Latest news with #WillCountySheriff'sOffice
Miami Herald
7 days ago
- General
- Miami Herald
Parents say gas leak killed toddler, IL cops say, Now they're accused of murder
A 2-year-old girl was lying unresponsive on an ottoman as her dad performed chest compressions in an attempt to revive her, Illinois deputies said. She was taken to the hospital on Nov. 6 and died in the early hours of Nov. 7, the Will County Sheriff's Office said in a June 2 news release. Her 49-year-old father and 28-year-old mother said her death was caused by a gas leak in the home, officials said. However, Homer Township Fire and Nicor Gas found that there was no leak in the Homer Glen home, deputies said. The toddler's parents were indicted on first-degree murder charges on June 2 after the toddler's autopsy results revealed new evidence, the sheriff's office said. Deputies did not disclose the toddler's cause of death. In the home where the 2-year-old and her 6-year-old sister lived, authorities found 'deplorable living conditions' during their investigation, deputies said. Xanax pills littered the bedroom floor, and approximately 9 grams of heroin were found within reach of children, according to deputies. Investigators also found soiled diapers, rotting food and medical waste. Multiple doses of used Narcan were also found near where the 2-year-old girl was discovered in the home, authorities said. The parents were taken to the sheriff's office for questioning, and their 6-year-old daughter was placed in the custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, deputies said. At the time, the parents were charged with felonies and released, according to officials. Following their indictment on June 2, the couple was released on pretrial conditions, according to officials. Homer Glen is about a 40-mile drive southwest from downtown Chicago.
Chicago Tribune
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Homer Glen man charged with threatening state Rep. Nicole La Ha
Illinois State Police have arrested a Homer Glen man charged with threatening state Rep. Nicole La Ha, a former Homer Glen trustee and past Mrs. America winner. Steven Brady, 40, of the 13100 block of Rado Drive, was charged with one count of threat to a public official, a class 3 felony, state police said in a statement. State police were notified of an alleged threat made to the Homer Glen Republican representative May 16. The state police took Brady into custody without incident Monday, and he was ordered held during a pre-trial detention hearing on Wednesday, officials said. The nature of the threat was not made available in a police statement. La Ha was a Homer Glen trustee from 2021-2023 and has been a state representative for the 82nd District since 2023. Her spokesman issued a statement Thursday on her behalf. 'Thank you to Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow, Will County Sheriff's Office, and Illinois State Police for taking action to keep my family safe,' La Ha said.
Kuwait Times
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
US landlord who killed Palestinian boy gets 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 Zionist war in Gaza. 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 Zionist war in Oct 2023. Wadea was stabbed 26 times and a serrated military knife with a 15-cm 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. Shaheen testified during the trial that Czuba told her 'You, as a Muslim, must die.' '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 (Zionists)'. Joe Biden, then the US president, condemned the attack as a 'horrific act of hate' that 'has no place in America'. Other recent incidents raising alarm in the US about anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian prejudice include the attempted drowning of a 3-year-old Palestinian American girl in Texas, the stabbing of a Palestinian American man in Texas and the beating of a Muslim man in New York. There was also a violent mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters in California, a Florida shooting of two Zionist visitors whom a suspect mistook to be Palestinians and a New York City assault by a pro-Zionist mob that chanted 'Death to Arabs'. — Agencies
New Straits Times
03-05-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
73-year-old gets 53 years for killing 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy
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."--AFP
The Sun
03-05-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
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.'
