TikTok Star Claims He "Snapped" Before Killing Estranged Wife and Her Lover

Ali Abulaban, 32, took to the stand to testify in his own defense Wednesday after being charged over the October 2021 slayings of his wife and her lover in San Diego. He is pictured during his arraignment. AP

TikTok star Ali Abulaban, 32, testified in his defense on Wednesday, claiming he "snapped" and couldn't stop shooting when he saw his estranged wife, Ana Abulaban, 28, and her friend, Rayburn Cadenas Barron, 29, cuddling on a couch. Abulaban is on trial for their October 2021 murders in San Diego.

Taking the stand, Abulaban admitted to previously punching his wife in the face during an argument where she confessed to sleeping with one of his friends. Growing paranoid about her fidelity, he bugged their luxury high-rise apartment using his young daughter's iPad. Upon hearing Ana and Barron talking and laughing, he rushed to the apartment and found them embracing, leading to the fatal shooting spree.

Abulaban, pictured with his estranged wife Ana, told his murder trial that he "snapped" after seeing them cuddling on the couch together.

"I couldn’t take the (expletive) betrayal," Abulaban told jurors. He described feeling like he was "in the passenger seat of my own body" during the shooting. After the killings, he called his mother to confess and sent her a photo of the bodies, which he claimed he couldn't remember taking. He then picked up his 5-year-old daughter from school and told her, “I hurt Mommy,” according to the trial.

Prosecutors argued that Ana had kicked Abulaban out of their 35th-floor apartment days earlier, following multiple domestic violence incidents. Abulaban, however, believed reconciliation was possible and claimed he was "giving her space" by staying in a hotel. On the day of the murders, he became suspicious when Ana gave a nonchalant response to a grocery and rose delivery he had sent.

He is accused of killing his wife, Ana Abulaban, 28, and her friend Rayburn Cadenas Barron, 29, (above) in San Diego.

Abulaban testified that after finding the groceries outside the apartment and the flowers crushed, he trashed the apartment and installed a listening app on his daughter's iPad. Listening from his hotel room, he heard Ana and Barron, which sent him into a rage. He drove to the apartment, barged in, and opened fire.

Defense attorney claims Abulaban was "not in his right mind" during the killings, contesting the first-degree murder charges. Meanwhile, prosecutors highlighted a history of alleged domestic violence, including an incident where Abulaban punched his wife just days before the shooting.

Ali Abulaban has been accused of shooting Ana Abulaban and her friend Rayburn Cadenas Barron after bugging his daughter's iPad.

After being thrown out of the apartment he shared with his wife, Ali Abulaban allegedly returned to trash the place and bug his daughter's iPad.

Abulaban, known as JinnKid on TikTok with nearly a million followers, had gained popularity for his comedy skits and celebrity impersonations, including Tony Montana from "Scarface." He faces two counts of first-degree murder and could be sentenced to life in prison without parole if convicted.