Latest news with #WillCounty
CBS News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library launches in Will County
A new program meant to help encourage reading with free books for younger children kicks off Monday in Will County. The Imagination Library, a free book-gifting program, was created through a partnership between Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, the Will County Center for Economic Development, and the Dollywood Foundation. The program mails free age-appropriate books to kids up to five years old. Parents interested in the program can now register their kids to help start their own home libraries. The C.W. Avery Family YMCA in Plainfield, Illinois, will celebrate the program at 1 p.m., including story time and an activity session for young kids. The event is invitation-only.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Illinois landlord who killed 6-year-old Muslim boy in 2023 hate crime has died, police say
The Brief Joseph Czuba, the suburban landlord convicted of killing a Muslim boy in a 2023 hate crime, has died, police say. It was unclear exactly what led to Czuba's death. He was convicted earlier this year of killing Wadea Al-Fayoume and attacking his mother in Will County. Joseph Czuba, the Will County landlord who was convicted of murdering 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume and attacking his mother in a 2023 hate crime, has died. What we know A Will County Sheriff's official confirmed Czuba's death and said they were notified by the Illinois Department of Corrections on behalf of the boy's mother, Hanan Shaheen. It was unclear exactly when or how the 73-year-old died. The backstory Czuba was convicted of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, and committing a hate crime in connection with the death of Al-Fayoume and the stabbing of his mother in October 2023. Authorities said Czuba targeted the family because they were Muslim, and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas that erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, with a Hamas attack on Israel. The attack took place inside Czuba's Plainfield Township home, where the victims had been his tenants for more than two years. Prosecutors said Czuba, influenced by inflammatory media and political rhetoric, turned violent just days after the Israel-Hamas war began and stabbed Al-Fayoume to death and seriously injured his mother. "He told me, 'You, as a Muslim, must die,'" Shaheen said during the trial, describing how Czuba attacked her with a knife and left her bloodied before she locked herself inside a bathroom and called 911 as her son screamed from another room. During the trial, jurors watched a police video of Czuba who spoke unprompted about the attack. "I was afraid they were going to do Jihad on me," he said, later referring to Muslims as "infested rats." DNA evidence, witness testimony, and the recovery of the bloodied knife supported the prosecution's case. The crime garnered national headlines as hate crimes targeting Muslims and Jewish communities surged in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas and subsequent Israeli campaign in Gaza. Just last month, community members in Plainfield unveiled a statue depicting Al-Fayoume's silhouette at a park the boy used to play at.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Landlord convicted in hate crime killing of 6-year-old Muslim boy dies in custody
WILL COUNTY, Ill. (WGN) — The Plainfield landlord convicted of killing a 6-year-old Muslim boy and injuring his mother in a brutal hate crime attack in October of 2023 has died in custody just months after he was sentenced to more than 50 years in prison. 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. Mother stabbed in alleged hate crime attack is first witness in case against landlord 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. 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. Bloody crime scene photos play key role in trial of man accused in Palestinian American boy's death Czuba had been renting rooms to the pair in his home at the time of the attack. 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
6 days ago
- CBS News
Plainfield man convicted in killing 6-year-old Palestinian boy in 2023 dies, reports say
The Plainfield Township landlord convicted of stabbing a young Palestinian boy to death has died. Joseph Czuba, 73, died less than three months after his sentencing. Reports say that the state Department of Corrections told the Will County Sheriff's Office he died. 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, in 2023. He was sentenced in May to 53 years in prison His cause of death is unknown.
CBS News
6 days ago
- CBS News
Investigators, forensic scientists help identify woman in 1968 cold case murder in Will County, Illinois
The Will County Coroner's Office released a major development in a half-century-old cold case. On Thursday, the office released the name of the woman who was murdered in the county in 1968. During that time, the headline read, 'Woman found dead.' Detectives in 1968 didn't know much more than that. "It states in the report they did go back to look for any evidence, and they didn't find anything," cold case investigator Bill Sheehan said. "We could tell you that there was blunt force trauma, so she died that way." In September 1968, highway workers found a woman's body in the woods along I-55 in Will County. "We're like, 'this one's going to be hard if not unsolvable," Sheehan said. Initial DNA testing of the remains in 2009 revealed the woman was Native American. "I emailed all the tribes in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa," Sheehan said. But the break in the case didn't come until help from experts in DNA. "Their technology, it just blows my mind," Sheehan said. Othram, a Houston-based company, specializes in forensic genetic genealogy. "We build technology, a lot of it is DNA-based technology, that can help investigators immediately identify people associated with crime scenes," CEO David Mittelman said. It wasn't the first time that they've helped Will County. Identifying victims of cold cases, just like the one from 1968. "A lead developed from Othram to a lady in Washington," Sheehan said. Othram confirmed a family match and helped identify 33-year-old Martha Bassett. Sheehan said he was at an outing when he learned a match was made. "Well, you're going to laugh, I was at a golf outing," he said. "I jumped for joy. The guys I was with were like 'What's going on over there?' You know." Martha is no longer missing, but plenty of questions still need to be answered. "It's just the beginning of the story. Now, there's an investigation to determine what happened to her," Sheehan said.
