(The Center Square) – Two Lacey parents accused in the attempted “honor killing” of their 17-year-old daughter last month outside Timberline High School appeared in court on Wednesday.
Ihsan and Zahraa Ali face charges of attempted murder, attempted kidnapping, and several other serious counts related to the Oct. 18 incident.
Cell phone video of the attack showed the father, Ihsan Ali, choking his daughter as other students and bystanders tried to intervene to save her.
According to probable cause documents emailed to The Center Square from the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office, the victim passed out several times during the attack, before being able to escape and run into the nearby school building with her 16-year-old boyfriend, who was also assaulted as he attempted to intervene to help his girlfriend.
Detective Sgt. Jeremy Knight with the Lacey Police Department said the girl was seriously injured.
“She was transported to a local hospital where she received care for several days,” Knight said in a phone interview with The Center Square.
Charging documents detail witness accounts from people who intervened, describing seeing the victim’s eyes roll up in her head and her body go lifeless as her father allegedly wrapped both arms around her neck in attempting to choke her out, and bystanders punched him and attempted to pull him off of her.
A probable cause document includes a witness statement from the victim’s boyfriend’s mother, who told police the victim had told her that her father had threatened her with an honor killing “for refusing an arranged marriage with an older man in another country.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, honor killing is a violent crime committed by one or more perpetrators, in which the crime’s intention is to restore honor to their family.
The mother, Zahraa Ali, already had a restraining order against her from the North Thurston School District for an incident in September, and according to court documents, she chased her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend toward the school after the initial choking incident. School staff prevented her from entering the building.
According to court documents, the mother was also grabbing at her daughter and choking her.
Knight detailed the charges.
“Zahraa Ali faces attempted murder, second-degree domestic violence, attempted kidnapping, first-degree domestic violence, attempted kidnapping, second-degree domestic violence, assault, second-degree domestic violence, burglary, second-degree and violation of a protection restraining order,” he said.
“Isan Ali faces attempted murder, second-degree domestic violence, attempted kidnapping, first-degree domestic violence, attempted kidnapping, second-degree domestic violence, assault, second-degree domestic violence, and assault fourth-degree,” said Sergeant Knight.
Attempted murder in the second degree is a Class A felony in Washington.
“Determining the standard sentencing range for a case is a complicated formula that takes many factors into account, and we are not far enough into the process to determine that at this time,” Tara Tsehlana, public engagement officer with the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office, emailed The Center Square on Wednesday afternoon. “Since today was the first omnibus hearing, the attorney has not yet calculated their possible sentences. We expect that calculation to be completed closer to the resolution of the case.”
Court papers indicate the victim ran away from home the day before the attack and went to Timberline High School, where she was a former student, seeking help from staff. A counselor was assisting her with finding a room at Safe Haven and the victim planned to take a city bus there after school got out but was allegedly pulled off the bus by her father.
During a Wednesday omnibus hearing in Thurston County Superior Court, the proposed trial date of Dec. 30 was determined not to be an option due to schedule conflicts, including another scheduled trial for the assigned prosecutor that week.
Zahraa Ali’s bail is set at $500,000, and Ihsan Ali’s bail is set at $1 million. Both defendants are in custody at the Thurston County jail.
The next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 4 at 9 a.m.
