Minnesota – In a heartbreaking and deeply disturbing case in Minnesota, a 29-year-old mother, identified as S. Ali, has been sentenced to just over a decade in prison after she confessed to suffocating her 3-year-old daughter, calmly smiling as emergency responders tried to revive the little girl. Authorities revealed the mother had attempted to stab the child earlier that evening before ultimately killing her in a chilling act of violence.
Ali was arrested on July 10, 2023, after police responded to a report of an unresponsive child at a home. First responders arrived around 9:38 p.m. to find the toddler lying on her back in the living room, as a family member desperately tried to perform CPR. Officers immediately stepped in to assist, with one officer taking over chest compressions while another turned to Ali, who was reportedly sitting on the couch nearby with a chilling expression on her face. When asked what happened, Ali plainly said, “she killed her.”
Deputies from the sheriff’s office soon arrived and began interviewing Ali. She repeated her statement, saying she had killed her child because the girl would not stop crying. “She stated she placed her hand over the child’s mouth and suffocated her,” the criminal affidavit noted. Ali added that earlier in the evening, she had tried to stab the girl with a knife, but did not succeed. A knife was later recovered by deputies, resting on the arm of the living room couch. Ali admitted she had intentionally tried to kill her daughter, confessing multiple times to investigators throughout the night.
Shortly after officers arrived, an ambulance crew reached the scene at approximately 9:42 p.m. The medics took over CPR efforts as the child began to vomit and turn her head. The crew reported no visible trauma but were concerned about the child’s internal condition. While they worked to save the toddler, Ali allegedly smiled as she observed CPR being performed, an image burned into the memories of those who were trying to rescue the little girl. Ali repeated her horrifying statement during her interview with detectives, telling them for a third time that she “killed her.” She said the child’s father had abandoned them and that she had been overwhelmed, especially since her mother—who normally cared for and fed the girl—was not around that day. In her confession, Ali also admitted to punching her daughter in the throat and lying on top of her while she was face down on the floor in a twisted attempt to stop her from crying. The child was transported to a hospital but was unfortunately pronounced dead shortly after arriving.
Initially charged with both first- and second-degree murder, Ali reached a plea deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder without intent while committing a felony. The more serious charges were dismissed as part of the agreement. On June 3, 2025, Judge S. Benson sentenced Ali to 12½ years in a state prison. However, due to Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines, Ali is expected to serve only two-thirds of that time in prison—approximately eight years—with the remaining time on supervised release. With credit for time already served and potential good behavior, Ali could be released in just over six years. Judge Benson acknowledged that both the prosecution and defense agreed on Ali’s longstanding mental health struggles, noting that the mother had not been taking her prescribed medications at the time of the murder. Though this fact does not excuse the crime, it significantly influenced the sentencing outcome.
The death of the 3-year-old girl—whose name has not been publicly released—has left a deep scar on the community. The horrifying details, including a mother who calmly watched and smiled during CPR and a previous attempt to stab her own child, have sparked outrage and sorrow across the state. Ali remains incarcerated in a Minnesota correctional facility, where she will serve out her sentence before transitioning to supervised release. Authorities continue to emphasize the importance of recognizing and treating mental illness early, particularly when young children are involved.
