Body of Tinley Park high school student found at home, death ruled homicide

TINLEY PARK, Illinois. – A school community in the southern suburb of Tinley Park is in mourning on Monday following the murder of a student last weekend.

Tinley Park police say Mia Maro, a high school student from Andrew High School, was found dead on Sunday evening on the lower level of a house in the 7800 block of West 167th Street.

An autopsy on Monday found the 17-year-old had multiple injuries and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner. The exact cause of Maro’s death has yet to be revealed.

“It was just shocking. I was listening to music and heard the commotion outside. I looked outside and saw the family outside running towards the house,” said neighbor Andrew Brecia.

DOWNLOAD THE FOX 32 CHICAGO APP FOR NEWS ALERTS

Tinley Park Police say they have identified a person of interest in Maro’s murder.

In a message released Monday to the school community, Dr. Abir Othman, Principal of Andrew Secondary School, offered her condolences to Maro’s family.

“Today is a very sad day for the Andrew High School community as we mourn the loss of senior student Mia Maro,” Othman said. “We send our condolences to Mia’s family and ask everyone to keep Mia in their thoughts and prayers.”

Brecia says he saw and heard an emotion that alerted him that something was wrong, coming from Maro’s older brother.

“A lot of swearing, what was going on, what happened. How did it happen. Why? Clearly distraught, very heartbroken at the time,” Brecia said.

No other information was immediately available.