5 chilling details about the Nada Huranieh case on Dateline

A morning routine turned into a nightmare on August 17, 2017, in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Aya Altantawi stepped outside her home and found her mother, Nada Huranieh, lying motionless on the patio below an open second-story window.

Huranieh, a 35-year-old mother of three, was still in her pajamas, her body positioned as if she had fallen during a cleaning task. The scene suggested an accident or suicide, with a ladder and cleaning supplies nearby. 

But as investigators dug deeper, the truth emerged: this was no mishap. Nada Huranieh had been killed by her 16-year-old son, Muhammad Altantawi, who staged the fall to cover up the murder. The case exposed deep family tensions from an ongoing divorce, where cultural expectations clashed with personal changes.

Aya's 911 call captured her raw panic, marking the end of her childhood. Years later, the story unfolded on Dateline NBC's episode The Shadow in the Window, which aired on June 4, 2025, on NBC.

Dateline: Secrets Uncovered: 5 chilling facts about the Nada Huranieh case

1. The daughter's heartbreaking discovery

Aya Altantawi woke up on August 17th, 2017, in her family’s dwelling, observing her normal daily activities. Aya and her brothers and sisters were getting ready to go to school, but when Aya stepped outside at approximately 6 a.m., she saw her mother sitting on the patio.

However, she saw her mother lying face up and motionless when she went outside, with an open window placed 29 feet above her. Aya called her brother Muhammad, then dialed 911 in fear and trembling. The paramedics arrived promptly but found no pulse; she died in the hospital.

The investigation primarily focused on a fall of this magnitude with a potential ladder, cloth, or cleaning solution available in this household, leading to a possible accident in household chores, as per NBC. 

2. The carefully staged accident scene

The scene that greeted the detectives was that of a supposed accident in a household setting. A ladder was placed against the side of the house, a bottle of cleaning liquid stood open, and a damp cloth lay conveniently close, as if Nada Huranieh had slipped in her cleaning.

The second-floor window stood wide open with no signs of forced entry or struggle in the residence. This indicated that perhaps she had climbed in and fallen or ended her life with the family turmoil.

But a curious detective noted a detail in this supposed accident where a splattering of liquid indicated afterthought planning in this fake household accident. The positioning of her body did not in any way correlate with someone falling from such an elevated point, either, according to Oxygen. 

3. Surveillance footage of a shadowy figure

The home had six security cameras, which captured footage that became central to the case. Just before 5:30 a.m., a blurry shadow appeared in the window—a figure with short hair lifting a heavy, limp object toward the sill.

The shape then vanished, only to reappear briefly as if positioning the ladder outside. Another clip showed the body being maneuvered over the edge before tumbling down. The low light made details hard to discern, but experts testified that the movements indicated someone carrying and disposing of an unresponsive person, not a self-inflicted fall.

During CPR attempts on the patio, caught on video, Muhammad Altantawi seemed to pause compressions while counting aloud with the dispatcher, a moment that raised early red flags, as per Oxygen. 

4. Signs of suffocation before the fall

The autopsy offered definitive proof of murder. Autopsy results by medical examiner Ruben Ortiz-Reyes established that Nada Huranieh died because of asphyxiation and head trauma resulting from blows sustained before falling out of the window.

A bruise on her lower lip indicated she may have been smothered with a pillow or fabric soaked with a substance to reduce airflow. Lung analysis showed she did not breathe when she remained inside, her lifeless body placed inside the window.

She did not suffer defensive wounds, which meant she had been overwhelmed in a swift attack. Weeks later, this fact changed a terrible accident into a premeditated murder, which offered a picture of a quiet struggle in a quiet bedroom where a mother remained silent without a struggle heard by neighbors affected by this heinous crime, as People reported.

5. Evolving stories and hidden family tensions

Muhammad Altantawi first told police he slept through the events, only learning of his mother's death from Aya's screams. Later, after hearing about the footage, he changed his account, saying he held the ladder while she cleaned and watched her topple out before showering and going back to bed.

These shifts, combined with his anger over the parents' divorce, pointed to a motive. Nada Huranieh, raised in Syria, had embraced independence in the U.S., pursuing fitness classes and dating, which clashed with family expectations and led to arguments.

Aya testified that Muhammad blamed his mother for destroying our family by seeking assets in the split. In 2022, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 35-60 years, still denying involvement during the hearing, according to People. This unraveling exposed how private resentments built to a fatal act, leaving siblings to rebuild amid the ruins of trust.

Watch the full episode The Shadow Window available on NBC and Peacock.