Landlord Joseph Czuba gets 53 years in prison for hate crime murder of 6-year-old boy

By Sabrina Franza, Elyssa Kaufman, Sara Tenenbaum

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    Illinois (WBBM) — A Plainfield, Illinois, landlord convicted on all counts in the Islamophobic hate crime murder of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy, and the stabbing of the boy’s mother, was sentenced to over 50 years in prison Friday.

Joseph 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 Wadee Alfayoumi and seriously injured his mother, Hanan Shaheen, in 2023.

“He was only six years old. The father here, he had plans for him. He had future. Unfortunately it was taken away, and he had no rights to do that,” said Wadee’s uncle, Mahmoud Yousef.

There was a tense moment in the courtroom at the sentencing hearing as one member from Wadee’s family stood up during his victim impact statement, looked the convicted killer in the eye, and asked him to say something – anything – that could explain why he did what he did.

“Us as families, as parents, we needed more answers. Unfortunately, Mr. Joseph did not give his statement today,” Yousef said.

Prosecutors argued the attack was motivated by anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian extremism, following the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Jurors agreed.

Shaheen testified at Czuba’s trial that he stabbed her and her son after he tried to kick them out of their home following Hamas’ attack in Israel.

“He was a grandfather figure. He took care of this little boy. After the news, that’s when everything changed,” Yousef said.

Wadee’s father said he could not understand the hate behind his son’s death.

“Some people, they call my son, they call him an angel, and they heard that a lot. Some people, too, they call him as a devil Muslim,” Oday Alfayoumi said.

After denying Czuba’s attorney’s request for a retrial, a Will County judge sentenced Czuba to 30 years in prison for Wadee’s murder, 20 years in prison for the attempted murder of Shaheen, an additional consecutive three years for the hate crime charge and a second hate crime sentence of three years to be served concurrently.

Czuba’s attorney tried to argue the jury came to a verdict in this case too quickly. Jurors deliberated for a little more than one hour before finding Czuba guilty on all counts.

The first-degree murder sentence must be served in its entirety, the judge ruled, and Czuba must serve at least 85% of the attempted murder sentence.

Czuba’s lawyer said the 73-year-old has Stage 4 cancer. There were no questions by either the prosecution or defense after the sentence was handed down.

Alfayoumi’s family spoke to the press after court, expressing mixed feelings about the sentence that was handed down.

“The sentence was just for a criminal, but it was not just for us as families, as parents,” Yousef said. “No matter what we say, no matter what kind of sentence, it’s definitely not justified. I mean, he was only six years old. He had a future. Unfortunately, it was taken away and [Czuba] had no rights to do that.”

There will be a hearing on May 7 on a motion to reconsider sentencing. It’s not clear where Czuba will serve his time in prison.

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