Judge: Woodbury Mom Can't Blame Murder Of Child On Mental Illness

WOODBURY, MN — A Woodbury woman was held criminally liable in the killing of her 5-year-old daughter and attack her 6-year-old son despite claims of being mentally ill.

Last month, a district judge ruled Sadiyo I. Mohamed, 34, guilty of second-degree murder and second-degree assault.

On Oct. 4, the same judge ruled that mental illness wasn't the primary factor in Mohamed's actions.

"The evidence in this case does not prove by a preponderance of evidence that Defendant is not criminally liable by reason of mental illness," Washington County Judge Douglas B. Meslow wrote.

On May 26, 2021, just before 1 a.m., Woodbury police officers were called to the 400 block of Lake View Alcove on reports of a woman chasing a screaming child down the street.

Officers arrived on the scene and saw a boy run away from Mohamed down the street.

When police made contact with Mohamed, she "appeared to be staring off into the distance and saying an unknown Somali phrase repeatedly," according to the criminal complaint.

Officers later heard several people yelling about a child and found a girl with a puddle of blood coming from her head and minor lacerations and abrasions to both the left and right side of her face and unresponsive.

Both children were transported to Regions Hospital, where the girl died.