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B'dour Mohammed-Ali Al-Yasari was sentenced to concurrent mandatory terms of life without parole on June 6, 2022, for her role in the ax killing of her husband, Ammar Al-Yasari, 35, at their home in Holt, Michigan (Delhi Township). After a trial of nearly three weeks, an April 2022 jury found her guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, on an aiding-and-abetting theory, and conspiracy to commit first-degree premeditated murder. The defense called no witnesses, and she did not testify. Judge Joyce Draganchuk imposed the sentences. On July 14, 2026, the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed in an unpublished opinion (No. 362096), rejecting her claims of ineffective assistance, insufficient evidence, cruel or unusual punishment, and newly discovered evidence.

The couple lived with their two young children. In 2018, B'dour Al-Yasari began a relationship with Jacob Joseph Ficher, 27, of Lansing, while still married. Testimony was that they planned to move to California and marry. Ficher testified at his trial that she had described abuse by her husband. At her sentencing, a prosecutor said there was no credible evidence of domestic abuse and that months earlier Ammar had offered her a divorce, but she had begged him not to leave.

Ammar was killed on the evening of Monday, February 4, 2019. Four days earlier, Ficher bought an ax and a bottle of bleach at a supermarket. The ax was never found, but its receipt and packaging were in his bedroom. Alarm company records showed the home alarm was remotely disarmed at 5:32 p.m. Her dashboard camera recorded B'dour Al-Yasari driving past the house and saying something to the effect of "Let me disarm the house." Ficher's phone data showed him traveling toward the home, and a neighbor saw someone enter with a tote bag.

Ammar left work at 6:25 p.m. B'dour Al-Yasari took the children to a library and a supermarket, started home about 7:45 p.m. and briefly entered the house at 7:57 p.m. She texted a friend to pick up the children and called 911 at 8:05 p.m. Officers found Ammar in a pool of blood and a clear liquid, with a strong odor of bleach. He had 24 chop wounds; the medical examiner testified that 19 would each have been fatal on their own.

The Ingham County Sheriff's Office investigated, and officers initially believed B'dour Al-Yasari was a victim. She agreed to the police-station interview recorded before she was charged. Detectives asked her to walk through her day. According to the Court of Appeals, she acknowledged a "friend with benefits" when asked about relationships outside her marriage, called him a "psycho" and would not give his name. Near the end, detectives told her they would take her phone and clothing as evidence. She said she wanted an attorney.

Her phone data showed a romantic relationship with Ficher, though several messages had been deleted. Ficher was arraigned on February 9, 2019, on a charge of open murder. The sheriff said B'dour Al-Yasari's original statement contained inconsistencies. She was arrested in Ann Arbor and arraigned on February 14, 2019, on open murder and conspiracy; the sheriff said both were involved in planning the killing. Both were held without bond. After a March 2019 preliminary exam, a judge sent the cases to circuit court.

Ficher was tried first in Ingham County. On November 18, 2019, he testified that he killed Ammar but meant only to confront him, and that B'dour Al-Yasari disarmed the alarm believing they would only talk. On November 19, 2019, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder after about three hours. On January 8, 2020, Circuit Judge Joyce Draganchuk sentenced him to life in prison without parole and $20,000 in restitution. Both are serving life sentences in Michigan prisons.

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Part 2 of 3 of the recording described above.

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Part 3 of 3 of the recording described above.