On Thursday, two Iraq-born parents in Lacey, Washington were found not guilty of attempted murder and what was initially deemed an “honor killing” in connection with the assault of their teenage daughter on October 18, 2024.
The parents, Ihsan and Zahraa Ali, though not found guilty of attempted murder, were found guilty of other charges. Ihsan was found guilty of assault and unlawful imprisonment, while Zahra, was found guilty of merely violating a court order.
Court records revealed that Ihsan and Zahraa may have intended to bring their daughter, Fatima, to Iraq for an arranged marriage with an older man.
Fatima’s refusal of the alleged plan and the actions her parents took is what caused the prosecution to consider the attack an attempted “honor killing.” However, it was later clarified in court filings that there was “no express evidence that such was the motivation of either defendant in this case.”
Reportedly, on the day they were to leave for Iraq, Fatima fled their family home, taking with her only $100. She had sought help from a counselor at Timberline High School, which had arranged for her to stay at a youth shelter. While on her way to the youth shelter, her parents intercepted her at a bus stop by the school and a confrontation began.
Witnesses in court described a disturbing scene in which Ihsan grabbed Fatima in a chokehold and began strangling her while repeating "It's not right … you are not supposed to do this.” Fatima eventually fell unconscious with one witness testifying in court that “Obviously, she was in distress, her eyes were rolling into the back of her head.” Another witness testified that “She had looked very pale and kind of lifeless.”
Several witnesses also testified that her mother, Zahraa, punched the teen’s boyfriend in the face when he attempted to intervene, which violated a court order prohibiting her from contact with him. Zahraa had also previously been barred from school grounds.
Multiple students attempted to separate Fatima and her father to no avail until multiple adult bystanders approached and were able to separate the two in the alleged attack.
According to prosecutors, when Fatima had broken free of her father’s grip, she and her boyfriend fled, running into the school with Fatima screaming that her dad just tried to kill her. Court records state that Zahraa chased after the two as they ran into the front office asking for help, and the school was placed on lockdown.
Police eventually arrived and arrested the two, putting an end to the scene. In court, Fatima took the stand and recounted the event, telling the jury “No matter what I say, it doesn’t really change.” As she spoke of the incident she broke down crying, expressing fear that she would be forced to leave the country and never return. However, Judge Christine Schaller didn’t allow the prosecution to enter into evidence that the underage girl’s Muslim parents allegedly told her she was going to be married off to an older Muslim man in their home country before the attack, claiming that the backstory would be “too prejudicial” to the two defendants.
Further in court, Erik Kaeding who represented Ihsan, defended him by focusing on intent, claiming that “There’s no intent to hurt anybody badly, there’s no intent to kill anybody, there’s an intent to take your daughter home.”
The same sentiment was echoed by Timothy Leary who represented Zaahra. “My client is not guilty…I think we can all agree this is a tragedy. They certainly could’ve done things differently, but that does not make this a crime,” Leary argued.
Eventually, the matter was handed over to the jury and, after just over 19 hours of deliberation over three days, Ihsan and Zahraa Ali were acquitted of attempted murder. Zaahra, though convicted of violating a court order, has served more than the allotted time for the crime and, as such, she was released from Thurston County Adult Detention Center following the verdict.
Ihsan will remain in jail until sentencing on August 18, 2025, and faces prison sentence of up to 12 months, though he has been in jail since his arrest the previous year.