A wealthy Southern California tech executive allegedly killed his wife by shoving her from a mountain road to stop her from moving millions out of their joint accounts, according to explosive new court documents.
Prosecutors say Gordon Abas Goodarzi was motivated by money after his estranged wife, Aryan Papoli, withdrew between $5 million and $8 million from accounts they shared and began taking steps to protect her sons’ inheritance amid a bitter divorce.
The stunning allegations are laid out in a probable cause affidavit obtained by The California Post, which claims the killing was carried out “in part” for financial gain. Prosecutors allege Goodarzi stood to benefit by asserting control over the money and property if Papoli was no longer alive.
The couple, married for 28 years, was five months into divorce proceedings when Papoli’s body was discovered at the bottom of a 75-foot embankment along a mountain road in San Bernardino County on Nov. 18. Authorities say the location was not random — the town of Crestline, where her body was found, was also home to one of the couple’s properties.
At the time of her death, Papoli and Goodarzi were locked in a high-stakes legal fight over a sprawling real estate portfolio. That included a $3 million Rolling Hills Estate marital home where Goodarzi was later arrested, a $1 million house in Chino Hills, a vacant Southern California lot valued at roughly $500,000, a Crestline property, and a massive 43,000-square-foot industrial site in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Court documents allege Papoli was actively trying to ensure those assets — along with millions in cash — would go to the couple’s two adult sons, rather than remain under her husband’s control. Prosecutors argue that effort became the alleged trigger for the killing.
Papoli was also seeking spousal support from Goodarzi, an engineer who reportedly sold his clean-energy company, US Hybrid, for about $50 million in 2021.
Despite Papoli’s attempts to safeguard the funds for her children, prosecutors note Goodarzi still maintained potential community property and inheritance claims that a probate court would ultimately have to decide — a legal reality they say underscores the financial motive.
Investigators previously hinted at those alleged incentives. In a felony complaint filed last week, Goodarzi was accused of attempting to seize assets of “great monetary value” and of exploiting his wife’s trust to facilitate her death.
What sparked the divorce remains unclear. Papoli cited “irreconcilable differences” in her June filing. Friends and family said she had moved to Newport Beach just six months earlier, hoping to find peace and focus on creativity after retiring.
The divorce was formally terminated on Dec. 23 due to Papoli’s death.
Goodarzi appeared briefly in San Bernardino County court on Tuesday, wearing an orange jumpsuit and leg restraints, but his arraignment was postponed until Thursday. He remains behind bars as prosecutors prepare to move forward in what they describe as a cold-blooded, money-driven murder case.
Public Hanging in the town square!