Two parents in Lacey, Washington, are on trial for the October 2024 attempted murder of their teenage daughter in a suspected “honor killing” after she refused to go to their native Iraq and marry an older man.
The trial is taking place in the Thurston County Superior Court regarding the alleged attempted murder of the 17-year-old victim, the Post Millennial reported on Wednesday. The outlet identified the parents as Ihsan and Zahraa Ali.
According to the Post Millenial’s senior editor Andy Ngô, the parents are “fundamentalist Muslim migrants from Iraq” who allegedly tried to strangle the victim. He also said the girl’s parents did not agree with her living “an American lifestyle and having an American boyfriend.”
Ngô also noted the suspects do not speak English:
Court documents said the girl’s father had threatened her with an “honor killing” when she refused to marry the older man. She ran away on the day she was supposed to leave for Iraq, per KOMO News.
The outlet said she fled to Timberline High School and contacted a counselor who helped her find a safe place to stay at a shelter for young people. However, when she was on her way to the haven, her parents allegedly found her near a bus stop andwhere her father is accused of putting her into a chokehold and strangling her.
Video footage shows the incident at the bus stop as other young people step in to try to separate the father and daughter. At one point, several of them are heard screaming, “Call the cops!”:
A bus driver who saw the attack unfold and helped stop the father from strangling his daughter told King 5 that the father was on top of his daughter, adding, “Obviously she was in distress. Her eyes were rolling into the back of her head. You could tell she was not able to breathe.”
Witnesses said the victim’s boyfriend was punched by the father at some point during the attack, according to the KOMO article.
A witness also recalled, “When she (the victim) got away from her father, she tried to run, and her mom had grabbed her and she was grabbing her by the throat.”
The girl eventually broke away from the chaos and ran into the school for help. The mother reportedly followed her and school employees placed the building on lockdown.
The parents face charges including attempted murder, assault, attempted kidnapping, burglary, and violating a protection order, according to the Post Millennial report.
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