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After Finding Her Mom Dead on Patio and Learning "Disturbing" Truth, Teen's Life "Turned Upside Down"
"None of it felt real," Aya Altantawi said of finding her mom, Nada Huranieh, dead on the patio of their sprawling Michigan home — and the shocker that came next.
Aya Altantawi was just a teenager when her life changed forever.
She discovered her 35-year-old mother, Nada Huranieh, lying face-up on the patio of their Farmington Hills, Michigan home in 2017, still wearing her pajamas and not moving. The haunting mystery is explored on Dateline on Friday September 20 beginning at 10/9c p.m. on NBC.
“None of it felt real, like none of it felt real,” Altantawi recalled on the show, as seen in a harrowing preview for the episode.
The young teen rushed to call 911 when she made the early-morning discovery, when the sun was barely up. “We need an ambulance... Oh my God,” she can be heard telling a dispatcher in a distressed voice on the recorded call.
Dashcam video from the first police officers to arrive at the scene captured Altantawi running as fast as she could toward her sprawling suburban home, where her mother’s body lay outside.
“I remember screaming but, it’s like in those movies where the character’s like, ‘Oh I screamed but I didn’t realize it was coming from me,’” Altantawi told Dateline of those terrifying first few moments.
A life "turned upside down"
According to the synopsis for the episode, titled “The Shadow in the Window,” the teen’s life was “turned upside down” by her mother's death and what was later discovered.
“What initially seems like a fatal accident reveals itself to be something much more disturbing,” the synopsis continues.
Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison says of Altantawi in the episode's preview: "The crime that ended her childhood was years ago, but discovering what happened that morning — that has filled up all those years."
Morrison told NBC Insider that the “shadow” referenced in the episode’s title will play a critical role in unraveling the suburban mom’s death.
“I guess the big surprise in this story is a shadow,” he said.
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Morrison hopes that viewers will take away an important message from the chilling mystery.
“The lesson of this story and many of our Dateline stories is the same: no matter the dispute or the overheated emotions, murder is never a solution,” he told NBC Insider.
"A motive as old as time"
Morrison added that the truth behind Huranieh’s death was more complicated than it may first appear.
“Some may want to jump to conclusions regarding motive and cultural/religious influences. I think that would miss the real motive — a motive as old as time,” he said.
In addition to featuring Altantawi, the episode will also include commentary from Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Ljubisa J. Dragovic, Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl, and attorney Michael Schiano.
“The Shadow in the Window” will mark the final episode of Season 32 of the long-running news magazine and will air Friday September 20 at 10/9c p.m. on NBC, and be available to stream on Peacock the next day.
Season 33 is slated to premiere on September 27 with a whole new set of mysteries to decipher.
And for even more Dateline, sign up for the show's official newsletter and check out its podcast.
