Parents accused of leaving toddler alone on Roseville apartment’s balcony before fatal fall

A 15-month-old girl left alone on a Roseville apartment’s balcony fell more than two stories to her death, according to charges filed against her parents.

Aisha Ali, 30, and Hanad Hassan Jama, 35, were charged Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court with two counts of second-degree manslaughter in connection with Hiba Hassan’s fatal fall on July 6 in the 2700 block of Lexington Avenue.

Ali and Jama were each charged by summons and are due in court on Nov. 5. Contact information for either parent was not immediately available, and court records for both of them do not list an attorney.

Hiba fell from what the charges described as a “Juliet” balcony, a style that typically leaves only enough room for people to stand and is named for the balcony depicted in Shakespeare’s classic “Romeo and Juliet.”

According to the criminal complaints:

A 911 caller reported that a girl had fallen from an apartment balcony. Police and medics arrived and saw Hiba on the drive outside the building’s garage. She was unresponsive and suffering from a head injury.

Two-plus stories above was a small balcony with vertical safety bars. Its sliding door was partly open, and its screen had a large tear and was off the track.

The child eventually went inside but remained by the open door before a woman retrieved the youngster and retreated inside.

Officers went to the apartment and were met by Ali, who had brought her daughter back in from the balcony moments earlier. Also in the home was her 5-year-old son. Ali summoned Jama, who arrived moments later.

Medics took Hiba to the hospital, and the family followed. Ali told officers there that she had been in the shower and believed Jama was watching the children around the time of Hiba’s fall. However, police determined the shower stall was dry at the time.

Ali acknowledged that the balcony’s screen was torn and off its track.

Jama explained to police that Ali told him she was going to shower, and he told her he was going to work and left.

The 911 caller’s fiancée told investigators that the balcony’s screen has been broken for several months. A maintenance worker added that he had seen children hanging out of the balcony at least three times within the previous year. He said the parents were repeatedly warned about the danger the children’s actions posed.

Building management provided investigators with recorded phone calls in August and September 2024 when apartment staff spoke with Jama about the children on the balcony.

“‘We currently have your, I believe it’s your daughter, hanging out the balcony,’” the complaints quoted the staffer saying on one call. “‘This isn’t the first time. We actually have ... pictures of this, so please make sure this doesn’t happen.’”