By The Epoch Times | Created at 2025-03-02 01:27:56 | Updated at 2025-03-04 08:09:47
2 days ago
The child’s father, Odai Alfayoumi, said he felt the decision ‘came to a little too late.’
A jury on Friday found an Illinois man guilty of murder and hate crime over the October 2023 attack on a Palestinian family who had been renting rooms in his home at the time.
Joseph Czuba, 73, stabbed 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi and his mother, Hanan Shaheen, multiple times during the Oct. 14, 2023, attack, killing the child. Authorities believe the attack was driven by hate fueled by the Israel–Hamas war that broke out on Oct. 7, 2023.
Czuba has been convicted of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, and hate crimes. Jurors delivered a guilty verdict after just over an hour of deliberation on Friday.
Speaking to reporters after the verdict, the child’s father, Odai Alfayoumi, said he felt the decision “came to a little too late.” Alfayoumi had been divorced from his wife and was not living with them.
“I don’t know if I should be pleased or upset, if I should be crying or laughing,” Alfayoumi said in Arabic. “Maybe if I were one of you, I would be smiling, but I’m the father of the child and I’ve lost the child.”
The trial included testimony from police officers, medical workers, Czuba’s ex-wife, and Shaheen. Police said that Czuba stabbed Shaheen more than a dozen of times before attacking the boy, stabbing him 26 times with a military-style knife.
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The incident occurred at their home in the Chicago suburb of Plainfield, Illinois. Both victims were taken to the hospital after the attack, but the boy succumbed to his injuries.
Shaheen testified in the trial that they had not faced any issues with Czuba during the two years of renting rooms in his house, where they shared a living room and kitchen.
Czuba began chasing them out after the conflict between Israel and Hamas terrorists erupted in Gaza—which was triggered by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel—the victim said in her testimony.
Shaheen alleged that Czuba attacked her one day and told her, “You, as a Muslim, must die.” Police testified that officers found Czuba outside the house sitting on the ground with blood on his body and hands.
Ben Crump, the civil rights lawyer representing Shaheen, said in a statement that the verdict provided “some measure of justice” for the family and expressed gratitude to the prosecutors handling the case.
“Wadee was an innocent six-year-old child whose life was stolen in an act of unimaginable violence fueled by hatred,” Crump stated. “While we are relieved that his killer has been held accountable, we must continue to stand against the rising tide of hate that led to this senseless act.”
Crump and the legal team also requested privacy for Shaheen.
“We must honor Wadee’s memory by continuing to fight against hate in all its forms and working toward a future where every child is safe, valued, and free from violence,” the lawyer stated.
Czuba is scheduled for sentencing on May 2. He had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges. His defense counsel declined to comment following the verdict.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
