The murder of Wadee Alfayoumi and attack on his mother stand as one of the worst hate crimes in the US since Gaza war began.

A United States landlord who was jailed for decades for the horrific October 2023 stabbing death of a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy, and for critically injuring his mother, has died in prison.

Joseph Czuba, 73, died on Thursday in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on Saturday, citing the Will County Sheriff’s Office. The law enforcement agency did not return a call seeking comment on the death, according to the Associated Press news agency.

The murder of the boy, Wadee Alfayoumi, and the attack on his mother, Hanan Shaheen, was one of the earliest and worst hate crime incidents in the US since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Three months ago, Czuba was sentenced to 53 years in prison for the attack. He was found guilty in February of murder, attempted murder and hate-crime charges for Alfayoumi’s death and for wounding Shaheen.

Czuba attacked them on October 14, 2023, because they were Muslims, and as a response to the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on southern Israel.

Ahmed Rehab, the executive director of the 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 a police video. Jurors deliberated for less than 90 minutes before handing in a verdict.

The family had been renting rooms in Czuba’s home in Plainfield, about 40 miles (64km) from Chicago, when the attack happened.

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Central to the 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.

“He told me: ‘You, as a Muslim, must die,’” said Shaheen during her testimony.

Czuba’s ex-wife, Mary, also testified for the prosecution, saying he had become agitated about Israel’s war on Gaza, which has now killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians.

Police said Czuba pulled a knife from a holder on a belt and stabbed the boy 26 times. 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 case generated headlines around the world and deeply struck the Chicago area’s large and established Palestinian community amid rising hostility against Muslims and Palestinians in the US. Wadee’s funeral drew large crowds, and Plainfield officials have dedicated a park playground in his honour.

Other similarly-motivated incidents in the US include the attempted drowning of a three-year-old Palestinian-American girl in Texas, the stabbing of a Palestinian-American man in Texas, the beating of a Muslim man in New York, a violent mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters in California and a Florida shooting of two Israeli visitors whom the suspect mistook for Palestinians.

Three young Palestinian men were also shot near a university campus in Vermont just weeks after Alfayoumi was stabbed to death.

A landlord jailed for decades after he attacked a Palestinian American boy and his mother has died.

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.

Czuba died Thursday in the custody of the Illinois corrections department, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, citing the Will county sheriff’s office. The law enforcement agency did not return a call seeking comment on the death.

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.

The family had been renting rooms in Czuba’s home in Plainfield, about 40 miles (64km) from Chicago when the attack happened.

Shaheen told jurors 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.

After the start of the war, Czuba told Shaheen that they had to move out because Muslims were not welcome. Later, he attacked her and her son.

“He told me: ‘You, as a Muslim, must die,’” said Shaheen.

Shaheen had more than a dozen stab wounds.

Czuba attacked her with a knife before going after her son in a different room. Police said Czuba 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 case, which generated headlines around the world, comes amid rising hostility against Muslims and Palestinians in the US since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, killing roughly 1,200 Israelis, and Israel’s attack on Gaza, which has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians.

The attack 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.

Marina Dunbar contributed reporting

The Plainfield man convicted of killing a Palestinian American boy in an October 2023 hate crime has died in state prison just weeks after his sentencing, the Will County sheriff’s office said Saturday.

Joseph Czuba, 73, died Thursday while in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections, said Kevin Hedemark, sheriff’s office spokesperson. Hedemark said he couldn’t confirm Czuba’s cause of death. An IDOC spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ahmed Rehab, the executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations-Chicago, said in a statement that “this depraved killer has died, but the hate is still alive and well.”

“Wadee was stabbed to death 26 times for being Palestinian. Two years later, even as we speak, thousands of Gazan children are being shot, bombed and starved to death for being Palestinian,” Rehab said. “It’s the hate that must die.”

A jury found Czuba guilty of fatally stabbing 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi and wounding the boy’s mother, Hanaan Shaheen. He was sentenced in May to 53 years in prison.

Authorities charged the attacks as hate crimes. Czuba, who was renting part of his house to Wadee and Shaheen, stabbed them after he became “heavily interested” in the Israel-Gaza war after the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, prosecutors said. Shaheen testified during trial that Czuba grew angry with her because she was Muslim and from Jerusalem, telling her, “Muslims are not welcome here.”

George Lenard, Czuba’s attorney, said to his understanding, Czuba was held at Menard Correctional Center in downstate Illinois.

Plainfield community members unveiled a monument dedicated to Wadee in June.

Joseph Czuba at his arraignment at the Will County courthouse in Joliet, Ill., in October 2023. The Illinois landlord, who was convicted for killing a Palestinian American boy, has died. He was 73.

An Illinois landlord who was sentenced to 53 years in jail for a knife attack that killed a Palestinian American boy and wounded his mother has died.

Joseph Czuba, 73, was sentenced three months ago after being found guilty in February of murder, attempted murder and hate-crime charges in the death of 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi and the wounding of the boy’s mother, Hanan Shaheen.

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Czuba said he targeted them in October 2023 because of their Islamic faith and as a response to Hamas’ attack on Israel days earlier.

Czuba died Thursday in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, citing the Will County Sheriff’s Office. The law enforcement agency did not return a call seeking comment on the death.

Ahmed Rehab, the executive director of Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Chicago office, said in a statement Saturday that “this depraved killer has died, but the hate is still alive and well.”

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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 from Chicago, when he attacked them.

Central to prosecutors’ case was 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 video. Czuba’s wife, Mary, whom he has since divorced, also testified for the prosecution, saying he had become agitated about the Israel-Hamas war.

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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 crime scene photos were so gruesome 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, home to a large, established Palestinian community. Wadee’s funeral drew large crowds, and Plainfield officials have dedicated a park playground in his honor.

An Illinois man who was sentenced to 53 years in prison for the murder of a young Palestinian American boy in a 2023 hate crime that shocked the nation has died in prison, authorities said Saturday.

Joseph Czuba, 73, died on Thursday while serving his sentence, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Officials did not release his cause of death.

In February, Czuba was convicted of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and hate crimes for fatally stabbing 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi and injuring the boy’s mother just days after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel and the launch of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

Authorities said Czuba targeted the boy’s family “due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis.” The mother and son were living in a room rented in Czuba’s home in Plainfield Township, a suburb of Chicago.

Czuba stabbed the young boy 26 times and attacked the boy’s mother, Hanan Shaheen, leaving her critically injured with 12 stab wounds, according to officials.

Wadee Alfayoumi’s father, Oday Al Fayoume, seated right, and his uncle Mahmoud Yousef attend a vigil for Wadee at Prairie Activity and Recreation Center in Plainfield, Ill., in 2023. Nam Y. Huh / AP file

Czuba was sentenced 53 years in prison for killing Wadee and attacking Shaheen, after pleading not guilty.

Shaheen, who moved to the U.S. from the West Bank as a teenager nearly 15 years ago, testified that in the days before the stabbings, Czuba told her “your people” are killing Jewish people. Czuba also demanded that she and her son move out of his home, she said.

She added that she and her son had no prior issues with Czuba in the roughly two years they lived in the home, where she and her son shared a kitchen and living room with Czuba and his then-wife.

On the day of the attacks, she testified that Czuba barged his way into her room, held her down and stabbed her more than a dozen times. She said Czuba put his fingers in her mouth at one point and tried breaking her teeth. Throughout the encounter, Shaheen said she pulled at Czuba’s hair while he shouted, “You must die!”

Her son stood in the corner of the room and watched the encounter fearfully, Shaheen testfied.

Czuba told the young boy, “Wadee, I will take care of you. I will raise you,” and, “Don’t tell people I killed your mom,” as he stabbed his mother, Shaheen said.

Shaheen said she then escaped to the bathroom and called 911 while she could hear Czuba stabbing her son.

“He is killing my baby,” she said repeatedly to the dispatcher, according to a recording of the 911 call played at the trial.

An attorney for Shaheen did not immediately return a request for comment.

Wadee’s killing stunned the nation and drew national condemnation at a time when tensions around the country’s Muslim and Jewish communities were intensifying after the Oct. 7 attacks.

Then-President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris issued statements condemning the killing, saying that “this horrific act of hate has no place in America.”

“The child’s Palestinian Muslim family came to America seeking what we all seek — a refuge to live, learn, and pray in peace,” he said.

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.”