According to a report by Hindustan Time on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, in Tinley Park, Illinois, Mohammed Almaru, a 42-year-old man was recently convicted of first-degree murder for the brutal beating of his 17-year-old daughter, Mia Maro, during an argument about her attendance at prom.
Mia Maro was a bright and ambitious senior at Andrew High School, eagerly anticipating one of the most memorable events of her high school career: prom.
Initially, her father, Mohammed Almaru, had given her permission to attend the event on April 29, 2022.
However, something changed, and he revoked that permission, leading to a fateful argument that would end in tragedy.
According to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, Almaru’s relationship with his daughter had become strained in the weeks leading up to the incident.
Prosecutors portrayed Almaru as a father who believed that his daughter was hiding secrets from him and that she no longer loved him.
On April 30, 2022, the day after the prom, Almaru’s sister, who was also one of his wife’s caregivers, became concerned when she hadn’t heard from the family.
This concern deepened when she noticed that the blinds of their home on 167th Street were closed, a departure from the usual routine, as Mia typically opened them in the morning.
When she returned to the house on May 1, 2022, Almaru answered the door, appearing disheveled and out of sorts.
He asked her to sit with his incapacitated wife, saying he needed to do some paperwork.
However, as time passed, she became increasingly uneasy. Hearing strange noises, including what she described as “gurgling,” she ventured into her brother’s room. What she found there would haunt her forever.
Lying on the floor of the room, covered with a blanket, was the lifeless body of her niece, Mia Maro.
Almaru was lying next to her, with one arm draped over her body. Mia’s body bore the marks of a brutal and sustained attack.
According to court documents obtained by The Chicago Tribune, she was “covered in numerous bruises,” with severe injuries to her head, arms, legs, and feet.
The extent of the violence was staggering, with evidence of “extensive hemorrhaging and bleeding” in her brain. told by The Express.
Investigators believe that Almaru used “multiple objects” to inflict the injuries, including a bent metal pole, a mallet, and a box cutter, all of which were found at the scene, covered in blood and hair.
In the moments before police arrived, Almaru sent a text message to his son, which included a photo of himself holding a letter.
In this letter, he attempted to explain his actions, casting blame on his incapacitated wife for supposedly leading Mia to believe that he no longer loved her.
He wrote that after going through Mia’s phone and discovering what he believed to be lies, he “got out of control” and tried to “beat the information out of her.”
The letter, however, offered no justification for the horrific actions that followed. Almaru admitted to beating Mia and claimed that he “accidentally hit her in the head” before lying down next to her unconscious body, only to wake up to find her dead. He added, “I (fouled) up big time I’m sorry.”
When first responders arrived at the scene, they found Almaru with superficial wounds to his wrists and neck, as well as evidence that he had ingested several narcotic pills, possibly in a failed suicide attempt.
Despite these injuries, Almaru was taken into custody, where he has remained since his arrest.
Tinley Park police confirmed that they had no prior calls to the home for domestic issues, save for a medical emergency involving Mia’s mother in 2019.
That incident had left Mia’s mother in need of round-the-clock care, a responsibility shared by Almaru and his two sisters.
On Friday, August 16, 2024, a jury found Mohammed Almaru guilty of first-degree murder.
The conviction followed a trial in which the prosecution presented a damning case against Almaru.
Almaru’s defense did little to counter the overwhelming evidence, and his own admissions of guilt sealed his fate.
He is expected to return to court on October 7, 2024, for post-trial motions, with a sentencing date to be determined.
