The Murder of Mia Maro
On April 29, 2022, Mohammed Almaru, 42, beat his daughter Mia Maro, 17 to death, with a steel pole and a mallet in their Tinley Park, Illinois home, near Chicago.
Background
Mia Maro lived with her father, Mohammed Almaru. In the spring of 2019, Mia’s mother, Audrey Jorgenson, sustained a traumatic brain injury and has required consistent care since. Almaru’s sisters Linda Maro and Rhanda Almaru are Audrey’s caretakers.
On April 26, 2022, Mia had agreed to drive her father’s car to care for Audrey while Rhanda had an appointment. On her way, she got into a minor car accident, where she hit the back of another vehicle. She texted her aunt, stating she was scared and thought her father may “beat her” or “kill her.”
On April 30, 2022, Mia was supposed to attend her prom. She was a senior and was going to graduate from high school in a few weeks. Mia had told friends and family that Almaru had said she could attend prom, but at some point, changed his mind, stating that he did not trust his daughter.
The Murder
At some point on April 29, 2022, Almaru asked Mia questions, trying to get information he felt she was hiding from her. He had gone through her phone and may have found something that angered him. It is not clear what this information was at this time. He started beating Mia with a metal pole and rubber mallet until she was dead.
Mia is Found
On May 1, 2022, Rhanda arrived at Almaru’s residence to check on Mia. When she arrived, Almuru had opened the door and asked her to sit with his wife and help her with paperwork, which she agreed to. Shortly after, Rhanda heard a gurgling noise and went into the other room.
She found Mia’s battered body and Almaru laying next to her. He had self-inflicted wounds on his wrists. It was also discovered he ingested pills in an attempted to end his life. He was rushed to the hospital.
Mia’s body had bruising throughout her body. Investigators discovered a bent metal pole that had blood on it in the kitchen. They also found a rubber mallet in the garage, which had blood on it.
Mia’s brain had extensive hemorrhaging, but her skull was intact. This means she was hit with enough force to make her brain sustain damage by hitting her skull. This is called a coup contrecoup brain injury. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Arrest
Doctors stabilized on May 2, 2022. He was charged with first degree murder. He is scheduled to appear in court on May 9, 2022.
2 Comments
Ryan
Dear Ashley Rose
Tinley Park is indeed a suburb of Chicago in Cook County, but is not part of the city. The opening paragraph should read “…their Tinley Park, Illinois home, near Chicago”.
I lived in the neighborhood where this tragedy took place.
Ashley Rose
Hey, thank you so much for pointing that out. I’ve made the change.