Murder Charge for California Tech Executive
A technology executive from California, who has experience in electric vehicle development, has been arrested and charged with murder following the discovery of his wife’s body along a Southern California highway late last year.
Authorities in San Bernardino County reported that a woman’s body was located 75 feet down an embankment near Highway 138 on November 18, 2025. The woman, dressed in a blue sweatshirt and pants along with white tennis shoes, was found on the mountainside.
Initially, an autopsy indicated that her injuries resulted from a fall. However, this month, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department announced that they were treating the case as a homicide. In the early stages of the investigation, local authorities had limited details about the victim, only describing her as a white female estimated to be between 25 and 35 years old, and sought help from the public.
After a thorough investigation, authorities identified the deceased as Aryan Papoli, 58, from Newport Beach. Reports indicate that investigators arrested her estranged husband, Gordon Abbas Goodarzi, 66, at his residence on January 23. Court documents allege that Goodarzi killed his wife for financial reasons.
According to court records, a wealthy tech executive, accused of pushing his wife down a mountain in Southern California, did so to prevent her from taking millions from their joint bank account.
Aryan Papoli had withdrawn between $5 million and $8 million from their shared bank account and intended to distribute their significant wealth between their two sons, as indicated in a sworn affidavit obtained by a local news source.
At the time, the couple, who had been married for 28 years, were engaged in a contentious divorce initiated by Papoli, who sought to protect her sons’ inheritance from what she perceived as her husband’s greed.
Goodarzi is known in California’s technology sector, particularly within the competitive robotics community. He serves as the president and CEO of Magmotor, a company that supports combat robotics and sponsors various teams annually. The firm is linked to the popular competition BattleBots. His LinkedIn profile reveals that he has been involved as a researcher at UCLA since 2023.
Both Papoli and Goodarzi hail from Iran and reside in the upscale Rolling Hills area of Los Angeles County. In a blog post, Papoli described the area’s serene atmosphere and natural beauty, noting how “the winding streets lined with tall trees create a peaceful retreat from city life.”
Papoli portrayed herself as a business executive, having previously been the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Operations. However, she stepped away from corporate responsibilities to pursue creative avenues and non-profit endeavors. “Art has always been my passion,” she wrote, expressing her enjoyment of ceramics, painting, and photography, frequently capturing the beauty of her neighborhood. “Through our careers and creative pursuits, we’ve truly made this place our home,” she stated.
In her writings, Papoli characterized her husband as an innovator in renewable energy, having worked on electric and hybrid vehicle development since the 1980s. She recounted his role as a technical director at Hughes Electronics, contributing to the development of the EV1, one of the first modern electric cars, during the 1990s.
