Farmington Hills Teen Will Stand Trial In Murder Of Mom, Allegedly Thrown From Mansion Window
FARMINGTON HILLS (WWJ) - A Farmington Hills teen has been bound over for trial in the murder of his mother, who tumbled from a window.
Before a judge handed down his decision Friday afternoon, a Farmington Hills police officer testified that 16-year old Muhammed Al-Tantawi — charged with first degree murder in the death of Nada Huranieh — changed his story about his activities around the time of his mother's death.
In one version of the teen's story, police said, the teen claimed he went to a third story room to get cleaning supplies and saw his mother fall off a ladder out of the window. He said he then took a shower before calling police. In another version of his story, police said, the teen said he never went upstairs.
Prosecutors say Al-Tantawi smothered his mom and then threw her out of the window to fake a fall. However, Al-Tantawi's defense attorney got the officer to admit that they didn't look for other suspects; even though, the lawyer contends, there may have been others who wanted to do her harm.
Allegedly, according to Al-Tantawi's attorney, some in the local Muslim community were not happy with Huranieh because she was becoming too "Americanized," getting a divorce, and had been on dates.
Huranieh, 35, was on the ground outside a window of the family's mansion on Howard Road, near Halsted and I-696, when police arrived on August 24. Investigators initially believed the death was an accident, but quickly found evidence to indicate that that was not the case.
Al-Tantawi was arrested at the scene and charged as an adult. He is being held without bond. No trail date has been set.
Itsi Saar, who worked with the victim at the Franklin Racket Club, was among those gathered at the courthouse.
"She was so loved by — you saw in court how many people came in support." Sarr told WWJ's Charlie Langton. "I'm still shaking. It's very, very emotional, because I saw the girls last week...I saw the son, who was a member at the club, too. And seeing him today in shackles, it's very, very tough."
Huranieh, a personal trainer, at the time of her death was separated from her husband Dr. Bassel Altantawi, whose medical license was suspended early this year for scamming Blue Cross and Medicaid out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
