Illinois landlord who murdered 6-year-old Muslim boy days after Oct. 7 attacks learns fate

An Illinois landlord who murdered a 6-year-old Muslim boy and severely injured the boy’s mother in a vicious hate-crime attack days after the war in Gaza began was sentenced Friday to 53 years in prison.Joseph Czuba, 73, was found guilty in February of murder, attempted murder and hate-crime charges in the death of Wadee Alfayoumi and the wounding of his mother, Hanan Shaheen.Czuba targeted them in October 2023 because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas.Evidence at trial included harrowing testimony from Shaheen and her frantic 911 call, along with bloody crime scene photos and police video.Jurors deliberated less than 90 minutes before handing in a verdict.The family had been renting rooms in Czuba’s home in Plainfield, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from Chicago when the attack happened.Central to prosecutors’ case was harrowing testimony from the boy’s mother, who said Czuba attacked her before moving on to her son, insisting they had to leave because they were Muslim.

Prosecutors also played the 911 call and showed police footage.Czuba’s wife, Mary, whom he has since divorced, also testified for the prosecution, saying he had become agitated about the Israel-Hamas war, which had erupted days earlier.Police said Czuba pulled a knife from a holder on a belt and stabbed the boy 26 times, leaving the knife in the child’s body.

Some of the bloody crime scene photos were so explicit that the judge agreed to turn television screens showing them away from the audience, which included Wadee’s relatives.“He could not escape,” Michael Fitzgerald, a Will County assistant state’s attorney, told jurors at trial.“If it wasn’t enough that this defendant killed that little boy, he left the knife in the little boy’s body.”The jury deliberated for 90 minutes before returning a verdict.

Czuba is eligible for a minimum prison sentence of 20 to 60 years or life, according to the Will County state’s atto...