The defendant admitted killing Falus Ali and her unborn child after police traced his account to a St. Cloud apartment.
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The call reached emergency dispatchers shortly before midnight: A person had died inside a St. Cloud apartment, and the caller wanted to surrender. Months later, Saleebaan Mohamed Abdirisaaq admitted in court that he was responsible for two deaths.
Abdirisaaq pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder in the killing of his pregnant girlfriend, Falus Ali, and second-degree felony murder of her unborn child. His admissions transformed the case from a prosecution built on a complaint, physical evidence and witness information into one awaiting only a judge’s decision on punishment. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 25, 2026, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office said.
The first public account of the case began with Abdirisaaq’s own communications on Sept. 23, 2025. Reports based on the criminal complaint said he told a dispatcher that “someone died” and that he wanted to turn himself in. He gave limited details and asked police to come to the residence. Law&Crime reported that he said the death had occurred about 20 minutes before the call. The wording became a notable part of the early case, but the legal outcome ultimately rested on a broader body of evidence and Abdirisaaq’s later guilty pleas.
Officers went to the East Germain Court apartment complex in St. Cloud. At about 11:55 p.m., according to KNSI, they found Abdirisaaq waiting outside with his hands raised. He directed attention to himself and offered no reported attempt to flee. Police then entered the unit to determine who had died and whether anyone else needed immediate help. The scene they encountered established the basis for a homicide investigation.
Ali, 24, was found on the floor near a couch in the living room. A blood-covered kitchen knife was nearby, according to reports citing the complaint. Emergency personnel took Ali to CentraCare-St. Cloud Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Hospital staff informed investigators that she was approximately 17 weeks pregnant. The unborn child did not survive. The complaint listed 34 wounds, including several to Ali’s neck, while the Attorney General’s Office later summarized the injuries as multiple wounds to her neck, chest and arm.
Police also had to address the presence of the couple’s 3-year-old child. Court records cited by local media said the child was in the apartment during the attack. The child was not physically harmed and was placed in the care of family members. Investigators documented the child’s words and gestures, but the guilty pleas mean that the child will not have to appear before a jury in a trial over whether Abdirisaaq committed the killings.
A second communication extended the investigation beyond the apartment. Abdirisaaq’s brother contacted police in Minneapolis while officers were still at the St. Cloud scene, according to KNSI. The brother reported that Abdirisaaq had called him and admitted killing Ali with a knife. That information could have become evidence of a statement against Abdirisaaq’s interest. Instead, it now forms part of the chronology leading to his own courtroom admission.
The investigation then turned from the immediate scene to the relationship between Ali and Abdirisaaq. Authorities learned that the two had a child together and that Ali was pregnant with another child. They also uncovered earlier court proceedings involving violence or threats against her. Local reports said Abdirisaaq had been convicted in Sherburne County of violating a domestic abuse no-contact order in a case where Ali was the protected person. A separate Hennepin County matter involved threats made against her in 2024.
Those earlier proceedings raised questions about why Abdirisaaq and Ali were together at the apartment despite restrictions that reportedly barred contact. The available public materials do not provide a full account of how the contact occurred, whether Ali had sought any change in the orders or whether authorities knew that Abdirisaaq was at the residence. Nothing in the public reports supports assigning responsibility for his violation of a court restriction to Ali. The legal obligation to follow such an order rested with the person bound by it.
Prosecutors initially charged Abdirisaaq with four counts of second-degree murder. KNSI reported that the counts included theories tied to intentional murder, the death of an unborn child and the alleged violation of a restraining order. Charging documents often present alternative legal theories arising from the same conduct, allowing prosecutors to pursue the theory supported by the evidence and applicable law. The eventual pleas covered intentional murder and felony murder of an unborn child.
The record became more direct at the plea hearing. Abdirisaaq admitted that he and Ali had argued inside the St. Cloud residence. He acknowledged taking a knife from the dishwasher and stabbing her multiple times. That admission came in a formal court proceeding in which a defendant generally must establish a factual basis for a guilty plea. It replaced the need for prosecutors to prove his responsibility to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.
The pleas also separated this case from its earlier procedural stage. When Abdirisaaq was charged, allegations in the complaint had not been proved, and he was entitled to the presumption of innocence. After he pleaded guilty, the court could treat the admitted conduct as the basis for convictions. The question before the court is no longer whether he committed the offenses but what sentence should follow from them.
Benton County Attorney Kathleen Reuter asked the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office to assist with the prosecution. State law allows the attorney general to enter certain criminal cases after a county attorney submits a referral. The authority is an exception to the office’s usual role because most criminal cases in Minnesota are handled by local prosecutors, while the attorney general’s work is mainly civil.
The referral placed state and county prosecutors on the same case and brought additional resources to a prosecution involving two deaths, prior domestic-violence proceedings and a very young witness. The Attorney General’s Office credited the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the St. Cloud Police Department with assisting in the investigation. Public reports do not state that any agency failed to preserve evidence or that a dispute over investigative procedures affected the pleas.
Attorney General Keith Ellison said his office was holding Abdirisaaq accountable and expressed sympathy for Ali’s family, friends and loved ones. His statement came after the court accepted the pleas. Although prosecutors referred to the case as a conviction, the final judgment and sentence will be completed through the remaining court process.
Sentencing will allow the court to consider information beyond the basic facts needed to establish guilt. Prosecutors may address the effect of the killings, Abdirisaaq’s record and the circumstances described in the case file. Defense attorneys may present mitigating information or arguments about how Minnesota sentencing law should be applied. Ali’s relatives may also have an opportunity to address the court, though the publicly reviewed reports do not say who plans to speak.
No trial will now take place. That means jurors will not see photographs from the apartment, hear the 911 recording in open court or evaluate testimony from police officers, medical personnel and other witnesses. The plea avoids that proceeding while producing convictions on two serious offenses. It also prevents any uncertainty that a trial verdict could have produced, though Abdirisaaq may retain limited rights connected to sentencing or other legal issues.
The call that opened the case therefore serves as its first recorded step, not its conclusion. Abdirisaaq’s decision to contact police did not determine the charges or punishment, and his surrender does not erase the conduct he admitted. It did, however, help place him at the scene and begin the official response that led to the investigation, prosecution and guilty pleas. Abdirisaaq is due back in court Nov. 25. Until the sentencing judge rules, the duration of his prison term and the final treatment of the two convictions remain unresolved.
Author note: Last updated August 5, 2026.