(WWJ) – A Farmington Hills man has been sentenced to at least 35 years in prison after he was convicted of killing his mother when he killed her then pushed her out of a window to stage her death.
Muhammad Altantawi was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder back in March. On Wednesday he was sentenced to 35-60 years in prison for the death of his 35-year-old mother, Nada Houranieh.
Altantawi was just 16 years old when he suffocated his mom and then pushed her out of a third-floor window of the family's Farmington Hills home in an attempt to stage her death as an accident, according to investigators.
Prosecutors said during the trial Altantawi had been angry with Houranieh for divorcing his father, who was previously charged with domestic violence against his wife.
The prosecution had previously said Altantawi was upset with the divorce because he believed her lifestyle did not reflect traditional Islamic customs, including wearing a hijab. He allegedly spied on his mother for weeks before her death and had apparently communicated with his father in the middle of the night before her death.
At Wednesday's sentencing, someone from the gallery told Altantwai to "have fun rotting in prison, murderer. I hope you die there too," according to a report from Fox 2 in Detroit.
That was one of several testy moments Wednesday, many of which included Altantawi objecting to the judge. Fox 2 reported he objected to the entire pre-sentencing report paragraph-by-paragraph, but the judge ruled she would not strike anything from the report.
He also objected to victim impact statements and interrupted the judge multiple times.
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