SAN DIEGO — The former TikTok star accused of murdering two people, including his wife, took the witness stand Tuesday morning to tell the jury his side of the story.
Ali Abulaban took the witness stand at about 9:30 a.m. The jury appeared to be listening intently to him, taking notes. Abulaban, dressed in a black suit, his hair pulled back, looked comfortable talking in front of the courtroom. He often dropped swear words.
He started off talking about his childhood. He testified his father was abusive, and he lived in fear of him. He said he never understood why his father was always angry with him.
Abulaban told the jury about an example of physical abuse he suffered. He recalled being a teenager and wanting his mom to buy him a Stars Wars toy that his father thought was childish. He said his father whipped him with a vacuum cable.
"That was the worst pain I've ever felt physically. I literally would beg him to stop. He's like 'Why are you f---ing crying?' as he's whipping me," said Abulaban.
He said growing up with Middle-Eastern parents, he felt he was constantly struggling to fit in. He said he didn't understand why other kids could do things he wasn't allowed to. He said he wanted to be more "American."
He testified he enlisted in the military at the age of 21. He said he was very lonely. He felt bullied by other service members. He said they made fun of him for being Arab.
It was in the military he met his wife, Ana. At the time, she was married to a fellow service member, whom he said was later discharged from the military. He and Ana began talking every night on Skype.
"She had this grace about her, this energy," he said. "She was very comfortable in her own skin. I really admired that because I was never comfortable in my own skin."
Abulaban said she introduced him to her friends. He testified he didn't feel her friends ever liked him.
He admitted as their relationship went on, there were times he physically hurt her.
"There were times you punched her?" asked his defense attorney, Jodi Green.
"Yes," said Abulaban.
"Times you shoved her?" said Green.
"Yes," said Abulaban.
The day ended with jurors listening to a 40 minute audio recording of one of Ana and Ali’s last arguments before the murders.
“I treated you like a (profanity) king!” Ana said through tears. “Well, you’re abusing me now,” Ali responded, also crying.
“Ya, because you (profanity) hurt me,” Ana said, getting louder. “You hurt me all the time and you continuously hurt me.”
Abulaban listened to the recording from the witness stand and wiped away tears multiple times.
Abulaban is the defense's last witness. Once his testimony wraps up, there will be closing arguments, then the jury gets the case.
WATCH RELATED: Ali Abulaban’s mother took the stand and talked about the call from her son (May 20, 2024)