Sadiyo Ibrahim Mohamed: 'Schizophrenic' mother gets 40 years probation for killing daughter, injuring son

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Sadiyo Ibrahim Mohamed, 34, was sentenced to 40 years probation for fatally assaulting her 5-year-old daughter with a metal rod and causing non-life-threatening injuries to her 6-year-old son on the head and arm in 2021.

This incident follows a history of attempted murder where she allegedly beat her children and pursued them down the street.

Additionally, records indicate toward her mental health condition, revealing a connection to her ferocious actions against her children. The investigation brought to light the charges filed against the mother.

Officers arrived at Mohamed's home to rescue her children

Following Mohamed's assault on her daughter and son, both children sustained injuries.

Notably, her daughter was discovered unconscious in a pool of blood when the police arrived at their residence at Woodbury, Minnesota.

The son, attempting to escape, ran out onto the street while Mohamed pursued him, resulting in severe contusions on his head and arm. 

Mohamed's daughter was swiftly shifted to a hospital and received treatment for her injuries for nearly three weeks, but tragically passed away in June 2021. The extent of her injuries included a lacerated liver, multiple brain bleeds, a broken rib, a skull fracture, and bruising throughout her body.

Meanwhile, Mohamed's son was treated for a week and managed to survive the assault. Another child, a toddler, was found unscathed in the home as per Law&Crime.

Sadiyo Ibrahim Mohamed's mental health condition

Mohamed has a history of hospitalization and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, along with 'disorganized thought and auditory hallucinations'. Her health records were disclosed, indicating her initial diagnosis with schizophrenia in 2013 and subsequent hospitalizations in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2020.

Analysts noted instances of violent behavior in her records, including throwing a brick through a window, physical aggression towards her husband, and assaults on her parents.

Additionally, it was observed during medical examinations that she exhibited violent behavior even when not actively experiencing psychosis.

What doctors said about Mohamed's mental health?

Prosecutors stated that when officers moved in to arrest Mohamed, she was mumbling to herself and appeared unstable.

According to court records and testimony from psychologists assigned to assess Mohamed in 2021 and 2022, she claimed not to have slept for "36 hours straight" before the tragic incident, explaining that her "manic kicked in" and she "was very energetic".

Mohamed added, "I had little appetite and little sleep. I was working, working, working, and cleaning everything out of the house."

Testimony from Mohamed's doctor at the trial earlier in the year revealed that Mohamed recalled her children enjoying cartoons and playing while she shopped online, served them chips, and listened to videos.

Her daughter even expressed interest in opening a package that day, but Mohamed deferred, and the daughter seemed to accept it well.

“She asked about the dress, but I told her not right now,” Mohamed said. “We were going to put it away because we had a holiday coming up. I told her she was going to wear it in a couple of weeks, and she hugged me and was happy about that too.”

However, court records indicate that Mohamed later claimed she started thinking her children were demons well after midnight. She then kicked them out of the house, describing the incident where her daughter was afraid of the dark and tried to re-enter the house. 

Mohamed admitted to hitting her son with an object, later identified as a cylinder from her curtains. Her recollection became hazy, and she admitted to chasing her son down the street until neighbors intervened.

Mohamed recalled she heard the Somali word "miskin", meaning an innocent person who cannot defend themselves, which prompted her to realize her children were not demons. 

While one doctor agreed that Mohamed experienced psychotic delusions and snapped out of it upon hearing the word "miskin," another doctor disagreed, stating that snapping out of a delusion is not supported by the DSM or the medical community.

The distinction was crucial, as paranoid ideation, suggested by one doctor, cannot be used for a criminal defense.

What did prosecutors say?

According to state prosecutors, Mohamed initially denied harming her children, but her young son revealed the truth to officers on the night of the offenses.

The son reported that she had hit him and his sister with a gray cylinder object "lots of times" in the past. Furthermore, medical records from Mohamed's deceased daughter indicated evidence of partially healed prior injuries on her body.

In September, she was convicted by a judge of second-degree murder and second-degree assault. When the question of Mohamed's insanity or mental illness during the act arose in October, Judge Douglas Meslow found insufficient evidence to support the insanity defense.

Prosecutors recommended a sentence of just over 30 years in prison, considering the time Mohamed had already served.

In opposing Mohamed's motion for a downward departure on her sentence, state prosecutors argued that she is a violent individual who lies about medication compliance and is not amenable to probation supervision, emphasizing the brutal nature of the crime.

Mohamed's family pleaded for a more compassionate approach to her rehabilitation, opposing the suggested 30-year prison term. Her mother asserted that Mohamed faces "relentless battles in her own mind".

Meslow's sentence of 40 years on probation for Mohamed is contingent on her completing court-ordered mental health treatments while remaining civilly committed. Additionally, the court has explicitly prohibited Mohamed from having any contact with her children.