A Tinley Park man was convicted of first-degree murder in the May 1, 2022, beating death of his 17-year-old daughter, a senior at Andrew High School, inside their home, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.
Mohammed Almaru was found guilty following a jury trial at the Bridgeview courthouse, as prosecutors portrayed him as fearing his daughter was hiding secrets from him and no longer loved him before he “went out of control” and severely beat her.
Just days before her death, Mia Maro had received permission from her father to attend Andrew’s senior prom April 29, but he then rescinded his approval, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said a sister of Almaru found her niece, Maro, in the home in the 7800 block of 167th Street on the afternoon of May 1, covered in a blanket, with her father on the floor next to her with an arm draped over his daughter’s body.
A court document at the time Almaru was charged notes the girl was “covered in numerous bruises” including injuries to her head, arms, legs and feet. Maro suffered “extensive hemorrhaging and bleeding” of the brain, and evidence suggests her father used “multiple objects” to inflict the wounds, according to the document.
A bent metal pole and a mallet, both covered in blood and hair, were found in the home, according to the document.
Several minutes before first responders came to the home, Almaru texted his son a photo showing him holding a letter in which he blamed his incapacitated wife for leading their daughter to believe her father no longer loved her, according to the court filing.
Almaru said he had searched his daughter’s phone and allegedly found information she had not been truthful about, and that “he had to beat the information out of her,” according to the document. It was not clear whether the wording was from the text or the letter Almaru was purportedly holding.
He told his son he had beaten Maro and “accidental hit her in the head and then I laid down with her was unconscious and woke up to her ‘cold body,’ ” according to the document.
Almaru provided his son with a code to his safe and his banking information, and told him to withdraw money, according to prosecutors.
“I (fouled) up big time I’m sorry,” he told him, according to the filing.
When first responders arrived at the home, they found Almaru with superficial wounds to his wrists and neck and a box cutter was found nearby, according to the filing.