Ali Nasser Abulaban, who went by JinnKid on TikTok and other social media platforms, is accused of shooting his estranged wife and her friend in a luxury high-rise apartment in downtown San Diego in 2021Trial is expected to begin this month for a social media personality accused of fatally shooting his wife and another man at an East Village high-rise apartment building in the fall of 2021.
The woman killed last Thursday afternoon in a downtown high-rise double-slaying was married to the suspected shooter, who entered a not-guilty plea in the case on Monday. NBC 7's Artie Ojeda reports.Then, nearly two and a half years since the slayings, on the Monday of the following week, jury selection is expected to begin for Abulabon in Dept. 2002 at the same time in the same courtroom.
Abulaban, who went by the handle JinnKid on various social media platforms, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, allegations of using a handgun in the slayings, and a special-circumstance allegation of committing multiple murders, meaning he could face the death penalty if convicted and prosecutors choose to pursue capital punishment. He remains in custody without bail.
According to preliminary hearing testimony, the fallout of the Abulabans' marriage was precipitated by incidents of domestic violence and indications that Abulaban had been cheating on his wife with other women. SDPD Det. Sgt. Christopher Leahy testified that nine prior calls for service were made to the couple's apartment since July of 2021, but Abulaban was not arrested in connection with any of those incidents.
He allegedly later told investigators that while his wife was away on the morning of Oct. 21, he used the copied key to enter the apartment, vandalized the unit, then installed an app on his daughter's iPad that allowed him to monitor live audio inside the apartment.