Landlord convicted of killing Palestinian American boy dies in custody
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Landlord convicted of killing Palestinian American boy dies in custody
Joseph Czuba was convicted in February of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and two counts of a hate crime. The 73-year-old died Thursday in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections. The October 2023 attack sent shock waves through the nation. It took place just a week after Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 attack into Israel. The Council on American-Islamic Relations in Chicago unveiled a monument in memory of Wadee Alfayoumi in June.
The 73-year-old died Thursday in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said in an emailed statement Sunday. The cause of Czuba’s death has not been disclosed.
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Hanan Shaheen, 32, and her son, Wadee Alfayoumi, were renting a part of Czuba’s house in Plainfield, a suburb about 40 miles from Chicago, at the time of the attack in October 2023.
Czuba knocked on Shaheen’s door around 11 a.m. on the day of the attack. When she answered, he began assaulting her with a serrated military-style knife while yelling anti-Muslim remarks, The Washington Post reported. She was stabbed at least a dozen times before escaping to the bathroom to call 911 for help. But Czuba found her son and redirected his anger toward him.
The boy later died of his wounds, while Shaheen was hospitalized with severe injuries. He had been stabbed 26 times, authorities said.
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Czuba had previously been amicable with the young boy and his mother, building the boy a tree house and allowing him to use the swimming pool, The Post reported. But his attitude turned hostile in the days leading up to the attack, according to family statements and officials, who said Czuba had asked the pair to vacate the house because they were Muslim.
In June, the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Chicago unveiled a monument in memory of Alfayoumi as a “statement against the anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim hate that took his young life.”
Under the sentence handed down in May, Czuba had been set to serve 30 years for Alfayoumi’s murder, 20 years for the attempted murder of his mother and three years for hate crimes.
Illinois man jailed in post-Oct. 7 killing of Palestinian American boy 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. Prosecutors said he targeted them in October 2023 because of their Islamic faith and as a response to Hamas’ attack on Israel days earlier. The Council on American-Islamic Relations said “this depraved killer has died, but the hate is still alive and well”
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.
Czuba said he targeted them in October 2023 because of their Islamic faith and as a response to Hamas’ attack on Israel days earlier.
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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.”
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
Landlord convicted in hate crime killing of Palestinian boy dies in custody
73-year-old Joseph Czuba died Thursday while in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections. He was found guilty of killing 6- year-old Wadee Alfayoumi and wounding his mother, Hanan Shaheen, in a brutal hate crime attack in October 2023. Prosecutors said the attack was a response to the war between Israel and Hamas, which had escalated following the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.
73-year-old Joseph Czuba died Thursday while in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections, officials from the Will County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Saturday.
Earlier this year, Czuba was found guilty of killing 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi and wounding his mother, Hanan Shaheen, after he attacked them over their Islamic faith.
Czuba’s death comes less than three months after a judge handed him a 53-year sentence for the deadly attack.
Back in February, Czuba was convicted on murder and hate crimes charges.
Court sketch on Feb. 26, 2025 showing Joseph Czuba, 73,who is charged with and on trial in the fatal stabbing of a Palestinian American boy
Will County Deputy Victoria Janovyak testifies in the trial against Joseph Czuba on Feb. 25, 2025.
In court, prosecutors said the attack was a response to the war between Israel and Hamas, which had escalated greatly following the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.
Czuba had been renting rooms to the pair in his home at the time of the attack.
Wadee al-Fayoumi and his mother, Hanan Shaheen
The mother and son were Joseph Czuba’s tenants in this home in unincorporated Plainfield township
Evidence at trial included harrowing testimony from Shaheen and her frantic 911 call, along with bloody crime scene photos and police video. Jurors deliberated for less than 90 minutes before handing in a verdict.
Authorities have not provided details on Czuba’s cause of death.
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/07/27/illinois-landlord-palestinian-boy-death/