Illinois man sentenced to 53 years for hate crime murder of 6-year-old Palestinian-American
An Illinois man, Czuba, has been sentenced to 53 years in prison for the 2023 stabbing death of 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi, a Palestinian-American boy. The attack, fueled by racial and religious hatred, also left Wadee's mother severely wounded.
A man from Illinois, Czuba, was sentenced to 53 years in prison for the terrible 2023 stabbing death of 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi, a Palestinian-American boy. The attack was described to be brutal and left Wadee's mother also critically injured from her wounds, and it happened in the Chicago suburb of Plainfield and was based, allegedly, on racial and religious hatred.
Joseph Czuba, 73, was found guilty on multiple counts including murder, attempted murder, and hate crimes by the jurors after a very quick deliberation in February 2023. Czuba apparently felt justified in targeting the family for being Muslim, based on how he reacted to the Israeli and Hamas war conflict.
Illinois man committed hate crime against 6-year-old Palestinian-American
Wadee Alfayoumi was stabbed 26 times in his home on October 14, 2023, in the Chicago suburb of Plainfield, while his mother was stabbed more than a dozen times.
Their landlord, Joseph Czuba, then 73, was convicted of multiple counts of murder, along with attempted murder, aggravated battery and hate crime counts in February 2023. Jurors in Will County sided with the prosecution and found the defendant guilty on all counts after less than two hours of deliberation.
Before Czuba was sentenced Friday in Joliet, Illinois, his defense team filed a motion to vacate the jury verdict, arguing Czuba did not receive a fair trial, according to ABC station WLS. The trial judge denied the motion.
Hanan Shaheen, the mother of the child, was the first witness called to the stand during the weeklong trial.
She testified that Czuba first attacked her with a knife, stabbing her numerous times, while saying, "You devil Muslim, you must die," as her child watched, WLS reported after being in the courtroom.
Shaheen testified that she called 911 after Czuba appeared to leave while she was in the bathroom, but she then began to hear her son screaming, according to WLS.
"I started hearing my son screaming, screaming, screaming, ‘Oh no, stop!’" Shaheen said, WLS reported.
The jurors also heard the mother's 911 call from the bathroom, in which she was heard telling the dispatcher, "He's killing my baby," WLS reported.
The defense also filed a motion to reconsider Czuba's sentence, which has a hearing set for May 7 according to WLS.
According to ABC News, Czuba was sentenced to a mandatory prison range of 20 to 60 years, up to life in prison.
What motive Joseph Czuba to attack the 6-year-old and his family?
Authorities said that he targeted his tenants because they were Muslim and in reaction to the war ignited between Israel and Hamas after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, according to prosecutors.
"Wadee's great uncle, Mahmoud Yousef, spoke to reporters immediately after the sentencing outside the court." "It doesn't matter what numbers are," he said. "He just took a life from us. He took a future."
In a statement, Ahmed Rehab, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) said the sentencing was welcomed by the Chicago office of CAIR, the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organizations in the U.S., ""No sentence can bring back what was taken, but today's decision provides a measure of justice that is needed." "Wadee was an innocent child. He was targeted because of who he was -- Muslim, Palestinian, and loved. Our work now is to make sure no other child endures the fatal consequences of hate."
The jurors also heard the mother's 911 call from the bathroom, in which she was heard telling the dispatcher, "He's killing my baby," WLS reported.
Jurors also heard comments Czuba made to law enforcement in a police vehicle shortly after the assault.
"I thought they were going to do jihad on me," Czuba said, WLS reported.
Czuba also indicated he was "afraid for my life" and afraid for his wife and that they were "like infected rats" to the family, WLS reported.
Czuba and his wife rented part of their home in Plainfield to the mom and son for two years.
His now ex-wife testified for prosecutors that Czuba became withdrawn in the days following the war and wanted the family to leave immediately, while she would prefer to give them a 30 days' notice, the Associated Press reported.
Czuba did not testify, he waived his right to testify.
