TikTok Star Ali Abulaban Was Found Guilty of Murder and Now Faces Life in Prison

While testifying during her son's trial in May 2024, Dalal Warra recalled falling to the ground after receiving a harrowing phone call from her son in October 2021. TikTok star Ali Abulaban told his mother that he had just murdered his estranged wife and her new partner. "That's not funny, that's not funny Ali," she said, per CBS 8. "Don't say that, that's not funny." She then received photographic proof. Warra deleted the picture and collapsed.

The image showed Ana Abulaban and her boyfriend Rayburn Barron on a couch. They had both been shot. Ali Abulan later told the court that he began shooting and just couldn't stop, per NBC San Diego. Where is the former TikTok influencer now? He's awaiting his fate.

According to NBC San Diego, on May 29, 2024, Abulaban was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. As the verdict was read, Abulaban sat silently but with wide eyes, only turning around to look behind him as the judge said guilty. Soon after, the former TikTok star burst into tears.

"Finally, my brother and Ana got a little bit of justice," Jordana Barron told the outlet. "Obviously nothing is going to bring our brother or Ana back, but at least he is never going to be able to do this to another person again." Becauase Abulaban admitted to killing Ana and Barron, the jury was left to decide whether or not he planned to murder them. Ultimately, they decided he did. His sentencing is scheduled for June 28 where Abulaban could get life in prison.

At the time of the murders, Abulaban, who went by JinnKids on TikTok, had nearly 1 million followers on the popular app, per the Los Angeles Times. He rose to social media fame via comedy sketches and his spot-on impersonation of Al Pacino's Scarface character, Tony Montana. He dipped his toes into the entertainment world at 14 as a singer, before shifting to content creation.

Ana had recently asked Abulaban for a divorce due to "sustained physically and emotionally abusive behavior," as reported by NBC San Diego. Evidently he had also cheated on her which prompted Ana to begin dating Barron. Abulaban was living at a hotel in Mission Bay after Ana asked him to leave, though he testified during his trial that he hoped they would work things out. This idea was supported by the fact that he sent her groceries and flowers the day of the murders.

In response to his gesture, Abulaban received what he felt was a somewhat apathetic text. This raised suspicions for the influencer who drove over to her apartment only to discover the groceries were outside and the roses were flattened on the table, beneath Ana's purse. He texted his estranged wife to find out where she was and when she lied about being home, he destroyed the apartment. In a recording played in court, he can be heard screaming, "She's lying! She's cheating on me!"

Gripped by jealousy, he used an app on their daughter's iPad to spy on what was going on his Ana's apartment. When he heard a male voice, Abulaban returned to the apartment and killed them both. He then picked up their 5-year-old daughter from school and told her, "I hurt Mommy." Abulaban was arrested soon after.