Joseph Czuba, then 71, stands before Circuit Judge Dave Carlson for his arraignment at the Will County courthouse in Joliet, Illinois, October 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
A jury finds an Illinois landlord guilty of murder and hate crime charges for a brutal 2023 attack on a Palestinian American family in which he killed a 6-year-old.
Joseph Czuba, 73, was charged in the fatal stabbing of Wadee Alfayoumi and the wounding of his mother, Hanan Shaheen, on Oct. 14, 2023, in Plainfield, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from Chicago.
Authorities alleged the family — who were renting rooms in Czuba’s house — was targeted because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas that was sparked by the terror group’s devastating assault on Oct. 7, 2023.
Jurors deliberated less than 90 minutes over the crime that renewed fears of anti-Muslim discrimination in the Chicago area’s large and established Palestinian community.
The trial featured detailed testimony from police officers, medical workers, Czuba’s ex-wife, and Shaheen, who described how Czuba attacked her with a knife before going after her son in a different room.
Prosecutors say that the child had been stabbed 26 times. He was found naked with a knife still in his side.
Wadee Alfayoumi’s father, Oday Al Fayoume, seated right, and his uncle Mahmoud Yousef attend a vigil for Wadee at Prairie Activity and Recreation center in Plainfield, Illinois, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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