister cried out to Ali about the impact the loss had had on their family.
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“I never thought that living with you would make my sister's life miserable,” she said, according to NBC San Diego. “You treated her like she didn't matter to you, but she was important to me.”
