‘Like a nightmare repeating’: A Boise family tries to move on from stabbing rampage
More than two years after his wife and two of his children were stabbed at a friend’s birthday party, Mustafa Mutlak got his family a dog — “to make them feel a little bit safer,” Mustafa’s brother, Alex, told the Idaho Statesman on Tuesday night.
It was all part of the ongoing effort to heal the physical and emotional wounds of a horrible stabbing attack that took place in late June 2018.
That summer night, Mustafa’s wife, Miada, and two of their children, Zine, now 10, and Teba, 9, were among nine victims. Timmy Kinner, a homeless man who had been staying at an apartment complex on Wylie Lane before going on a rampage at a 3-year-old girl’s party, was arrested, and court hearings unfolded to determine his competency.
Nearly three years later, Kinner pleaded guilty Tuesday to several crimes in connection with the mass stabbing, including first-degree murder in the death of Ruya Kadir, whose birthday was being celebrated.
Six months ago was when Mustafa got his family an Australian shepherd. When contacted by the Statesman on Tuesday, Mustafa had Alex speak on the family’s behalf.
“(The dog) is super friendly with the kids and I tried to train him to act tough against strangers,” Alex said.
“Idaho is like a paradise for us, it’s really nice and quiet,” he continued. “We didn’t think anything bad would happen until that accident. That was a shock for everybody.”
Zine and Teba are doing “good,” Alex said, but Miada is still recovering. All three were taken to hospitals after the stabbing, and Miada still has trouble walking and mostly uses a wheelchair, Alex said.
“The kids don’t talk about it,” Alex said. “We’ve tried to make them forget and move on with their lives. We don’t want that one particular accident to hold them back and keep them away from living their life.”
Miada still doesn’t like to be at home alone, according to Alex.
“She’s still in shock,” he said. “Back in her mind, she’s still scared. ... It’s like a nightmare repeating in her dreams.”
Mustafa’s family moved to Idaho as refugees from Iraq in 2008, Alex said, and the family has appreciated the support they have received from neighbors and the International Rescue Committee in Boise. All of those injured in the attack were refugees from Iraq, Syria and Ethiopia.
“They didn’t make us feel like strangers, they made us feel like we are home with friends and family,” Alex said of Boiseans and the IRC. “Normal people on the road who we don’t even know, they just heard the news and they came to support us.
“We had some doubts a few days after the attack, but when the whole city stood on one foot until they served justice, we felt more relief and more safe.”
Julianne Donnelly Tzul, executive director of the IRC, said in a statement on Tuesday, “Our heartfelt care goes out to the families who were impacted, and our gratitude goes to the Boise community who wrapped services and support around our Wylie neighbors in an extraordinarily difficult time.”
Kinner’s guilty plea brings the legal process near its conclusion. His sentencing is set for June 10.
“We just want everybody to be safe, because the crimes he did against kids are horrible,” Alex said. “We just wish that justice will take place and we pray for his soul to be forgiven by God.”
Mustafa’s nephew, Anmar Lafta, said he hopes no other family in Boise has to experience such heartbreak.
“We live in peace in Boise, so I hope nobody will ever be in this situation again,” Lafta said.
This story was originally published March 31, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
