SAN DIEGO — The jury has found former TikTok star Ali Abulaban guilty of first degree murder in the killing of his wife Ana, and friend, Ray Barron in an East Village high rise in October 2021. Read full coverage here.
Abulaban has admitted to the killings. Jurors will have to decide whether he’s guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter.
"First degree murder is an intent to kill with malice aforethought. So, you want to kill and you have an evil intent in your mind. Second degree murder is killing somebody, intending to do so with malice, not premeditated. Voluntary manslaughter is killing someone in the heat of passion," explained criminal defense attorney Gretchen Von Helms.
Von Helms, who is not associated with the Abulaban case, says when jurors meet Tuesday morning, they'll start discussing the lesser of those three charges, and work their way up.
"It starts at voluntary. And then you have to get 12 to say, yes, that's what happened. And then you ask 12 hey, is it second degree? Is everybody convinced in second degree? If they say yes, and then they go up to first degree. If everyone is convinced it’s first degree, except two people, for example say no, then it has to remain at second degree," said Von Helms.
This trial has gone on for nearly a month, so jurors have a lot of evidence to consider.
Von Helms says Abulaban's outbursts in court, which were often aimed at the prosecutor, could play a role in their verdict as well.
"If you can get a defendant to blow up at you on a domestic violence killing case, then it shows that that guy has anger, doesn't like women, wants to keep women in their place, for example. And so she very cleverly, just was pick pick pick pick, asking him question after question after question to get him to explode and he exploded on her. And then the jury can think, oh, maybe that's what he did with his wife," said Von Helms.
Abulaban is charged with killing Ana and Barron inside an East Village highrise in October 2021.
While the prosecution has presented evidence of a tumultuous relationship between Abulaban and Ana, Abulaban's defense has maintained he was a heavy cocaine user whose mental state was impacted by the breakdown of his marriage.
So, although his courtroom behavior may benefit the prosecution, Von Helms says it could also help the defense.
"It shows that he has lack of a frontal lobe. If your frontal lobe is affected by either drugs or mental illness, which in this case, both apply, then that stops you from being able to say, I shouldn't do that," said Von Helms.
Regardless of what the jury decides, Abulaban is looking at spending decades, possibly life in prison.
The judge will determine his exact sentence later on.
As for how long the jury will deliberate, it could range from hours to several days.
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