Mum sentenced for killing her three children

A mother who admitted killing her three children at their home wept in court as details of their deaths were read out.

The bodies of Fares Bash, seven, Joury Bash, three, and nine-month-old Mohammed Bash were discovered on Blaise Walk in Sea Mills, Bristol, on 18 February 2024.

Appearing at Bristol Crown Court earlier, Yasmeen Ali, 44, admitted three charges of manslaughter, before her defence team said she was suffering from an "acute psychosis". She is due to be sentenced later.

An inquest into the deaths was previously told the three children died of knife wounds, with injuries to their chests and necks. Fares Bash also showed possible signs of asphyxia.

Ali, speaking through an interpreter, appeared in court wearing a purple coat and a black head scarf.

Only six people were allowed into the courtroom to minimise the impact on her mental health.

Her defence team told the court she suffered from an "acute psychosis".

The court also heard Ali had been discharged from mental health services on 12 February - just six days before the killings.

The incident began with a three-minute phone call to 999, in which Ali sounded out of breath, was speaking in Arabic, and told police she was "going to God".

When officers arrived, they discovered the children dead and found Ali in a "very disturbed state, looking like a zombie" with self-inflicted wounds to her neck.

The house was described as "dirty and chaotic", with blood all over the landing.

Ali, who previously worked as a nurse in Sudan, wept in the dock as her children's fatal injuries were read out. Their father Alfil Bash left the courtroom.

Avon and Somerset Police said Ali was detained under the Mental Health Act.

She was later discharged from Southmead Hospital after being treated for her injuries, and is now living in a secure psychiatric hospital.

Andrew Langdon KC, defending, said two separate doctors at the secure psychiatric unit believed Ali was suffering from schizoaffective disorder.

This combines symptoms of schizophrenia - such as hallucinations or delusions -with symptoms of a mood disorder, such as depression or bipolar disorder.

The force referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) due to prior contact with the family, but the watchdog said no investigation was required.

Langdon argued Ali was in the "grip of delusions which she acted on", and "was unable to understand the nature of what she was doing".

"She didn't realise her children were dead or that she had killed them - the horror when she was told can only be imagined," he said.

"It was her illness that made it happen.

"On an instinctive emotional level from a mother, the horror never dissipates - she will have to live with this for the rest of her life."

Addressing Ali, Judge Justice Linden added: "It is my view you would not have done what you have if you were well. You were clearly a loving mother.

"What has happened is a tragedy, from which neither of you will recover and causes both of you unimaginable pain in your daily lives."