They Thought She Fell — Surveillance Revealed Her Son Staged Nada Huranieh’s Death

The investigation into the death of 35-year-old Nada Huranieh in Farmington Hills, Michigan, took a dramatic turn after medical examiners and surveillance footage contradicted the family’s initial belief that she had fallen or taken her own life.

Dateline/NBCAya Altantawi.

On Aug. 21, 2017, Huranieh’s daughter, Aya Altantawi, discovered her mother unconscious on the patio outside the family home. Paramedics pronounced Huranieh dead at the scene. At first glance, the open second-story window and a nearby ladder, cleaning solution and rag suggested an accidental fall while cleaning or a suicide.

Police arrive at Nada Huranieh's home.

Autopsy and Surveillance Change the Picture

But a subsequent autopsy by Dr. Ruben Ortiz-Reyes found that Huranieh had died from asphyxiation, with blunt-force head trauma listed as a contributing cause; examiners also noted a pre-mortem bruise to her lower lip. Investigators then reviewed footage from multiple cameras at the home. According to court testimony, the recordings showed shadowy movement and a light that appeared to lift a figure toward the upstairs window seconds before Huranieh’s body fell, suggesting the scene had been staged.

OxygenHome surveillance video of Aya Altantawi and her brother as they found their mother's body.

Suspicions Focus on Family Members

Detectives eliminated Huranieh’s estranged husband, Dr. Bassel Altantawi, after electronic monitoring placed him miles away at the time of the incident. Attention turned to her then-16-year-old son, Muhammad Altantawi. Prosecutors allege Muhammad opposed his mother’s decision to separate and begin divorce proceedings and that resentment provided a motive.

Michigan Department of CorrectionsMuhammad Altantawi.

Arrest, Trial and Conviction

Less than a week after the death, Muhammad was arrested and charged with murder. Legal disputes over whether he was properly questioned as a minor delayed the trial until March 2022. During the proceedings, prosecution witnesses described the surveillance evidence and autopsy findings; family testimony about tension over the divorce served as the centerpiece of prosecutors’ motive argument. The defense disputed the interpretation of the surveillance shadows and denied that Muhammad had a motive.

In March 2022, a jury convicted Muhammad of first-degree premeditated murder. At his September 2022 sentencing — after he dismissed his attorneys and represented himself — a judge imposed a 35-to-60-year prison term. The judge also noted that Muhammad continued to portray himself as a victim rather than accepting responsibility.

Victim Impact

At sentencing, Aya read emotional impact statements describing her mother as kind and generous and addressed her brother directly: "I love you, but will never forget what you did." Their father attempted to read a victim statement but was limited by the court after appearing to praise the defendant rather than focusing on the family’s loss.

Where Things Stand

According to Michigan inmate records cited in reporting, as of December 2025 Muhammad is serving his sentence at Kinross Correctional Facility in Chippewa County, Michigan. The case drew renewed attention after a Dateline episode in September 2024 and has been reported by outlets including People, Dateline, the Detroit Free Press and WXYZ Detroit.

Key evidence: Autopsy findings of asphyxiation and blunt-force trauma, plus multi-camera surveillance showing activity at the window prior to the fall, formed the basis of the prosecution’s case that the death was staged as an accident or suicide.