As Her Slain Toddler Was Given CPR, Minn. Mom Smiled — Then Confessed to Killing Her

A Minnesota mother was sentenced on Monday, June 24, to 12½ years in prison for deliberately killing her 3-year-old daughter in July 2023.

Suad Ali, 29, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in April and was sentenced this week, according to local outlets KVRR, Valley News Live, and Fergus Now.

Ali will serve two-thirds of her sentence in prison, with the remainder under supervised release, according to the outlets.

Ali pleaded guilty to suffocating her daughter on July 10, 2023, after getting angry over the fact the child was crying. Officers from the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office responded to Ali’s home in Pelican Rapids, Minn., around 9:40 p.m. that night and found a man, Ibrahim Ali, kneeling down near the girl and screaming, according to Valley News Live, citing Otter Tail police documents.

The outlet reported that Ibrahim told police “she killed her” and pointed out Ali, who admitted to killing the girl.

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Fergus Now reported that Ali said she suffocated the girl in an effort to stop her from crying about being hungry. According to the outlet, which also cited Otter Tail police documents, Ali allegedly smiled as first responders performed CPR on the 3-year-old girl, who was later pronounced dead.

Ali also reportedly told police she tried to stab the toddler with a knife earlier in the night, but did not harm the girl, according to Fergus Now and Valley News Live. Citing police documents, the outlets reported that officers found a knife on the arm of a couch nearby.

KVRR reported that during her sentencing hearing, both prosecution and defense attorneys noted that Ali suffers from mental illness and had shown little remorse for killing her 3-year-old daughter.

Inmate records reviewed by PEOPLE on Tuesday show Ali is being held at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee, Minn., under a homicide charge and that she is expected to be released in mid-December 2031.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.