Ali Abulaban, a 32-year-old social media personality known as “JinnKid,” was sentenced on Friday to two consecutive life terms without parole, plus an additional 50 years, for the fatal shooting of his Filipino-American wife, Ana Abulaban, and another man. The killings took place on October 21, 2021, in their East Village high-rise apartment in San Diego.
Abulaban was convicted in May for the first-degree murders of his 28-year-old wife and 29-year-old Rayburn Cardenas Barron. Both victims were shot while seated on a couch in the 35th-floor apartment.
During the trial, Deputy District Attorney Taren Brast argued that Abulaban was driven by possessiveness and rage, determined to kill Ana and any man she was with after she sought to leave him. “This case was all about power and control until the very end,” Brast told jurors.
Abulaban’s defense team sought a lesser conviction of voluntary manslaughter, arguing that he acted out of uncontrollable emotion after suspecting his wife of infidelity. His lawyer, Jodi Green, pointed to undiagnosed mental health issues and a cocaine addiction as factors influencing his actions.
At the sentencing, Judge Jeffrey Fraser denied the defense’s request to reduce the sentence, saying the jury’s verdict was “the only verdict a reasonable person could come up with.” He criticized Abulaban as “selfish” and expressed doubt about his remorse.
Ana’s family delivered emotional statements during the hearing, with her father, Ron Miller, saying, “I don’t consider him a man. A man wouldn’t do this. I want him to rot in prison.” Her sister, Hermae Sartin, described Ana as a loving and forgiving person whose death has left an irreplaceable void in their lives.
Barron’s family also mourned the loss, with his sister describing him as “full of light” and lamenting the future that was taken from him.
