Going to prom is a high school milestone many students look forward to. However, one teen girl's request to attend the annual spring dance ended in tragedy. Her father fatally beat her for asking to go to prom — and recently, he was sentenced for his crime.
Previously, Mohammed Almaru, 44, confessed to killing his 17-year-old daughter Mia Maro. The brutal beating happened in May 2022, just days before she would have graduated from high school. Almaru's fate has now been decided.
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Almaru was sentenced to 55 years in prison on October 7, CBS News reported.
In August, he was found guilty of first-degree murder following the 2022 death of his daughter. Almaru will get credit for the two years he already spent in custody, CBS News reported, but must serve 100% of his term. He will be 97 before he is eligible for release.
On May 1, 2022, Mia was discovered dead at her family's home in Tinley Park, Illinois, according to court documents, per CBS News.
Police also found Almaru with self-inflicted wounds and he also allegedly took pills in an apparent suicide attempt. Mia's aunt was the first to go to the home, where she found Mia's body in the basement after not being able to contact her for days.
The teenager suffered "extensive hemorrhaging and bleeding," according to her autopsy, WGN-TV reported. Specifically, Mia's body had bruising to the arms, legs, feet, torso, skull, and face. Her skull also showed evidence of Almaru striking her on the head multiple times.
Police found a metal pole in the kitchen with blood and hair on it, in addition to a rubber mallet in the garage with Mia's blood on it.
Almaru claimed his daughter’s death was accidental.
Prosecutors argued that Almaru beat his 17-year-old daughter following an argument over going to prom, according to court documents obtained by Fox 32. Allegedly, Almaru changed his mind about allowing Mia to go after originally saying she could. He allegedly claimed he "did not trust her."
Court documents claimed that Almaru went through his daughter's phone and thought she was keeping things from him, WGN-TV reported. So he needed to "beat the information out of her."
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Leading up to her death, Mia reportedly contacted a relative with worries that her father would harm her. She was allegedly scared that he might "beat" or "kill" her, Fox 32 reported.
Court documents showed that Almaru confessed to the crime on the day it happened in texts to one of his sons. "I lost my mind, went out of control and beat her… I f—ed up big time I'm sorry," he reportedly wrote.
