A federal appeals court overturned the kidnapping convictions of five family members in a case where a 3-year-old boy died during an exorcism at a remote New Mexico compound, ruling that a father taking his own child without the mother’s consent doesn’t automatically constitute federal kidnapping.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated all convictions against Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and four relatives Tuesday, finding that trial judges gave jurors faulty instructions about what makes kidnapping a federal crime. The boy, Abdul Ghani, died in 2018 after his father brought him from Georgia to the desert compound.
Why the Convictions Failed
The appeals panel said prosecutors never proved Ibn Wahhaj violated any court order or state law when he took his son from a motel where the boy lived with his mother, Hakima Ramzi. Federal kidnapping law requires more than parental custody disputes—it demands proof of an actual legal violation.
Ibn Wahhaj’s two sisters and brother-in-law, Lucas Morton, were convicted of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and kidnapping resulting in death. But the trial judge told jurors that lack of consent from the mother alone made the taking unlawful. The appeals court called that instruction misleading and legally insufficient.
Weapons Charges Overturned Too
The three-judge panel also threw out convictions against Ibn Wahhaj and Morton for conspiracy to provide material support to kill federal officers. Those charges stemmed from firearms and ammunition found at the compound.
Prosecutors had argued the weapons cache showed intent to attack law enforcement. The court disagreed, finding no solid evidence linking the firearms to any actual plan to target federal officers.
What Happens Next
The government can retry the defendants, but faces the same legal hurdle: proving federal kidnapping requires more than one parent taking a child from another parent without permission. Most custody battles happen in state family court, not federal criminal court.
The ruling underscores how federal kidnapping statutes—written primarily to combat ransom schemes and interstate abductions by strangers—don’t neatly fit parental custody fights, even when children die in tragic circumstances. The case returns to district court, where prosecutors must decide whether to pursue new charges or let the convictions stand vacated.
Key Points
- 10th Circuit vacated all convictions in case where 3-year-old died during exorcism at New Mexico compound
- Court ruled father taking child from mother without consent doesn’t constitute federal kidnapping absent violated court order or state law
- Weapons charges for conspiracy to kill federal officers also overturned for insufficient evidence
https://www.courthousenews.com/10th-circuit-vacates-family-convictions-in-3-year-olds-desert-compound-death/ – October 07, 2026
