Illinois landlord convicted in hate crime killing of 6-year-old Palestinian boy dies in custody
The Will County Sheriff's Office confirmed to CBS News Chicago that Joseph Czuba, 73, died in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections on Thursday. Czuba died less than three months after being sentenced.
Czuba was convicted of one count of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated battery, and two counts of hate crime in the attack that killed 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi and seriously injured his mother, Hanan Shaheen. He was sentenced in May to 53 years in prison
His cause of death was not immediately known.
Czuba targeted the mother and son because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas, which started days earlier.
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 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.
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.
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."
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