Tech Executive Arrested in Wife's Mountain Death

A Southern California tech entrepreneur is facing a murder charge after his estranged wife was found dead below a mountain highway more than two months ago, Fox News reports. Authorities in San Bernardino County say they arrested 66-year-old Gordon Abas Goodarzi on Friday in the killing of his wife and longtime business partner, 58-year-old Aryan Papoli. Her body was discovered Nov. 18 roughly 75 feet down an embankment off Highway 138 near Crestline, a small mountain community. Investigators initially noted injuries consistent with a fall, but the county coroner later ruled the death a homicide. The identity of Papoli, who had been reported missing, was not confirmed until Dec. 1, People reports. Goodarzi is being held without bail; prosecutors say the crime involved "planning, sophistication, and professionalism" and that Papoli was "particularly vulnerable."

Detectives have not publicly detailed what led them to Goodarzi or suggested a motive. Court records show Papoli filed for divorce on June 12, 2025, after 28 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences and seeking spousal support and a split of millions in shared assets. The couple's holdings reportedly included more than $4.5 million worth of property in California and Massachusetts, among them the Rolling Hills Estates home where Goodarzi was arrested and a property in Crestline, the same area where Papoli's body was found. The divorce case was dismissed in December following her death.

Goodarzi, an engineer and tech executive, sold their clean-energy company, US Hybrid, in 2021 for about $50 million. Goodarzi had acted as CEO, Papoli as CFO and vice president, the New York Post reports. In a Los Angeles Times interview, one of the couple's two sons, Navid Goodarzi, described his mother, who emigrated from Iran as a young woman, as devoted to creativity, service, and entrepreneurship. "My mom was a ray of light, sunshine manifested," he said.