‘You tried to kill me.’ Daughter confronts Lacey parents at sentencing hearing Monday
A judge has sentenced two Lacey parents for a high-profile physical fight with their daughter outside Timberline High School last fall.
Ihsan Ali, 45, and his wife, Zahraa Ali, 41, had been accused of trying to kill their then-17-year-old daughter near a bus stop on Oct. 18, 2024.
Multiple witnesses saw Ihsan Ali put the daughter into a choke-hold and punch her then-16-year-old boyfriend. Several students intervened and adult bystanders eventually managed to free the daughter, allowing her and the boyfriend to seek shelter in the school.
The daughter testified that the incident occurred after she ran away from home due to abuse and to avoid a family trip to Iraq.
A jury acquitted the couple of a second-degree attempted murder but found them guilty of lesser charges on Aug. 31. After three days of jury deliberations, Ihsan Ali was convicted of second-degree assault, domestic violence; unlawful imprisonment; and fourth-degree misdemeanor assault.
On Monday, Judge Christine Schaller sentenced the couple in Thurston County Superior Court. Schaller ultimately sentenced him to a total of about 20 months in prison and chastised him for his actions.
“Your behavior was reprehensible and nothing justifies what you did,” Schaller told the father.
“You were not going to let her go, you were not going to let her breathe because nobody else was going to control the situation, you were going to maintain control,” she added.
Schaller also ordered Ihsan Ali to complete a domestic violence evaluation, take a parenting class and have no contact with his daughter for 10 years.
He’s also barred from contacting the boyfriend — who he was convicted of assaulting — for two years.
Zahraa Ali was accused of assisting her husband during the incident. She was convicted of violating a protection order that was put in place for the boyfriend after a previous incident at the school.
Schaller sentenced her to 364 days in jail with 83 days suspended for 24 months. She also was barred from contacting the boyfriend for two years.
The daughter appeared at the hearing Monday and confronted her parents. She called her father a “disgusting monster” and said she would pray for him to die in jail.
“You’re a monster and I can’t believe you’re my dad,” she said. “How can you call yourself a father? You tried to kill me. My dad tried to kill me with his own hands. Do you have no love for me?”
She said her mother watched her almost die and did not help her at all. She called her a selfish and bad mother.
“I’m a young, growing woman that wants a better future for herself,” she said. “Don’t stop me for trying to be better. I wanted you to help me. I wanted you to protect me. I wanted you to make me happy like a mom is supposed to. Why did you let my dad hurt me, like, just because he was mad?”
A victim advocate also read aloud words from the boyfriend. He said Ihsan and Zahraa Ali directed racial slurs at him and harshly judged him. He said the incident has now left him traumatized.
“I recently turned 17, and I still get anxious, on edge, stressed, afraid and nervous anytime there is a mention of this situation or when I see someone that looks like them,” he said.
An initial probable cause statement used the phrase “honor killing” as a potential motivating factor for the incident outside the school. The story and that phrase was then picked up by news media around the world.
In a later trial memorandum, Deputy Prosecutor Heather Stone said there was “no express evidence” for that motivation, and the state would not use that phrase at trial.
This story was originally published August 20, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
