Obsessed with Fame, TikToker Left Trail of Violent Video Evidence Detailing Abuse of Wife He Murdered
Ali Abulaban is slated to be sentenced for two convictions of first-degree murder on June 28
Even the TikTok-famous couple’s fights were public.
Ali Abulaban had close to 1 million TikTok followers when he brutally killed his wife, Ana Marie Abulaban, and the man he believed to be her lover in 2021.
In a livestream to a social media account prior to her murder, Abulaban holds his phone with one hand, and, towering over his wife, who was sitting quietly on the couch, he points an object at her. Looking into the camera, he says: “Don’t get married guys, I threw my whole life away for her.”
In comments to the livestream, viewers tell him to “be strong” and “just tc bro,” meaning to take care. Another implies that police may be on their way, and: “When they get there just keep your mouth shut.”
Peacock’s original documentary TikTok Star Murders — premiering Tuesday, June 25 — pieces together never-before-seen footage of many more of the California couple’s private fights recorded on Abulaban’s cell phone, along with the videos he posted to tell the story of a publicly disintegrating relationship with deadly consequences. (The trailer, obtained exclusively by PEOPLE, is shown below.)
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At first, “it all seemed so perfect,” Ana’s friend, Rachel Marie Britt, tells Peacock.
Known for his viral comedic impressions of characters like Skyrim and Scarface, Abulaban’s videos — posted under the username @JinnKid — often included appearances by his beautiful, young wife.
He gained popularity in late 2019, but as his follower count ticked upward, his mindset unraveled, say those interviewed in the documentary.
“Her light was surrounded by a lot of darkness,” says Britt.
Sometimes, after fights, clothes were strewn all over the house. Once, after he allegedly hit Ana, the left side of her face bruised over, as shown in the documentary.
In one recording featured in the documentary, Ana shakes her head. “Ali, this marriage is not healthy anymore,” she tells her husband.
“I gave you this life,” he’s heard saying in another recording. “I’m going to show you how much you need me.”
A month before her murder, Ana filed a police report accusing her husband of domestic violence, Deputy District Attorney Taren Brast said in pretrial hearings for his murder trial, per The Los Angeles Times.
The couple was estranged by October 2021, when Ali — who had previously downloaded an app with a listening device on their five-year-old daughter’s iPad — overheard the voice of a man he believed to be having an affair with his wife.
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Ana Abulaban and Rayburn BarronBreaking into the San Diego apartment, he shot the man — Rayburn Barron, 29 — three times, killing him and fatally struck his 28-year-old wife in the head, per The L.A. Times.
He immediately called his mother, telling her that he had murdered them, Dalal Warra later testified at her son’s murder trial, per NBC San Diego. He sent her a photograph as proof.
“I hung up the phone and I literally fell on the ground," Warra told the jury in May, per CBS 8.
In an unusual turn, Abulaban also took the stand in his own defense, reportedly testifying that he said he used drugs and admitting to punching his wife on a previous occasion.
Related: Former TikToker Convicted of Killing Wife and the Man He Thought She Was Cheating with in 2021
At trial, he confessed to killing both Ana and Barron.
"I'm shooting and I can't stop,” he said of murdering his wife and her friend on a televised court proceeding on Court TV. "I just snapped.”
He added: “My gun was in my hand and next thing I'm shooting."
The jury deliberated on Abulaban’s intent behind their killings, ultimately determining that he had premeditated both actions.
In May he was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder.
Abulaban, who is scheduled for sentencing June 28, faces up to life in prison.
'TikTok Star Murders’ streams exclusively on Peacock Tuesday, June 25.
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