Calif. tech CEO and electric vehicle pioneer accused of murder

On the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, San Bernardino County authorities made a gruesome discovery: 75 feet down an embankment, along Highway 138 and Crestline Road, lay a deceased woman wearing a blue sweatshirt, blue pants and white tennis shoes. After retrieving her body from the side of the mountain, an autopsy revealed that her injuries were consistent with a fall. In January of this year, however, the department announced that her death was a homicide. Aside from the fact that she was white and estimated to be between the ages of 25 and 35, local officials had little information about her and requested assistance from the public.  

After identifying the victim as 58-year-old Newport Beach resident Aryan Papoli, officials arrested a suspect — her estranged husband, 66-year-old Rolling Hills resident Gordon Abas Goodarzi. Authorities contacted Goodarzi at his home and arrested him on Jan. 23, the news release said. 

Goodarzi, a California tech executive with ties to BattleBots, is publicly listed as the president and CEO of Magmotor, which describes itself as a “proud” supporter of the combat robot community and claims to support several teams each year. According to his LinkedIn, Goodarzi also previously worked as a research affiliate at UCLA’s B. John Garrick Institute for the Risk Sciences since 2023. 

Originally from Iran, Papoli and Goodarzi settled in Los Angeles County’s verdant Rolling Hills community because of its tranquility and natural beauty, Papoli previously wrote. “There’s something magical about the winding roads lined with towering trees, creating a peaceful oasis, a welcome retreat from the hustle and bustle of city life,” she wrote in the blog post. In it, she described herself as a corporate executive who worked as a chief financial officer and vice president of operations before stepping back to pursue her creative interests and work with nonprofits. 

“My heart has always been in art in all its forms,” she wrote, adding that she often worked in ceramics, painting and photography to express her emotions. Oftentimes, she walked around the neighborhood, taking snapshots of flowers and everyday life in her community. “Whether it’s through our careers, creative passions, or commitment to giving back, we’ve found our home here in every sense of the word,” Papoli wrote. “Living here has been a dream.”

She described her husband, Goodarzi, as a pioneer in the world of renewable energy, developing both electric and hybrid vehicles since the 1980s. According to Papoli, he also worked as the technical director at Hughes Electronics, which developed and manufactured the EV1, an early iteration of the electric car, in the 1990s.

BattleBots and Magmotor representatives did not respond to SFGATE’s request for comment by the time of publication. Arrest records show that Goodarzi is currently in custody without bail and faces a murder charge and that he is set to appear in court Monday.