Man sentenced to 53 years in prison in hate-crime attack on Palestinian
American boy, mother
[May 03, 2025]
JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois landlord who killed a
6-year-old Muslim boy and severely injured the boy's mother in a brutal
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.
Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak sentenced Czuba to 30 years in the boy's death
and another 20 years consecutively for the attack on Shaheen. The judge
also sentenced him to three years imprisonment for hate crimes. The
length of the sentence makes it all but certain he will die behind bars.
“No sentence can restore what was taken, but today’s outcome delivers a
necessary measure of justice,” said Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of
CAIR-Chicago. “Wadee was an innocent child. He was targeted because of
who he was—Muslim, Palestinian, and loved."
Czuba did not speak during the sentencing. Czuba's attorney, Lenard,
declined comment. Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow’s office
issued a statement calling Czuba a “morally reprehensible killer" and
the impact of his actions “truly unfathomable.”
The boy's great-uncle, Mahmoud Yousef, was the only family member who
spoke during the hearing. He said that no matter the sentence length it
wouldn't be enough. The boy's parents had plans for him and Czuba robbed
them of that, he said.
Yousef asked Czuba to explain why he attacked the boy and his mother,
asking him what news he heard that provoked him, but Czuba did not
respond, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Czuba targeted them in October 2023 because of their Islamic faith and
as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas, prosecutors said
during the trial.
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.
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Odai Al Fayoumi, father of Wadee Al Fayoumi, who was murdered by
Joseph Czuba in 2023, speaks to the media after the sentencing of
Czuba outside the Will County Courthouse in Joliet, Ill., Friday,
May 2, 2025. (Pat Nabong /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
“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.
The attack renewed fears of anti-Muslim discrimination and hit
particularly hard in Plainfield and surrounding suburbs, which have
a large and established Palestinian community. Wadee's funeral drew
large crowds and Plainfield officials have dedicated a park
playground in his honor.
Shaheen had more than a dozen stab wounds and it took her weeks to
recover.
She said there were no prior issues in the two years she rented from
the Czubas, even sharing a kitchen and a living room. Then after the
start of the war, Czuba told her that they had to move out because
Muslims were not welcome. He later confronted Shaheen and attacked
her, holding her down, stabbing her and trying to break her teeth.
“He told me ‘You, as a Muslim, must die,’” said Shaheen, who
testified at trial in English and Arabic though a translator.
Police testified that officers found Czuba outside the house,
sitting on the ground with blood on his body and hands.
Separately, lawsuits have been filed over the boy’s death, including
by his father, Odai Alfayoumi, who is divorced from Shaheen and was
not living with them. The U.S. Department of Justice also launched a
federal hate crimes investigation.
Yousef told reporters after the hearing that Czuba was a grandfather
figure to Wadee and the family doesn’t understand what “fake news”
Czuba may have heard about the war in Gaza that caused him to attack
the boy and his mother. People need to understand Muslims before
judging them, he said.
“Some people are bringing this war to this country,” Yousef said.
“We cannot do that. We can’t bring the war here. We cannot bring
hatred to this country . . . we need that to stop.”
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