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A father accused of almost strangling his daughter in an attempted ‘honor killing’ outside her school was allowed to walk free for 12 days after prosecutors initially failed to charge him with attempted murder.
Ihsan Ali, 44, and his wife Zahraa Subhi Mohsin Ali, 40, were charged with attempted kidnapping and assault after the attack on October 18.
The girl, 17, who wasn’t named, ran away from home to Timberline High School in Lacey, Washington, after her parents tried to put her on a plane to Iraq.
‘Her father had recently been threatening her with honor killing for refusing an arranged marriage with an older man in another country,’ the girl told police, according to court documents.
Shocking video allegedly showed Ihsan on the ground with his daughter in a chokehold, while classmates desperately tried to free her.
But he was released from jail on October 24 on just a $150,000 bond after a hearing in Thurston County Superior Court.
This was despite Judge John Skinder warning there was substantial danger Ihsan would commit another violent crime and interfere with the case.
He was ordered to wear an ankle monitor and not have any contact with his daughter, who was moved to a safe house, or wife.
Shocking video allegedly showed Ihsan Ali, 44, on the ground with his daughter in a chokehold, while classmates desperately tried to free her
Zahraa, who also allegedly tried to strangle her daughter after students fought off Ihsan, was arrested on October 22.
She faced a different judge to her husband, Judge Christopher Lanese, and was also charged with attempted murder.
He set her bail at $500,000, noting the same issues as Judge Skinder and his lack of confidence that she would show up to her next hearing, and she stayed behind bars.
Victor Barnes, the father of the girl’s boyfriend whom Ihsan allegedly punched in the face during the attack, wrote in an application for a restraining order on behalf of his son that he believed the parents should be charged with attempted murder.
His wife also told police on October 21 that Ihsan had a gun in his home, and she worried he would carry out his alleged ‘honor killing’ threat, and then come after her son.
The girl also detailed how her father allegedly threatened to kill her on several occasions.
A police officer wrote in their report that they ‘do not believe this additional information was shared with law enforcement over the weekend’, and also notified prosecutors.
Despite this, Ihsan was still not charged with attempted murder.
Almost two weeks after his release, on November 5, second-degree attempted murder was finally added to Ihsan’s charges.
Ihsan was re-arrested and his bail raised to $1 million, which was too much for him to pay and he remains in jail, while Zahraa’s bond was unchanged.
Why Ihsan wasn’t initially charged with attempted murder and is wife was, despite police reports and court documents laying out his alleged near-deadly attack in detail, is unclear.
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, which runs the jail, refused to release mugshots of Ihsan and Zahraa, citing state law.
Victor Barnes (pictured), the boyfriend’s father, explained how the attack unfolded – and the events before it – as told to him by his son
Barnes told DailyMail.com the alleged attempted murder was the climax of months of conflict between the girl, her parents, and her boyfriend.
The pair started dating in February, and he said the situation had been fraught since the summer and her parents wanted to send her to Iraq for an arranged marriage.
The girl told police after the attack she didn’t feel safe at home and her father frequently ‘disciplined’ her for petty ‘transgressions like not making tea’.
Barnes’ wife told police that she sat in on a Child Protective Services meeting where the girl accused Ihsan of threatening her with an ‘honor killing’ for refusing the marriage.
Barnes claimed that two weeks before the attack, the girl’s parents tried to kidnap his son from the school, but were unsuccessful.
Zahraa was warned by the school that if she came there again it would press trespassing charges, and Barnes got a restraining order for his son against her.
‘At the end of the school day, the school made my child responsible for this girl’s safety by asking him to help this girl get on the bus,’ he wrote in the application.
‘They continued to put this girl’s family situation in the lap of my child as if he’s an adult and understands the gravity of everything.’
The girl was pulled out of school after that incident, but Barnes said she ran away a week later and again came to the school, but staff wouldn’t help her.
‘There was so much negligence by so many adults,’ he said, also claiming Child Protective Services was working with the girl, then abruptly stopped.
The parents faced different judges on October 24 in Thurston County Superior Court. Ihsan was released on a $150,000 bond by Judge John Skinder (left), and Zahraa stayed behind bars after Judge Christopher Lanese (right) set her bail at $500,000
On the morning of October 18, he said the girl’s parents showed up at his house with police demanding to know where she was.
Barnes told them she was wasn’t there and would presumably be at the school, then texted his son to warn him.
‘She runs away from home because they wanted to fly her out of the country that day – she’s afraid,’ he said.
‘She shows up at the school and my son’s class and the teacher helps her because she looks very malnourished.’
Barnes said school officials took her to a room and eventually found a safe place for her to go, but did not offer to help her get there.
‘They know she’s in danger, they know her circumstances and situation, but they insist for her to take public transportation to get to her safe destination – without any type of chaperone,’ he said.
The girl and her boyfriend walked to the bus stop at the front of the school and she spotted her father’s pickup truck outside.
Suddenly, Ishan emerged from the truck and confronted them, yelling at his daughter in Arabic.
Barnes said another student, who spoke Arabic, yelled back, ‘She doesn’t want to go back with you. Leave her alone.’
‘He didn’t like what the kid said, he loses his mind and punches my son in the face,’ Barnes alleged.
Court documents explained that another student told police the boyfriend stood in front of her and was sent ‘flying onto the concrete’ when he was punched.
Ishan allegedly put his daughter in a headlock and tried to choke her to death, saying, ‘It’s not right… you are not supposed to do this’, she told police.
The alleged attack was outside Timberline High School in Lacey, Washington
Barnes said his son ‘starts to see her eyes roll back, and her arms start flailing’ before she went limp and unconscious as he tried to save her.
Other students described similar horrifying scenes to police, and her boyfriend said he thought she was going to die.
Her boyfriend managed to subdue him, along with other students, by repeatedly punching Ishan in the head until he was dazed and let go, prosecutors said.
Josh Wagner, who was driving by the school and stopped to break up what he thought was a school fight, then restrained Ishan until police arrived about 2.20pm.
Zahraa then allegedly entered the fray and also tried to choke her daughter to death, but was separated by the growing group of kids.
‘Her other daughter, which is the girl’s older sister, is trying to fight the other kids away,’ Barnes said, which the girl also told police.
‘But it’s too many other kids and mom isn’t as strong as that, so they eventually grab the girl away from mom.’
The girl told police she fled inside with her boyfriend yelling, ‘My dad was trying to kill me’ as Zahraa allegedly pursued her to the school doors, but wasn’t let in.
Security footage showed Zahraa chasing after the teens as they ran inside, before she was blocked from following them further than the front office.
After Zahraa tried to get through other entrances, the principal yelled at her to leave and put the school on lockdown.
The boyfriend suffered a boxer’s fracture as he tried to get Ishan off his girlfriend, which is now in a cast. The girl was taken to Providence St Peter Hospital in Olympia for treatment and a strangulation exam.
Police said they saw scratches on her neck and she complained of neck, throat, and jaw pain, and had difficulty swallowing.
‘She believes she lost consciousness three to four times during the incident,’ court documents alleged, adding that at one point she woke up with dirt pressed into her face.
‘[The girl] stated that she thought she was going to die.’
Medical staff at the hospital reported she also suffered burst blood vessels in her eyes, and abrasions to her shoulders.
Josh Wagner (pictured), who was driving by the school and stopped to break up what he thought was a school fight, restrained Ishan until police arrived
Timberline High School sent a message to parents afterwards, reading: ‘After school today, there was an altercation near campus that required response from law enforcement.
‘We were put on lockdown for a brief period of time to maintain safety and order on campus. Upon instructions from Lacey PD, the lockdown was lifted.’
The school said it took student and staff safety extremely seriously, in a statement about Barnes’ concerns.
‘When unique situations arise, we work with concerned parties to provide a safe learning environment, and we are doing so in this case,’ it said.
‘As standard practice, including in this instance, we conduct a debrief after situations relating to student safety and consider whether there are actions we can take to improve in the future.’
Ishan was charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted kidnapping, second-degree attempted kidnapping, second-degree domestic assault, and fourth-degree assault.
Zahraa was charged with second-degree attempted murder first-degree attempted kidnapping, second-degree attempted kidnapping, second-degree domestic assault, and second-degree burglary.