St. Cloud woman accused of killing 3-month-old found incompetent to stand trial

ST. CLOUD - A 27-year-old St. Cloud woman accused of stabbing her 3-month-old son, wrapping him in a plastic bag and putting him in a dumpster outside her apartment building in November has been found mentally ill and incompetent to proceed in a criminal trial.

Fardoussa O. Abdillahi faces one felony count of premeditated first-degree murder and one felony count of intentional second-degree murder in the death of the infant.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services' forensics division conducted the examination of the woman's mental condition. Abdillahi was found incompetent Feb. 14 and is suffering from postpartum psychosis, said her attorney, Kenneth L. Wilson.

Wilson said his client is in Stearns County jail waiting for a bed to open at an inpatient treatment center in St. Peter or Anoka.

"It's just frustrating. She's a very, very high risk for suicide given her circumstances and the jail is the last place she needs to be," Wilson said. "This isn't anybody's fault. This isn't someone at the County Attorney's Office not doing what they're supposed to do. This is just a matter of [not having] enough beds in Minnesota."

On Feb. 15, the state filed a notice of its intention to prosecute Abdillahi once she regains competency. Wilson said once she has been treated and she is able to understand what is going on, she will be evaluated again as to the state of her mental health at the time of the stabbing.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Stearns County District Court, St. Cloud police were dispatched to an apartment building in the 2000 block of Maine Prairie Road at about 6:30 a.m. Nov. 28 after a man called 911 to report a baby was missing and the mother stated "she had thrown the baby in the dumpster."

The child, born Aug. 5, lived in the apartment with Abdillahi since October. Adult witnesses told police they arrived at the residence after a call from Abdillahi's mother expressing concern for the woman and child based on comments Abdillahi had made.

Officers found the child's body in the dumpster, along with multiple knives and bedding. Investigators said Abdillahi told them she had been experiencing headaches and feelings of worry and fear after her son was born. She said the father was "denying the child was his," according to the complaint.