US landlord murdered Muslim boy, six, in hate crime, jury finds

Joseph Czuba stabbed Palestian-American Wadee Alfayoumi after Israel-Gaza war broke out, court hears

Illinois landlord Joseph Czuba was found guilty by a jury after a 90-minute deliberation. AP

An Illinois landlord murdered a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy in a frenzied hate attack a week after the Israel-Gaza war broke out, a US court ruled.

Joseph Czuba, 73, was found guilty of stabbing Wadee Alfayoumi and wounding his mother, Hanan Shaheen in October 2023, in Plainfield, about 64km from Chicago. Authorities said the family — who were renting rooms in Czuba's house — was targeted because they were Muslim and as a response to the war.

Jurors deliberated less than 90 minutes over the crime that renewed fears of anti-Muslim discrimination in the Chicago area’s large and established Palestinian community.

The trial featured detailed testimony from police officers, medical workers, Czuba’s ex-wife and Ms Shaheen, who described how Czuba attacked her with a knife before going after her son in a different room. Prosecutors say that the child had been stabbed 26 times. He was found naked with a knife still in his side.

Graphic photos of the murder, a knife holder Czuba allegedly used that day and police video footage were central to the Will County prosecutors’ case. At times, video screens showing explicit footage were turned away from the public viewing audience where members of Wadee’s family sat during the trial.

Czuba had pleaded not guilty. He faced murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and hate crime charges in an eight-count indictment.