Surveillance video shown in Joseph Czuba trial
The trial against a man accused of murdering 6-year-old Palestinian boy, Wadea Al-Fayoume, in Plainfield Township in 2023, continued Thursday.
Fox-32 Chicago
Local reports say the Illinois landlord, who was convicted of fatally stabbing a six-year-old Palestinian boy in a hatred attack, days after the Israeli-Hamas war broke out, was found guilty of fatally stabbing a six-year-old Palestinian boy in a hatred attack.
Joseph Chuba, 73, was sentenced to the murder of kindergartener Wadi Alfayomi and the injury to his mother, Hanaan Shaheen, on May 2. Prosecutors said Czuba attacked his tenants following the interactions over “hatred of Muslims” and war in the Middle East.
In February, the ju judge discovered that Czuba was found guilty of murder, discovered hate crime charges in attempted murder, stabbing wounds that shocked the nation, launched a hate crime investigation by the Department of Justice, and was immediately condemned by officials, including former President Joe Biden.
Outside the court, Wadi’s grandfather, Mahmoud Yousef, told reporters that the punishment czuba received is “unjustified” compared to the losses his family will suffer forever.
“It doesn’t matter what the numbers are,” he said. “He took our lives. He took our future.”
According to the Chicago Tribune, Czuba appeared in court for a sentencing hearing but refused to provide a statement.
On October 14, 2023, Will County deputies discovered Wadee and his mother with severe stab wounds in one of two bedrooms they rented from Czuba in Plainfield, a 40-mile suburb of Chicago. Waddy was stabbed 26 times with a military-style knife and was declared dead in the hospital shortly after the attack.
Prosecutors said in the days leading up to the murder, Chuba “expressed concern over the Hamas/Israel conflict and asked her to move to Hanan as she and Wadi were Muslims.”
The stab wounds came a week after Hamas launched a fatal attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages. Israel’s military attacks on Hamas have killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza Health Authorities.
What happened during the attack of hatred?
Shaheen, who survived more than dozens of stab wounds, told authorities that the attack began shortly after Kuba faced her angry about the Israeli-Hamas war, according to court documents.
Prosecutors say Czuba forced her way into Shaheen’s bedroom and attacked her with a big knife. She manages to lock herself in the bathroom, and then he turns to Waddy and stabs the boy over 20 times. When authorities arrived they found a boy still holding a knife in his body.
Chuba’s ex-wife, who divorced him after he was arrested and later testified against him, said that Chaba was afraid of being attacked by people descent in the Middle East. Before the murder, Chuba’s ex-wife said she wanted Shaheen and Wadi to move in and said that Shaheen would call on him to “do harm Palestinian friends and family.”
Prosecutors argue that Czuba’s violent outburst came as a result of hearing anti-Muslim speeches on conservative talk radio. Johnny Simon, a lawyer for Waddy’s family, told USA Today after Czuba was found guilty of Czuba’s next step being to determine whether Czuba is legally liable and perhaps if anyone has heard his racist comments and did nothing.
“Everyone who knew about it was involved in this,” Simon said. “What this shows is what people say, the language and rhetorical issues. It really affects people, so we need to be responsible for what we say.”
The attack was immediately condemned
The attack came as the worst in the United States, led to conflict in the Middle East, when law enforcement officials across the country warned about an increasing threat of violence as tensions broke out in the war.
Former President Joe Biden denounced the stab wound the day after they occurred, and in October 2024 marked the first anniversary of the boy’s death. Under the direction of former Attorney General Merrick Garland, the Department of Justice also launched a hate crime investigation into the attack.
In September, the US Senate passed a unanimous resolution to honor Wadee, saying, “This resolution recognizes the loss of Wadee Alfayoumi, and the United States has zero tolerance for hate crime, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-Palestinian and anti-Arabic identification.”
Plainfield is part of the state located in northeastern Illinois and is part of the country’s largest Palestinian community. Hundreds of people, waving Palestinian flags, attended Waddy’s funeral.
In February, the city of Plainfield dedicated a playground to the boy.
Contributions: Michael Loria and Carissa Waddick
