Son Convicted of Suffocating Mother, Staging Fall
Michigan teen killed his mother to prevent her testimony in parents' divorce case
Quick Facts
On an August morning in 2017, Nada Huranieh's body was discovered on the ground outside an open second-story window of her family home in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Her 16-year-old son, Muhammad Altantawi, called 911 and began performing CPR—but surveillance footage would later reveal a chilling detail: he stopped chest compressions while continuing to count aloud for the dispatcher, a calculated performance that masked his guilt.
Initial investigators considered the death an accident, perhaps related to window cleaning. A wet towel found nearby supported this theory. But a forensic examination revealed the truth: Nada had been suffocated before being thrown from the window. Evidence of nasal-oral blockage in her lungs suggested a pillow or cloth had been pressed over her face while she was alive. The fall from the window had occurred after she was already dead.
Muhammad Altantawi quickly became the primary suspect. He was the only male in the home that morning and had opportunity and motive. Investigators uncovered a disturbing picture of a troubled household fractured by his parents' deteriorating marriage. The teenager had sided firmly with his father, Bassel Altantawi, in the divorce proceedings. Phone records revealed early-morning calls between father and son on the day of the murder—despite Muhammad's claims of being asleep. Three weeks before the killing, he had sent his father photographs of the guest room and the open window. Most damning: text messages showed a deeply strained relationship, with Muhammad referring to his mother as "Dog" in his phone.
Muhammad's story changed repeatedly under interrogation. He initially denied involvement entirely, then claimed he had been holding a ladder for his mother, and later suggested he had simply retrieved cleaning spray for her. Each explanation collapsed under scrutiny.
