A wealthy tech industry engineer has been arrested in connection with the murder of his estranged wife, whose body was found at the bottom of steep embankment off a mountain road in Southern California late last year.
Gordon Abas Goodarzi, 66, was arrested Friday at his home in the wealthy Rolling Hills Estates enclave after an investigation into the death of Aryan Papoli, 58, of Newport Beach. Her body was discovered 75 feet down an embankment in Crestline on November 18 but not identified for two weeks.
The coroner determined Papoli was murdered, according to deputies in San Bernardino County, noting that she died from the plunge.
Gordon Abas Goodarzi, 66, was arrested Friday at his Rolling Hills residence after an investigation into the death of Aryan Papoli, 58. The couple are pictured in 2016. Facebook/Aryan PapoliGoodarzi was taken to the Central Detention Center, where he is currently being held without bail.
Papoli grew up in Iran and moved to the US with her family at 18. She met Goodarzi 30 years ago in California, and together they founded US Hybrid, a clean energy company that specializes in zero-emission powertrain components for commercial and military vehicles.
US Hybrid was bought by Torrance-based Ideanomics for $50 million in 2021 in cash-and-stock deal.
Goodarzi is also a research affiliate at UCLA, according to the university’s website, which touted his decades of experience with electric vehicles.
The couple have two sons, Navid and Milad, and bought their five-bedroom home in Rolling Hills Estate in 2017, which they still owned at the time of her death.
Papoli’s son, Navid Goodarzi, told the Los Angeles Times his mother came to the U.S. from Iran as a young woman, building a new life for herself and working to improve the lives of others.
She moved to Newport Beach six months before her death, seeking a ‘serene place to thrive creatively’ after retiring from corporate life, he said.
San Bernardino County deputies stated that the coroner determined Papoli’s manner of death to be a homicide after her body was found 75 feet down an embankment in November. aryanpapoli.net
Papoli was reported missing but her body wasn’t identified for two weeks. San Bernardino Sheriffs DepartmentPapoli wrote an article for Strollmag about her heritage and family dynamics.
“Being Iranian American, we cherish the blending of two cultures, and we find great joy in celebrating both our Persian roots and the traditions that come with being part of an American family,” she said.
“Another tradition that’s incredibly important to us is our Sunday family meals.
”No matter what the week brings, we always come together on Sundays to cook and share a meal.”
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