An Illinois man has been sentenced to 53 years in prison for killing a six-year-old Palestinian American boy in what authorities described as a hate-fueled attack.
The court’s decision comes months after the violent stabbing that also left the child’s mother seriously injured.
The crime happened on October 14, 2023, in Plainfield, a suburb southwest of Chicago. The attacker, 73-year-old Joseph Czuba, had been renting rooms in his home to the boy’s family. According to investigators, Czuba stabbed young Wadee Alfayoumi to death and attacked his mother, Hanan Shaheen, in a rage sparked by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Witness testimony in court revealed that Czuba blamed Muslims for violence in Israel and told Shaheen they were not welcome in his home. Prosecutors argued that Czuba acted out of hatred for the family’s religion and background, targeting them shortly after the war in Gaza began in early October.
Wadee’s great uncle, Mahmoud Yousef, spoke during sentencing, expressing the family’s pain and grief. He said no amount of prison time could make up for the loss of a child whose future was taken away in a senseless act of hate.
Czuba was found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, and committing a hate crime. He declined to speak during his sentencing.
The tragedy drew national attention and widespread condemnation. President Joe Biden had previously called the killing “heinous” and used the occasion to speak out against religious hatred and violence.
Wadee’s murder stands as one of the most disturbing examples of Islamophobic violence in the US in recent years, highlighting growing concerns about the rise in hate crimes during times of global unrest.