Illinois Landlord Convicted in Hate Crime Murder of 6-Year-Old Palestinian Boy

The child’s father, Odai Alfayoumi, said he felt the decision ‘came to a little too late.’

Joseph Czuba, 71, stands before Circuit Judge Dave Carlson for his arraignment at the Will County Circuit Court, in Joliet, Ill., on Oct. 30, 2023. Charles Rex Arbogast, File/ AP Photo

A jury on Friday found an Illinois man guilty of murder and hate crime over the October 2023 attack on a Palestinian family who had been renting rooms in his home at the time.

Joseph Czuba, 73, stabbed 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi and his mother, Hanan Shaheen, multiple times during the Oct. 14, 2023, attack, killing the child. Authorities believe the attack was driven by hate fueled by the Israel–Hamas war that broke out on Oct. 7, 2023.