Illinois landlord who killed 6-year-old Palestinian-American, injured his mother in hate crime stabbing dies in prison
Three months ago, Joseph Czuba was sentenced to 53 years behind bars for the attack. He was found guilty in February of murder, attempted murder and hate-crime charges in the death of Wadee Alfayoumi and the wounding of the boy's mother, Hanan Shaheen.
The 73-year-old Czuba targeted them in October 2023 because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas, which started days earlier.
6 Joseph Czuba, who was convicted of murdering a Palestinian American boy and injuring his mother, has passed way at the age of 73.
AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File
6 Czuba attacked Wadee Alfayoumi, 6, and his mother Hanan Shaheen days after the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel in 2023.
Facebook / Hanan A Shaheen
Czuba died Thursday in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections, according to a statement from the Will County Sheriff's Office.
Ahmed Rehab, the executive director of Council on American-Islamic Relations' Chicago office, said in a statement on Saturday that 'this depraved killer has died, but the hate is still alive and well.'
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.
6 Czuba was sentenced to 53 years in prison for murder, attempted murder and hate-crime charges.
WILL COUNTY STATE ATTORNEY/AFP via Getty Images
6 Czuba targeted the mother and child for their Muslim faith in response to the terror attacks in Israel.
Family Handout
The family had been renting rooms in Czuba's home in Plainfield, about 40 miles 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.
6 Wadee's father Odai Alfayoumi leaving Will County Courthouse in Joliet, Ill., following Czuba's sentencing on May 2, 2025.
Felix Sarver/The Herald-News via AP
6 Mourner's carrying Wadee's coffin at his funeral at at Parkholm Cemetery on Oct. 16, 2023.
Photo byPolice 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.
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.
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