California Man Charged With Murder After Estranged Wife Found Dead Beneath Cliff

A California man has been arrested and charged with murder after the body of his estranged wife was found at the base of a steep mountainside more than two months earlier.

Authorities announced on Jan. 25 that 66-year-old Gordon Abas Goodarzi was arrested on Jan. 23 and formally charged with murder in connection with the death of 58-year-old Aryan Papoli.

Courtesy of Aryan Papoli's familyAryan Papoli

Discovery and Identification

Deputies first responded to a report of a deceased person near Highway 138 and Crestline Road in Crestline, Calif. — a mountain community about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles — on Nov. 18, 2025. Search and fire crews recovered the body approximately 75 feet down a steep embankment; fire personnel were called in to assist because of the difficult terrain.

Investigators were initially unable to identify the woman and released a facial sketch to the public seeking leads. An autopsy found injuries consistent with a fall, and the county coroner later classified the death as a homicide after reviewing the totality of the findings. By Dec. 1, officials confirmed the deceased was 58-year-old Aryan Papoli, who had been reported missing from Newport Beach.

SBSDInvestigators released a sketch of Aryan Papoli before she was formally identified.

Investigation and Arrest

After what the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department described as an "extensive and persistent investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death," deputies arrested Gordon Goodarzi at his home in Rolling Hills, Calif. He was booked into the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino and is being held without bail. Jail records show his first court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 26 at 8:30 a.m. local time.

About the Victim and Family

Papoli immigrated to the United States from Iran at age 18 with her mother and sister after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. She later settled in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she and Goodarzi co-founded a clean energy company and raised two sons.

Courtesy of Aryan Papoli's FamilyAryan Papoli

Their son, Navid Goodarzi, a 25-year-old graduate student at Harvard University, described his mother as "a ray of light" who loved people, animals and art. Navid told ABC7 he learned from the sheriff’s department that the recovered body was his mother just two days after Thanksgiving and said the news was devastating.

"When she was missing, we were sort of going from this frantic pass, all engines flaring, like how can we find her? When we got the news, it sort of feels like the wind gets knocked out of you," Navid said.

Navid has created a memorial website honoring his mother that includes photographs and examples of her artwork. The family said Papoli had moved to Newport Beach about six months before her death in search of a quieter place to pursue her creativity in retirement from the corporate world.

Next Steps

Goodarzi remains in custody at the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino on the murder charge. As this is an active criminal case, authorities have not released further details about the investigation; the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

Photo courtesy of Aryan Papoli's family.