Illinois Landlord Sentenced for Hate Crime Murder

Joseph Czuba, a 73-year-old landlord from Plainfield, Illinois, was sentenced to 53 years in prison for murdering 6-year-old Palestinian-American Wadee Alfayoumi and attempting to murder the boy’s mother, Hanan Shaheen, in a hate-driven stabbing attack in October 2023. The family had been renting rooms in Czuba’s home when he, agitated by the Israel-Hamas war, stabbed the boy 26 times and told Shaheen, 'You, as a Muslim, must die.' Czuba was convicted on all counts, including first-degree murder, attempted murder, and hate crimes, after less than 90 minutes of jury deliberation. The case drew national and international attention to rising Islamophobia and hate crimes in the U.S. following the Gaza conflict. Community leaders described Wadee's killing as a preventable tragedy fueled by inflammatory rhetoric. The incident has sparked renewed concerns over anti-Muslim discrimination in the region.