A California woman is behind bars after police say she killed her 5-year-old daughter Saturday.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by Law & Crime, police arrested 34-year-old Mina Nazari for the “willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously and with malice aforethought” murder of her daughter, Sana Akram. Nazari was arrested Saturday and faces felony charges of murder with a deadly weapon and child abuse resulting in death.
Police said Nazari stabbed the victim to death inside their Modesto home in the 3900 block of Scenic Drive on Saturday, while the child’s father, Fahim Akram, was at work, as CrimeOnline previously reported. Fahim immediately contacted 911 when he arrived home but Sana was subsequently pronounced dead.
The child abuse charge is in connection with the defendant’s 10-year-old son, according to the criminal complaint. He was unharmed, however, while Nazari allegedly attacked his younger sister.
KOVR reports that friend said Nazari struggled with mental health issues, including depression.
“Many times, there’s a stigma associated with going out of the family asking for mental health supportive services,” Gulshan Yusufzai, the executive director of the Muslim American Society Social Services Foundation, said.
“If she is depressed, if she is not taking care of herself, if you are able to see those things happening, she’s not sleeping well – these are all signs that she’s not doing well and she needs support.”
Nazari pleaded not guilty Tuesday at her arraignment and was ordered to remain behind bars until her bail hearing, according to the Modesto Bee. A bail hearing has been set for October 24.
Deputy District Attorney Fawn Smolak reportedly said during the arraignment that bail, if granted, should be set at $2.635 million, at minimum.
Meanwhile, a family friend set up a GoFundMe page to help with funeral and burial expenses. The fundraiser indicated that the children’s father is a full-time Uber driver.
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[Feature Photo: Sana Akram/GoFundMe]
