Former TikTok star sentenced in double murder

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Ali Abulaban, a former TikTok star who fatally shot his wife and another man in an East Village apartment, learned his fate Friday.

It was judgement day for Abulaban, but not before one last-ditch effort calling for a mistrial, which the judge shot down.

Abulaban was sentenced to a total prison term of 50 years to life plus two terms of life without the possibility of parole.

A jury of 12 found Abulaban guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in May. Abulaban had previously admitted to shooting and killing his wife, Ana Abulaban, and the man she was seeing, Rayburn Barron, in October 2021.

“The bottom line here is he will die in prison. He will never be a free man. He will take his last breath there,” Judge Jeffrey Fraser told the courtroom.

It was an unusual reaction as Ali Abulaban responded to cheers from the gallery after the judge read the sentencing.

Fraser said, “He’s a very talented actor. When I saw the Scarface videos, it’s as if when he committed these crimes, he became that persona of Scarface, just that coldblooded killing without remorse. Any tears that he’s cried in this courtroom have been for himself, they are not for Ray and Ana, but as he sits here today I don’t know if he’s really sorry. I have serious reservations about that, but I know he’s sorry about the consequences of going to prison for the rest of his life.”

The judge said the jurors made the right call in this case.

Before the sentencing, seven of Ana and Ray’s family members gave emotional statements to the judge, including Ana’s sister, who saw her sister’s murderer face-to-face in the courtroom for the first time.

Ali had one last chance to speak before he was sent to prison for life.

“I am so deeply sorry to each and every one of you who have suffered,” he said.

He also had a message for his daughter.

“When you’re old enough to see this, please don’t blame yourself. None of this is your fault. Your mom loved you so much.”

Nearly three years since the killings, Ana and Ray’s families say they are relieved.

“We knew it was going to be a good outcome, but this was the best, the best we could hope for, and we just thank God,” one family member said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.