What happened to Nada Huranieh? Details explored ahead of Dateline NBC

The tragic case of Nada Huranieh and its disturbing details will be featured on Dateline NBC's "The Shadow in the Window" on September 20, 2024. As the case unfolds, family members, lawyers, and legal experts weigh in on an investigation that lasted years, turning a suspected fatal accident into a murder with clear premeditation.

On the morning of August 21, 2017, a quiet suburb of Farmington Hills, Michigan, was shaken by a shocking discovery. Aya Altantawi, who would have just turned 13 at the time, discovered her mother, Nada Huranieh, dead on the patio of their family home.

The mother of three, aged 35, was dressed in her pajamas and presumed to have been the victim of a tragic accident. However, it soon turned out to be murder. Her son, Muhammad Altantawi, was charged and eventually convicted of the murder.

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The discovery of Nada Huranieh's body

On that morning in August 2017, Aya found her mom motionless on the patio of their house in Farmington Hills. The sun was barely up when Aya found her mother. She called 911 and asked for an ambulance.

According to NBC, dashcam footage of the officers on scene captured a frantic Aya running back to her house. In the initial stages of the investigation, the police thought Nada Huranieh might have accidentally fallen from the second-story window. However, detectives soon uncovered evidence pointing toward matricide.

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The unraveling mystery and disturbing truth

As authorities dug deeper into their investigation, Nada Huranieh's 16-year-old son, Muhammad Altantawi, was found to be responsible for her death.

Prosecutors said Muhammad killed her because Nada was trying to divorce her husband and take control of her life.

On the morning of the murder, Muhammad reportedly smothered Nada with a poison-dipped cloth in her makeup room before rearranging the scene to look like she fell from the second-story window of their home. Surveillance footage would later show a shadowy figure lifting her lifeless body to the second-story window.

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The trial and conviction of Muhammad Altantawi

For months, Muhammad Altantawi was under investigation and finally arrested for the murder of Nada Huranieh. The case had been pending several times due to appeals and the pandemic, and in 2022, a jury convicted him of first-degree murder. 20-year-old Muhammed was sentenced to 35 to 60 years in prison with no chance of parole.

It was during the trial that prosecutors underlined the disturbing family dynamics that may have motivated the crime. Muhammad was described as a young man caught between his parents' bitter divorce, and increasing resentment towards Nada Huranieh for pursuing independence when taking on a job as a fitness instructor.

As such, the prosecution suggested that Muhammad's strict religious upbringing and a close relationship with his father were factors that fueled his hatred towards his mother.

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The impact on Aya Altantawi and family

While for Aya, it was the traumatic loss of her mother in such a brutal and unexpected manner that is carved by the realization that her brother was the perpetrator of the crime. In interviews carried out and broadcast on Dateline, Aya reveals how her life was "turned upside down" by tragic events of that day and followed years in the pursuit of justice.

As Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison details in the episode, crime brutally took away Aya's innocence and continues to impact her life.

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The Dateline episode detailing this case airs on Friday September 20, at 10/9c pm on NBC.