Teacher killed Son aged 2 before committing suicide in Finnish Prison

An inquest heard that a mother killed her two-year-old son before committing suicide in a Finnish prison cell.

English teacher Ayesha Henna Ali suffered a “psychotic breakdown” and “smothered” her son Adam with a pillow and “cut his wrists”.

An inquest heard Ali, who was from Staffordshire but was living in Finland at the time, then video-called her own mother, Safia Ali, saying:

“I’ve done something terrible.”

Police found the toddler dead at an apartment near Helsinki on January 19, 2020. Ali also had self-inflicted wounds.

Nineteen days after the killing, Ali was found to have taken her own life in her prison cell.

She was left alone in the cell for approximately 30 minutes while in custody, which had “white privacy paint” on the windows in line with Finnish laws.

At Stoke Coroner’s Court, Ali was described by her parents as a “lively, kind and clever” woman, but her mental health took a downward spiral in April 2019 when the relationship with her husband broke down.

Ali had appointments with the mental health critical care team in April 2019 and May 2019 after expressing “suicidal ideations” to her GP.

By August 2019, she seemed to be improving and was discharged. She then moved to Finland.

Before her suicide, Ali wrote: “I put my son in the bath around 7 pm and I gave him some fruit and yoghurt before putting him in my bed.

“He didn’t have his own room. He would hug me in the morning – it was the best.

“When he was in bed I was thinking about my life. I put a pillow over his face and cut his wrists because I was afraid smothering him wouldn’t kill him and I didn’t want him to be in pain.

“I wanted to jump from the balcony but I was afraid it would leave me paralysed and I wanted to die next to my son.

“I took tablets, I cut my neck and I cut my arm. I called my mum and showed my son on video.

“When I was arrested, I asked for the death penalty. He was my everything and I do not deserve to live.”

Her friend Alur Anypriya had received a call from Ali’s mother saying she was worried about her daughter.

Alur called Ali several times before she answered the phone sometime after 7 pm, and told Alur:

“I’ve done something terrible to protect my son.”

In a statement, Alur said: “I called emergency services and I spoke to Ayesha for around 15 minutes through the door because she wouldn’t answer.

“She said ‘It’s too late, he’s been cold and blue since last night’, and that she wanted to jump from the window.

“When I saw her, there was blood around her neck. The police arrived and she was arrested.”

The prison guard said he was not told by the police that Ali was suicidal but raised concerns to the prison’s psychiatric clinic immediately.

After her suicide attempt was discovered, CPR was administered and her heart started but she died in a Helsinki hospital of severe brain injuries caused by a lack of oxygen.

Her mother Safia said: “We have nothing left now, I have lost my only child and my only grandchild. We’ve lost our whole life.

“Ayesha was taken into custody and they wouldn’t let us speak to her, even though we were promised. Ayesha had a Masters in Human Rights and wanted to help people. She was kind.

“She loved her child and couldn’t live one minute without him.

“She was psychotic and thought she was giving her child peace.”

“She never raised her voice at her child. She thought everyone was against her.

“I told her to come back to us [in the UK], but she wanted to stay in Finland so her son could see his dad because she didn’t want him turning out to be psychotic too.

“When she called me, she said that her baby was sleeping and she had blood on her and I said ‘What do you mean the baby is sleeping?’.

“She broke down and told me she’d done something terrible.

“The police came and I told her to let them in because they would help her, she said ‘No, they’ll take me away’. I told her to let them in and go with them.”

Police officer Timo Luoto explained how it was “one word against another” when it came to investigating whether the police or prison guard had failed to voice Ayesha’s suicidal thoughts.

The jury concluded a verdict of suicide, with the medical cause of death being by hanging.