TINLEY PARK, Ill. – An Illinois man has been charged with fatally beating his 17-year-old daughter at their home in southwest suburban Chicago, authorities said.
Mohammed Almaru, 42, was charged with first-degree murder, WFLD-TV reported. He is charged with the death of Mia Maro, who was found dead Sunday in the basement of their home with bruises over her body, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Investigators said that physical evidence at the scene included a rubber mallet and a metal pole, WMAQ-TV reported.
According to Tinley Park police Chief Matthew Walsh, Almaru had self-inflicted wounds to his wrists and throat and was under the influence of narcotics when officers arrived at the residence, WLS-TV reported.
Maro’s death comes as she was scheduled to graduate from high school on May 21, according to the television station.
“It’s tragic,” Walsh told reporters Wednesday. “A kid who was getting ready to get out of high school, go to prom and get on with her life. And now it’s not going to happen.”
Walsh said he did not know how many people were in the home at the time of Maro’s death or whether anyone tried to prevent the apparent attack, the Tribune reported. He added that Almaru’s sister called 911.
Walsh said Almaru was hospitalized after he was found by police and has been unable to appear in court for a bond hearing, the Chicago Tribune reported. He has not been cooperating with authorities, Walsh said.
”We were able to obtain enough, in working with the state’s attorney for a couple of days, enough where they were comfortable charging him with first-degree murder,” Walsh told reporters.
During their investigation, police uncovered a letter that Almaru allegedly wrote to his son after his daughter’s death, in addition to text messages from his sisters that show them attempting to contact Maro, WMAQ reported.
Court documents also alleged that on April 28, Maro and Almaru had a disagreement over her attending her prom at Victor J. Andrew High School, WFLD reported. Documents state that Almaru originally gave his daughter permission to attend the dance but then changed his mind, saying he “did not trust her.”
“On behalf of the entire Village of Tinley Park, I’d like to offer my sincerest condolences to everyone who knew and loved Mia,” Mayor Michael Glotz said in a statement. “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.”
