In a shocking turn of events, the estranged husband of a wealthy Newport Beach socialite has been arrested in connection with her death. Gordon Abas Goodarzi, 66, was taken into custody on Friday at his Rolling Hills residence following an “extensive and persistent investigation” into the death of his 58-year-old wife, Aryan Papoli.
Papoli’s body was discovered at the bottom of a 75-foot embankment in the San Bernardino Mountains on November 18, 2025, nearly 100 miles from the couple’s Rolling Hills estate. An autopsy later ruled her death a homicide, noting injuries consistent with a fall.
Papoli, who grew up in Iran and moved to the US at the age of 18, met Goodarzi nearly 30 years ago in California. Together, they founded the clean energy company US Hybrid and had two sons, Navid and Milad. The couple purchased a five-bedroom home in Rolling Hills in 2017, which they still owned at the time of Papoli’s death.
Just six months before her passing, Papoli had relocated to Newport Beach to enjoy a peaceful, creative retirement. There, she volunteered with the South Coast Botanical Garden and UCLA’s Fowler Museum, while pursuing her passions for ceramics, photography, and dance. Prior to dedicating herself to the arts, she had a successful corporate career, earning a degree in Business and Coaching and serving as CFO and VP of Operations.
Navid Goodarzi, Papoli’s son, expressed his shock and grief over his mother’s disappearance and death. “When she was missing, we were sort of going from this frantic pace, all engines flaring, like how can we find her?” he told the Los Angeles Times in December, a month after her passing. “When we got the news, it sort of feels like the wind gets knocked out of you. The first day it’s a lot of shock.”
Goodarzi is currently being held at the Central Detention Center without bail. The investigation into Papoli’s tragic death remains ongoing, and authorities have not yet released any further details about the circumstances surrounding the incident.
