A jury outside of Chicago convicted an Illinois man on Friday of murder and hate crime charges for the fatal 2023 stabbing of a Palestinian-American boy who lived on his property, an attack prosecutors said was fueled by anti-Muslim hate amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Joseph M. Czuba, 73, faces up to life in prison for the attack on Wadee Alfayoumi, 6, and his mother, Hanan Shaheen, who was injured.
Czuba, who was convicted of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, and hate crimes, stabbed the pair more than 30 times in October of 2023, according to police.
Alfayoumi and Shaheen rented rooms from Czuba in Plainfield, about 40 miles outside of Chicago.
After the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the landlord began making hateful remarks about Muslims and told Shaheen “your people” are killing Jews, Shaheen testified, adding that she told Czuba to, “Pray for peace.”
A week after the Hamas attack, Czuba forced his way into Shaheen’s room, stabbing her over a dozen times.
The mother fled into a bathroom to call 911, and the landlord then went into a separate room to stab Alfayoumi 26 times.
The 7-inch blade was still in the child’s naked body when police arrived.
Czuba had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The trial featured testimony from police and medical officials who were at the scene of the killing.
Prosecutors also showed the Will County jury the knife used in the attack and played police video footage.
“This happened because this defendant was afraid that a war that had started on Oct. 7, 2023, a half a world away in the Middle East was going to come to his doorstep,” Michael Fitzgerald, Will County assistant state’s attorney, said during opening statements. “This happened because Hanan and Wadee were Muslim.”
Hate crimes against Muslims and Jews surged around the U.S. in the aftermath of the October 7 invasion, according to federal officials.
