PONTIAC, Mich. (WWJ) – A 20-year-old Farmington Hills man has been found guilty of murdering his mother and trying to cover it up by making the scene look like an accident.
Investigators believe Muhammad Altantawi suffocated his mother, 35-year-old Nada Hureniah, in August of 2017, then threw her out of a second-story window at the family’s home and then staged it to look like an accidental fall.
Attorneys say the then-16-year-old was upset with his mother for divorcing his father. He allegedly believed her lifestyle did not reflect traditional Islamic customs, including wearing a hijab.
Altantawi also apparently didn’t approve of the way she was raising his sisters, according to prosecutors.
More than four years after her death, Altantawi’s trial came to a close on Monday, with jurors returning a guilty verdict for first-degree murder after just three hours of deliberation.
An assistant prosecuting attorney said during closing arguments that Altantawi lied and made missteps during police interviews, which helped lead authorities to discover other evidence against him, including the possible use of a chemical inhalant before her fall.
Prosecutors allege he spied on his mother for weeks before her and had communicated with his father in the middle of the night before her death.
Altantawi could face life in prison without parole
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