Crime & Safety
Final Indignity for Abandoned Baby Whose Grave Was Dug Up
Six-month-old's mother was convicted in his death and his body languished unclaimed for three years before mortuary students stepped in.

BROWNSTOWN TOWNSHIP, MI – Eternity had one last indignity for wee Mario Al-Asadi, whose grave was dug up a day after his tiny casket was gently placed in a Brownstown Township cemetery in a ceremony that came years too late, authorities said Wednesday.
The 6-month-old’s hauntingly short life story begins in summer of 2012, when he was born prematurely, WDIV-TV reports.
He died — also prematurely, according to court records — in January 2013.
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His parents, Terri Othwaite-Julite and Saad Al-Asadi, were accused by prosecutors of leaving him alone in a crib, surrounded by too many blankets and medical equipment, in an Allen Park motel room.
He suffocated and died.
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Mario’s body languished, unclaimed, at the morgue for three years.
In March, a group of mortuary students rectified that. They gave him a dignified burial at a service on March 23 at Our Lady of Hope in Brownstown Township.
Hours later, the little casket that cradled his remains was found unearthed but, through some measure of grace, unopened.
Police told the TV station the parents aren’t suspects.
Instead, they suspect a grave-robber looking for valuables. Police think the casket was abandoned by the gravesite when the culprit was unable to open it.
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