Murderer of Palestinian-American boy sentenced to 53 years
WASHINGTON: An Illinois man was sentenced to 53 years in prison on Friday for the murder of a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy in an attack deemed an anti-Muslim hate crime linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
Joseph Czuba, 73, was convicted in February of fatally stabbing Wadea Al-Fayoumi and attacking the boy's mother, Hanan Shaheen.
Czuba was the family's landlord and the attack took place a week after the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023.
Wadea was stabbed 26 times and a serrated military knife with a 15-cm (six-inch) blade was removed from the child's abdomen during the autopsy.
Shaheen and Czuba's now ex-wife, Mary, testified that he targeted the Muslim family after becoming agitated about the conflict in Gaza, media reported.
Prosecutors said Shaheen called police in 2023 after Czuba forced his way into her bedroom and stabbed her repeatedly. She was able to lock herself in a bathroom to call for help, during which time Czuba attacked her child.
'The cruelty of this morally reprehensible killer and the impact of his violent conduct on this innocent child and mother is truly unfathomable,' prosecutor James Glasgow said in a statement.
Jurors deliberated for just over an hour before finding Czuba guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder and two counts of a hate crime.
Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak sentenced Czuba to 30 years in prison for Wadea's murder, 20 years for the attack on his mother and three years for the hate crimes, to be served consecutively, the Chicago Sun Times reported.
During sentencing, the boy's great-uncle Mahmoud Yousef asked Czuba why he did it but received no response, the newspaper said.
'We want to know what made him do this,' Yousef told the judge.
According to the Will County Sheriff's Office, the victims were targeted 'due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis.'
Joe Biden, then the US president, condemned the attack as a 'horrific act of hate' that 'has no place in America.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
From allies to enemies: the cost of a Musk-Trump split
WASHINGTON: The bitter clash between Elon Musk and Donald Trump has drawn a spotlight on the South African-born tycoon's businesses. Here is a look at his affairs as their White House partnership turns toxic, with billions of dollars in market value and government contracts hanging in the balance. Tesla The Tesla car company is the cornerstone of Musk's business empire and has suffered considerably since the entrepreneur dove into politics. The electric vehicle giant's stock has plummeted more than 20% since the start of the year, reflecting investor anxiety about Musk's increasingly polarising public persona. The damage reached a fever pitch on Thursday when the Musk-Trump feud erupted out in the open. In a matter of hours, Tesla shed more than US$150bil (RM635bil) in market capitalisation, wiping US$34bil (RM144bil) from Musk's personal fortune. The alliance with Trump was supposed to have been Tesla's golden ticket, even if the administration was going to scrap tax credits that had helped it become an automobile juggernaut. More importantly, Musk could count on Trump's blessing for his ultimate vision: putting fully autonomous vehicles on American roads. This ambition has been stymied by government regulation over the years, with authorities slowing efforts due to worries that the technology is not ready to hit the road at mass scale. The Trump administration was expected to lift these regulatory constraints – a promise now in serious jeopardy. "Musk needs Trump because of the regulatory environment, and you can't have Trump go from friend to foe," said analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities. The administration also regulates vehicle design and would influence the mass production of robotaxis that Musk intends to launch in a pilot program in Austin, Texas, this month. Musk's hard-right political pivot has alienated the very customers Tesla needs most: environmentally conscious and liberal-leaning buyers who once saw the brand as aligned with their values. Some drivers have resorted to bumper stickers declaring their cars were purchased "before Elon went crazy." The damage is showing up in sales figures. In Europe, while overall electric vehicle sales climbed, Tesla's market share crashed 50% in April as attention focused on Musk's political activities and the company's aging product lineup. A recent Morgan Stanley survey said 85% of investors believe Musk's political involvement is actively harming Tesla's business. SpaceX A prolonged battle with Trump poses existential risks for SpaceX, Musk's space exploration company that has become NASA's most critical partner. SpaceX and NASA are deeply interdependent. SpaceX depends on government contracts worth tens of billions of dollars, while NASA relies on SpaceX for everything from astronaut transportation to satellite deployment. SpaceX's portfolio includes some of the most sensitive national security projects: launching astronauts to the International Space Station, building spy satellites and operating the Starlink satellite network. The financial windfall has been enormous, with a December share sale valuing SpaceX at US$350bil (RM1.5 trillion) – US$140bil (RM592.3bil) more than just six months earlier, largely due to anticipated government largesse under Trump. In the heat of the clash on Thursday, Trump threatened to cut off all government contracts, while Musk said he would mothball the Dragon spacecraft, which is vital for ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station – though he later walked back this threat. xAI Musk has huge plans for his xAI artificial intelligence company. He's angling to compete with OpenAI, the ChatGPT-maker that was co-founded by Musk a decade ago and is now steered by his archrival Sam Altman. Altman has his own inroads to the White House, where he signed a massive AI infrastructure initiative called the Stargate Project, which recently expanded to Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. Initially dismissing Stargate as unrealistic, Musk later worked behind the scenes to undermine the project, reportedly telling investors that Trump wouldn't approve any expansion that excluded xAI. Adding another layer of complexity, Musk folded X (formerly Twitter) into xAI earlier this year. Musk's US$44bil (RM186.14bil) acquisition in 2022 transformed the site into the go-to platform for conservatives, but Trump himself remains an infrequent user, preferring his own Truth Social platform for communication. – AFP
Malay Mail
an hour ago
- Malay Mail
Israel prepares to deport Gaza-bound aid boat activists, including Greta Thunberg
GAZA, June 10 — Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg and other activists detained aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat have been taken to a Tel Aviv airport for deportation, Israel said Tuesday, after their vessel was intercepted by naval forces. The activist group departed Italy on June 1 aboard the Madleen carrying food and supplies for Gaza, whose entire population the UN has warned is at risk of famine. Israeli forces intercepted the boat in international waters on Monday and towed it to the port of Ashdod. 'The passengers of the 'Selfie Yacht' arrived at Ben Gurion Airport to depart from Israel and return to their home countries,' the Israeli foreign ministry said on X. 'Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority.' The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the activist group operating the vessel, said all 12 campaigners were 'being processed and transferred into the custody of Israeli authorities'. 'They may be permitted to fly out of Tel Aviv as early as tonight,' it said on social media. Video released earlier by the group showed the activists with their hands up as Israeli forces boarded the vessel, with one of them saying nobody was injured. Turkey condemned the interception as a 'heinous attack' and Iran denounced it as 'a form of piracy' in international waters. In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, was damaged in international waters off Malta as it headed to Gaza, with the activists saying they suspected an Israeli drone attack. A 2010 Israeli commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of a similar attempt to breach the naval blockade, left 10 civilians dead. On Sunday, Defence Minister Israel Katz said the blockade, in place for years before the Israel-Hamas war, was needed to prevent Palestinian militants from importing weapons. Journalists on board The Madleen was intercepted about 185 kilometres west of the coast of Gaza, according to coordinates from the coalition. President Emmanuel Macron requested that the six French nationals aboard the boat 'be allowed to return to France as soon as possible', a presidential official said. Two of them are journalists, Omar Fayyad of Qatar-based Al Jazeera and Yanis Mhamdi who works for online publication Blast, according to media rights group Reporters Without Borders, which condemned their detention and called for their 'immediate release'. Al Jazeera 'categorically denounces the Israeli incursion', the network said in a statement, demanding the reporter's release. Adalah, an Israeli NGO offering legal support for the country's Arab minority, said the activists on board the Madleen had requested its services, and that the group was likely to be taken to a detention centre before being deported. Israel is facing mounting pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies. In what organisers called a 'symbolic act', hundreds of people launched a land convoy on Monday from Tunisia with the aim of reaching Gaza. 'Our children are dying' Israel recently allowed some deliveries to resume after barring them for more than two months and began working with the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. But humanitarian agencies have criticised the GHF and the United Nations refuses to work with it, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality. Dozens of people have been killed near GHF distribution points since late May, according to Gaza's civil defence agency. In Gaza City on Monday, displaced Palestinian Umm Mohammed Abu Namous told AFP that she hopes 'that all nations stand with us and help us, and that we receive 10 boats instead of one'. 'We are innocent people,' she said. 'Our children are dying of hunger... We do not want to lose more children because of hunger.' The 2023 Hamas attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 54,880 people, the majority civilians, have been killed in the territory since the start of the war. The UN considers these figures reliable. Out of 251 taken hostage during the Hamas attack, 54 are still held in Gaza including 32 the Israeli military says are dead. — AFP
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Gaza civil defence reports 10 deaths near aid centre
GAZA CITY: The Gaza civil defence agency said that 10 people were killed and more than 30 wounded Monday when Israeli troops fired at people trying to enter food distribution centres. The Israeli military acknowledged that it had fired 'warning shots' during incidents near food centres. There have been a series of deadly incidents since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation opened aid distribution points in the Palestinian territory on May 27, with Israel facing mounting international protests over humanitarian conditions. Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told AFP that Israeli forces fired 'several times' at people at the Al-Alam roundabout, close to the GHF distribution centre at Rafah. He said six Palestinians heading for the aid centre were killed in one incident and four more about eight hours later. The Israeli military told AFP that 'several individuals attempted to approach IDF troops operating in the Rafah area, posing a threat to the troops'. 'IDF troops fired warning shots to distance the individuals. The IDF is aware of reports regarding several individuals injured, the details are under review,' a spokesman added. Bassal said that at another GHF centre south of Gaza city, 31 people were wounded by Israeli gunfire in a separate incident early in the morning. The Israeli military spokesman said 'thousands of Palestinian civilians attempted to break into the aid distribution center, posing a threat to IDF troops operating in the area of the Netzarim Corridor'. 'The troops called out to the suspects in an attempt to distance them, but as they continued advancing in a way that endangered the troops, the soldiers responded with warning shots.' The Israeli military was not aware of reports of wounded, the spokesman added. Because of restrictions on media accessing Gaza since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks that set off the latest Gaza war, AFP is not able to independently verify tolls given by the Gaza civil defence agency in the Hamas-run territory.
