Shajia Ayobi's brutal crime - A detailed case overview

In December 2011, Shajia Ayobi shot Ghulam Ayobi, a 53-year-old man who worked as a consultant for the U.S. military, while riding in a van with his wife in Sacramento, California. Initially, his wife reported the shooting as a tragic carjacking, but law enforcement soon found contradictions in her version of events.

Eventually, law enforcement determined that the incident was staged, and evidence of a conspiracy between Shajia Ayobi and a co-conspirator emerged. As CBS and The Sacramento Bee reported, Shajia Ayobi was convicted of first-degree murder because she had conspired to have her husband murdered, although she didn't physically kill him.

She learned in 2013 that her conviction would earn her a prison sentence of 26 years to life. A second suspect, Jake Clark, was convicted as her accomplice and sentenced to 28 years to life in prison.

Shajia Ayobi's case was featured in Season 23, episode 01 of Snapped. The episode aired on January 21, 2018.

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A detailed case overview of Shajia Ayobi's crime

False carjacking claim and initial investigation

As CBS reported, Shajia Ayobi told investigators that her husband was killed by a carjacker they encountered while driving home from a dinner party in the Natomas area. Ayobi said that the carjacker randomly attacked their vehicle along the roadside on Interstate 80.

Authorities found no evidence or witnesses to corroborate Shajia Ayobi's claims. Since there were no supporting details, it quickly became apparent that this was not a random attack, and the investigation took a different route. When investigators began relaying the details of Ayobi's account, it began to unravel.

After the carjacking story fell apart, Shajia Ayobi offered new accusations, including that the CIA was tied to her husband's death, which investigators were able to show were false allegations.

With more and more evidence contradicting her story, Shajia Ayobi was arrested and charged with murder. The jury foreman quoted by CBS explained the difficulties deliberating the verdict stemmed from the case's emotional weight regarding the couple's children, but ultimately the jury returned a guilty verdict.

An imagery crime scene (Image via Unsplash)

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The link to Jake Clark and forensic evidence

Jake Clark, a former criminal justice student at Kaplan College, emerged as the second key player in the case. In a jailhouse interview with CBS, Clark admitted that Ayobi approached him in 2011 to kill someone, saying that the victim was an abusive man. Clark claimed he turned him down, but the forensic evidence spoke for itself.

In court documents, it was reported that Clark met Ayobi in person one day before the murder. His DNA was found on a black bag containing the murder weapon and Ghulam Ayobi's identification. Prosecutors charged Clark as an aider and abettor. He was convicted of first-degree murder by a Sacramento jury in July 2014 and was sentenced to 28 years to life, according to the Sacramento Bee.

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Trial outcomes and sentencing

Ayobi was not found to have personally pulled the trigger in her 2013 trial, but was convicted of planning and carrying out the murder. Her sentence was 26 years to life. Clark had his trial separately in 2014 and was found guilty as an aider and abettor. According to The Sacramento Bee, he received a sentence of 28 years to life.

Prosecutors argued in both trials that Ayobi's motive was domestic violence committed by her husband, but the jury was only considering the criminal conspiracy and murder charges, not Ayobi's history.

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Incarceration and current status

Ayobi is currently serving her time at the California Institution for Women (CIW), where, according to The Guardian has experienced chronic health issues while incarcerated, including diabetes and bladder infections, and can apply for parole in 2032.

Ayobi has publicly spoken about her past trauma. However, she was convicted based on the prosecution's ability to prove her role in facilitating his murder.

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Season 23, episode 01 of Snapped can be streamed on Oxygen.

Edited by Bharath S