Sentencing Ali at Bristol Crown Court, Judge Justice Linden described her as a "loving mother" and said she "would not have done what you have if you were well". He imposed an indefinite hospital order after psychiatric evidence concluded her offending was "almost entirely attributable to mental disorder".
Ali wept as details of the children's fatal injuries were read out. The court heard the three children died of stab wounds to their chests and necks, with Fares also showing possible signs of asphyxia. The children's father, Alfil Bash, left the courtroom during the hearing.
The incident began with a three-minute 999 call in which Ali, speaking in Arabic, told police she was "going to God". Officers arriving at the family home on Blaise Walk in Sea Mills found Ali partially clothed in a "very disturbed state, looking like a zombie" with self-inflicted stab wounds to her throat and stomach. The children were found dead on her bed, the house described as "dirty and chaotic" with blood on the landing.
Ali was detained under the Mental Health Act and spent two weeks in hospital before being transferred to a secure psychiatric facility. The court was told she told a nurse she had received "messages" to kill her children at midnight.
Andrew Langdon KC, defending, said two forensic psychiatrists believed Ali had schizoaffective disorder, combining symptoms of schizophrenia with a mood disorder. He argued she was in the "grip of delusions" and did not understand the nature of her actions.
The judge noted that Ali had been discharged from mental health services just six days before the killings, calling it a "deficiency in the assessment of you by mental health services" due to a lack of acute psychiatric beds. Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust has apologised "for failings in the care she received".
The court also heard details of domestic violence in the relationship. In September 2023, the children's school raised concerns about possible domestic abuse, and police were called in December when Ali reported being attacked by her husband while breastfeeding. Bash was arrested and remanded, leaving Ali with no access to funds and reliant on foodbanks.
In a victim impact statement, Bash described the children as "his whole world" and said he would "spend the rest of my life grieving for my children". He added it was hard to accept the "size of the betrayal" from their mother.
The judge told Ali: "For the rest of your existence, you will live with the knowledge of what you have done and the loss of your beloved children. I am quite sure that you are heartbroken by what happened."