[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
An Illinois father has been charged with first-degree murder for allegedly beating his teenage daughter to death after finding something on her phone that he didn’t like.
After authorities announced that Mohammed Almaru (above) was arrested and charged in the death of his daughter, Mia Maro (above, inset), court documents were released on Wednesday that show the graphic details of what led up to the teen’s murder, including a text message Mohammed sent to his son containing detailing what he said happened in the days surrounding his daughter’s death.
According to reports, Maro and her father had an argument last week about her going to her high school’s prom. While Mohammed initially gave his daughter permission to attend her senior prom, which happened April 29, he later changed his mind, stating that he “did not trust her,” per the court documents.
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On the day of the prom, Mia’s aunt, Linda Maro, arrived at the house to take care of Audrey Jorgenson — Almaru’s wife and Mia’s mother who has required 24-hour care since suffering a traumatic brain injury in the spring of 2019 — and began to track Mia’s phone through the “Find My iPhone” feature to see if her niece went to the prom. The tracking showed that Mia’s phone left Tinley Park two different times, but didn’t go to Chicago, where the prom was.
When Linda hadn’t heard back from her niece two days later despite sending the teen multiple texts, she and her other sister, Randa Almaru, decided that Randa would stop by the house to see if Mia was okay. Mohammed answered the door when Randa arrived, and asked his sister to sit with his wife so that he could “do some paperwork.”
Shortly after, Randa started to hear gurgling noises coming from the bedroom. When she entered the room, Randa found her niece lying on the floor of the bedroom, covered with a blanket. Mohammed was reportedly lying next to his daughter with his arm draped over her body.
Randa called the police, who arrived at the home to find the father next to his slain daughter, “with self-inflicted wounds to his wrist and throat,” according to a statement from the department. The statement also alleged that “Almaru had ingested pills and was taken to Christ Hospital, where he was stabilized.”
At some point that day, Mohammed texted a photo to one of his sons showing him holding a letter. In the letter, the 42-year-old claimed Mia was “hiding things from him,” and that he had to beat the information out of her. Mohammed admitted to going through his daughter’s phone, and said he allegedly “found things” that his daughter hadn’t told him the truth about. He said:
“I lost my mind, went out of control, and beat the s*** out of her, and accidental (sp) hit her in the head. I laid down with her, was uncontious (sp) and woke up to her cold body.”
The father was still in the hospital as of Thursday, and his arraignment is scheduled for May 9. Officials determined that Maro died as a result of multiple injuries, and that her death was a homicide. She was set to graduate from high school, and wanted to pursue a career as a dental hygienist.
Mayor Michael Glotz said of the tragedy in a statement:
“On behalf of the entire Village of Tinley Park, I’d like to offer my sincerest condolences to everyone who knew and loved Mia. By all accounts she was a lovely young woman at the very beginning of her life, a life that she will now never get to fulfill. To her family, friends and fellow students at Andrew High School, we mourn her passing with you.”
So incredibly devastating. Our hearts go out to her loved ones.
[Image via GoFundMe/Tinley Park Police Department]