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Social media influencer Ali Abulaban let online fame and jealous rage consume him as seen in the recently released TikTok Star Murders. The Peacock documentary delves into the case of the TikTok star, formally known as “Jinnkid,” who was convicted of shooting his estranged wife Ana, and her friend, Rayburn Cardenas Barron in 2021. This project comes from Executive Producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and G-Unit Films & Television, Inc., in participation with Lusid Media.
The events that led up to the tragic double murder are chronicled through never-before-aired and unsettling cellphone footage and audio. Friends and family of Ali and Ana speak about the couple’s often turbulent relationship. Experts including forensic psychologist Dr. Joni Johnston provide perspective on where there may have been warning signs. Sentencing for Ali was initially set a few days after the doc’s release. However, the date was moved to September 6 after his attorney requested a postponement.
Kelsey Christensen, who was at Fox 5 San Diego at the time, recalls first reporting from the scene at the high-rise Spire Apartments. Clips from her jailhouse interview with Ali is included in the doc. Here Christensen reflects on the explosive session and why it was important for her to be part of the project.
Ali and Ana Abulaban (Facebook)
Now that the documentary is out, what are your thoughts on how the story was covered?
Kelsey Christensen: It was exactly what I thought. I had only seen snippets of it, but I think it was so well done. A lot of my friends have said they loved it. With true crime, a lot of it tends to be about the gore. I think this documentary does a really good job of explaining how domestic violence can happen and how things can unravel. This documentary provides something we can all take from rather than just the gore side of it. They did a great job.
How was it revisiting this case?
It was just incredibly heartbreaking and sad to watch it over again. It’s not just Ana and Ali. It was also Ray who was also murdered. Ana and Ali also have a daughter, who essentially is without parents with Ali in prison likely for the rest of his life. We’ll see after the sentencing happens. What makes this case so unique is you don’t often have a case, especially one that goes to trial, that has audio evidence, video evidence, and the vast number of character witnesses they had. There was no debating what happened, which is why Ali had to take the road of, “Yeah, I did kill them.” It is bone-chilling really.
What was it like to look back on the jailhouse interview you did with Ali?
Everyone was like, “Were you nervous or scared?” I really wasn’t because you have a piece of glass between you. There are security guards there. It just reminded me how up and down his personality is, which you see in the trial. This guy essentially admitted to killing them right after the arraignment of pleading not guilty. It’s so shocking. You don’t meet people like that very often.
Tell me a bit about covering the case.
I was covering breaking news the second day. I was at Spire Apartments for much of the day trying to collect information. Then I watched the arraignment and saw the guy lose it after the arraignment, even saying profanities about his wife who just died. It was shocking. As I always do in cases, you have to be fair as a journalist. So I wrote him and said, “Hey, do you want to talk to me to get your side of what happened?”
And unsurprisingly he said yes, given how much he enjoyed the limelight. I went to interview him for 45 minutes to an hour. It was an explosive interview. As far as TikTok, I remember when I mentioned to friends or colleagues who I was talking to, even those who didn’t live in San Diego. They knew who he was because of TikTok. It’s all so fascinating how we are all connected in this world of social media nowadays. I think there was also so much interest in the case because he had some two million followers and went dark on social media on TikTok. Where is he? He is in jail, now convicted of murdering his wife and her friend. It’s just crazy to see it all play out.
Was there anything from the interview that we didn’t see from the doc or the initial piece from the station?
Nothing is popping up in my mind, but for my piece, I really took both sides of his explanation of what happened and put them together. At first, he is saying, “I’m driving to the apartment and opening the door, and they are dead, I call 911.” Then 10 minutes later he said, “I drive to the apartment, open the door, I see them kissing on my couch, and then I…” You don’t land an interview like that too often.
Did he ask for a follow-up? Did you get any feedback from him after?
At the end, I said, “Why did you agree to talk to me? He said, “I just wanted to get my side of the story out?” I asked, “How does your lawyer feel about this?” He said, “She strongly advised against it.” I see why. I think that I was the only interview and reporter he spoke with after that. He threw up kind of like a heart sign at the end. I was like, “Wait, what do you think is going on here?” He then asked me if I would help him get a lawyer. I told him that wasn’t the business I was in. It was the last time we spoke.
The documentary came out a few days before sentencing was supposed to take place. It has since been delayed. What was your reaction to this news?
I just feel bad for the family, having to drag this out even more. The trial was postponed for so long, months and months. I just hope they can get this finished. I want the family to be able to put this to rest and try to move on the best they can.
What was it like being part of the documentary?
I left San Diego, about two years now, to come home to Minneapolis. Lusid Media said they saw my jailhouse interview, and we talked about participating and this would be a good fit. I flew out there for the first interview, just talking about my experience. They followed up after the trial happened. That’s when it was a lot of work. I do a morning show in Minneapolis, and thanks to the time difference, I’m streaming the trial at home and watching it every day. It was like working doubles. They flew me out for the trial right at the end. We did a four-hour interview. I flew out that night and worked the next day. It was a lot.
But it was important for you to be a part of it.
Definitely. It was important for me personally to see it through. I had been so invested in this case. I missed the court proceedings once I moved to Minneapolis, so it was a nice way to stay connected and still cover it and see what happens with it.
You mentioned having the only jailhouse interview. I think your coverage showed how important local news and journalism is.
You are so connected to the community. You have a good pulse of what is going on and what people care about and who these people are…You have to keep a check on the folks in your community and hold people in power accountable. Also, with human interest stories as well, this could easily be a copy and paste, but you don’t get to dig into what happened or why it happened, and what everyone has to say. These are the lessons that we could learn from this. Rather than a copy and paste of what happened, let’s go into the why. Local news can do that as did the fantastic documentary with this case.
If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic abuse, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233.
TikTok Star Murders is streaming on Peacock