The wealthy tech CEO accused of murdering his estranged wife during a bitter divorce battle with millions of dollars at stake is now facing the death penalty, it was revealed in court.
Gordon Abas Goodarzi, 66, who appeared in a San Bernardino court on Thursday morning wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, did not speak when prosecutors made a “special circumstances filing” saying Goodarzi killed his wife for financial gain.
Instagram/@avissapapoli
The amended charges make Goodarzi eligible for the death penalty after he allegedly murdered Aryan Papoli, 58, whose lifeless body was found at the bottom of a mountainside in Crestline in November.
The court filing also stated that Goodarzi “killed the victim by means of lying in wait.”
“He’s stunned,” Goodarzi’s defense attorney Scott Simmons told the Post. “Nobody likes a special circumstances being filed. But he is looking forward to his day in court. He is innocent he claims his innocence and he absolutely cant wait for his day in court to prove his innocence.”
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The couple were in the middle of a bitter divorce where Papoli had withdrawn $5 to $8 million from a joint bank account.
