The man charged with murder in connection with his estranged wife's November death in the San Bernardino Mountains pleaded not guilty in an arraignment hearing on Tuesday.
Gordon Abas Goodarzi, a 66-year-old resident of Rolling Hills, appeared in front of a judge in a San Bernardino County courthouse Tuesday morning wearing an orange jumpsuit with his hands cuffed. He spoke only to his attorneys, who entered the not guilty plea on his behalf.
The court denied bail for Goodarzi, who will remain in custody for his trial, which was set to begin with a preliminary hearing on Feb. 24.
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Aryan Papoli, the 58-year-old woman whose body was found in the San Bernardino Mountains in Nov. 2025. aryanpapoli.net
Goodarzi is accused of killing his estranged wife, 58-year-old Aryan Papoli of Newport Beach. She was found dead about 75 feet down a steep embankment in Crestline on Nov. 18 with injuries consistent with a fall. An autopsy later determined her death to be a homicide, authorities said.
Papoli filed for divorce from Goodarzi just months before her death after 28 years of marriage, according to court documents. A tech CEO, Goodarzi, along with Papoli, owned five properties, including one in Crestline, where her body was found.
According to court documents, the crime could have "involved great violence," the "attempted or actual taking of great monetary value," or that Papoli was "particularly vulnerable."