A SoCal tech mogul and his wife were locked in a bitter, high-stakes divorce worth tens of millions — until she turned up dead and he was arrested for her murder.
Philanthropist Aryan Papoli filed for divorce from tech CEO Gordon Abas Goodarzi on June 12, 2025. While the couple had been married for 28 years, she cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split, according to documents obtained by The California Post.
In her filing, Papoli, 58, asked to be awarded spousal support from her estranged husband, who sold his tech company for $50 million in 2021. She also asked that he pay her legal fees.
Goodarzi, 66, asked the court to rule that both he and Papoli be held responsible for paying their own fees in his filed response.
Both indicated they had plenty of property and assets to be sorted by the court in their upcoming divorce proceedings.
Papoli listed what she claimed was “Community and Quasi-Community Property” between the couple, including the Rolling Hills “Marital Residence” worth about $3 million.
There’s also some vacant land in SoCal worth an estimated $500,000 total, including a property in Crestline, the same town where Papoli’s lifeless body was found at the bottom of a 75 foot embankment on a mountain road.
Crestline is located about 70 miles from Los Angeles.
A $1 million dollar home in Chino Hills, CA. and 43,000 square foot industrial property in Worcester, Massachusetts, are also listed in the divorce documents.
Papoli’s body was discovered November 18th. Investigators couldn’t immediately identify the remains. They released a sketch of a woman, 48–60, about 5’1” and 115 pounds, with bleached blonde hair and brown eyes.
Papoli was wearing a blue sweatshirt, blue pants and white and black New Balance shoes when her body was discovered.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Coroner’s Office ultimately identified Papoli on Dec. 1, and ruled her death a homicide.
Charging document filed by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office state that Popali was “particularly vulnerable” and that Goodarzi allegedly carried out the murder with “planning, sophistication, or professionalism.”
The alleged crime involved “an attempted or actual taking or damage of great monetary value,” the document said.
A request for dismissal of the divorce was filed by Papoli’s attorney “due to the death of the petitioner” on December 23rd.
