How did she die? Who killed her?

The rising sun on a tragic August morning in 2017 illuminated the body of 35-year-old mother of three Nada Huranieh lying just outside her luxurious home in Farmington Hills, Michigan. When a murder investigation was launched, some disturbing truths about her life came to light that led investigators straight to the perpetrator. The entire murder case is examined in detail in the episode “The Shadow in the Window” of NBC's “Dateline.” In addition to outlining the intricacies of the investigation, the episode also includes insightful interviews with the victim's relatives, allowing viewers to delve deeper into the case.

Nada Huranieh's body was found on the ground in front of her house

A vibrant bundle of energy full of positivity, Nada Huranieh was born on January 25, 1982 and grew up to be an ambitious and free-spirited woman. After completing her education with flying colors, Nada entered the fitness industry and started working as a personal trainer and group exercise instructor. Her drive and passion for her job made her successful and respected. In the 1990s, she crossed paths with Bassel Altantawi and over time, she developed a strong romantic bond with him. After dating for a while, they got married and made their relationship official before Syrian law in 1999.

Over the next few years, the couple had three children, including Aya Altantawi and Muhammad Altantawi, and became parents. Nada, who raised her children in Farmington Hills, was known as a loving mother and devoted wife. But in the early hours of August 2017, Aya Altantawi received the shock of her life right outside her home. She found her 35-year-old mother lying unconscious on the patio. She immediately called 911 and informed them of the situation in a desperate tone: “We need an ambulance… Oh my God.”

Authorities rushed to the seven-bedroom Farmington Hills home on Howard Road and began searching the body and the property for clues. At first, investigators believed she had accidentally fallen from the second-story window. However, when the autopsy of the body revealed that Nada Huranieh had died of asphyxiation and blunt force trauma to the head, her death was ruled a homicide and a murder investigation was launched.

Nada Huranieh's murderer was her own blood

As part of their investigation, investigators looked more closely at Nada Huranieh's life and her relationship with her loved ones and discovered that all was not ideal between the victim and her husband. The longtime couple was in the midst of a divorce. On Valentine's Day 2016, Bassell and Nada got into a heated argument that resulted in Bassell pushing her down a flight of stairs at home. Following the domestic violence incident, she filed for divorce in March 2016 and he was evicted from the home. That same year, he was also charged with Medicare fraud at his Canton urgent care clinic. He pleaded guilty to spousal abuse, as well as two counts of fraud for submitting false Medicare claims and health care fraud.

The main reason for the disputes between the couple and the deterioration of their marriage was reportedly the fact that Nada turned away from traditional Syrian and Islamic customs and taught two daughters the same. Her son, Muhammad Altantawi, on the other hand, sided with his father and had reportedly developed a dislike for her. Even after Bassel was ordered to visit his children only under supervision, Muhammad sneaked out of the house several times to meet him, disobeying court orders. When questioned by investigators, Muhammad gave conflicting accounts of his whereabouts the morning before Nada was found dead. When investigators reviewed surveillance footage of the property, they saw someone throwing her body out the window that fateful morning.

The perpetrator was brought to trial several years after the murder

Given the evidence against Muhammad Altantawi, investigators arrested him and charged him with the murder of his mother. According to them, in the early hours of August 21, 2017, the boy, then 16, suffocated Nada Huranieh with a cloth soaked in poison in her makeup room before pushing her body out of the second-story window of her Farmington Hills home. To make it look like she had fallen while cleaning the window and portray her death as an accidental fall, he placed a ladder and tile cleaner near the window.

About five years after the fitness coach's death, her son was convicted of premeditated murder in March 2022. A few months later, on September 21, he represented himself and spoke in court before the verdict was announced. He claimed he was wrongfully convicted, stating: “I did not suffocate, suffocate, drug or kill my mother in any other way.” Muhammad Altantawi added: “I don't care if I'm sentenced to 40 or 80,000 years. I don't care… nothing I'm going through in my life or have gone through in the last five years – nothing I'm going through will ever compare to what my mother went through.” He was later sentenced to 35 to 60 years in prison for killing his mother, Nada Huranieh.

Read more: Melissa Witt's murder: How did she die? Who killed her?