Illinois landlord who stabbed Palestinian American 6-year-old 26 times found guilty of murder, hate crime
A jury found an Illinois landlord guilty of murder and hate crime charges Friday for a brutal 2023 attack on a Palestinian American family that 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 Czubas house — was targeted because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas that erupted 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.Graphic photos of the murder, a knife holder Czuba allegedly used that day, along with police video footage were central to the Will County prosecutors’ case.
At times video screens showing explicit footage were turned away from the public viewing audience where members of Wadee’s family sat during the trial.“If it wasn’t enough that this defendant killed that little boy, he left the knife in the little boy’s body,” Michael Fitzgerald, a Will County assistant state’s attorney, told jurors during opening statements.Czuba had pleaded not guilty.He faced murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and hate crime charges in an eight-count indictment.Defense attorneys insisted pieces of evidence tying Czuba to the crimes were missing.
His ex-wife, testifying for the prosecution, could only describe one outburst during their 30 years of marriage and said he carried knives often because he was handy around the house.“Go beyond...