Man sentenced to 53 years in hate crime murder of 6-year-old Palestinian boy

A 73-year-old Illinois man was sentenced to more than 50 years in prison for the 2023 hate crime murder of a 6-year-old Palestinian boy. In February, a jury found Joseph Czuba guilty of murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and hate crime charges.

Czuba was convicted of stabbing 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi 26 times and stabbing the boy’s mother, Hanan Shaheen, more than a dozen times. The mother was seriously wounded in the attack and survived.

Prosecutors said Czuba was the landlord of the boy and his mother and that he targeted them because they are Muslim.

Mother’s testimony details attack

During the trial, Shaheen testified that while Czuba was stabbing her, he said, “You, as a Muslim, must die,” The Associated Press reported.

She got away, barricaded herself in the bathroom and called the police. That’s when she started hearing her son screaming.

Prosecutors played the 911 call for the jury. In it, Shaheen was screaming to the dispatcher, “The landlord is killing me and my baby! He’s killing my baby in another room!” according to the AP.

Attack followed outbreak of Israel-Hamas war

The attack occurred in October 2023, just days after Hamas attacked Israel, which ignited the Israel-Hamas war.

Authorities said Czuba had rented out rooms to the Muslim family for nearly two years without any issues.

Behavior shift noted by wife

Czuba’s wife told the court that in the days after the Hamas attack, her husband became withdrawn and said he wanted the family out immediately, The New York Times reported. She suggested they give the family a 30-day notice.

Sentencing and legal motions

On Friday, May 2, a judge sentenced Czuba to 53 years behind bars after denying a motion from the defense team to overturn the jury’s conviction.

Czuba’s defense team also filed a motion to reconsider his sentencing, with a hearing scheduled for May 7, WLS reports.

Illinois law requires Czuba to serve the entirety of his murder sentence.

Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief

Ella Greene

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