CHICAGO (BN24) — Joseph Czuba, the Illinois man convicted of murdering a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy in a brutal 2023 hate crime that drew national outrage, has died in prison, authorities confirmed Saturday.
Czuba, 73, was serving a 53-year sentence for the stabbing death of Wadee Alfayoumi and the attempted murder of the child’s mother, Hanan Shaheen. The Will County Sheriff’s Office said Czuba died Thursday but did not disclose a cause of death.
The killing, which occurred just days after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks in Israel and the launch of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, sparked nationwide condemnation and highlighted a rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes during a time of heightened Middle East tensions.
In February, a jury convicted Czuba of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and hate crimes. Prosecutors said he targeted the family “due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis.”
Shaheen and her son had been renting a room in Czuba’s Plainfield Township home, a suburb southwest of Chicago. They had lived there peacefully for nearly two years, sharing common areas with Czuba and his wife. But following the outbreak of the war in Gaza, Shaheen testified, Czuba’s demeanor changed. He accused her people of “killing Jewish people” and demanded she move out.
On the day of the attack, Czuba reportedly forced his way into their room, stabbed Shaheen 12 times while shouting “You must die!” and assaulted her so violently that he attempted to break her teeth with his fingers. Her son, Wadee, stood frozen in the corner.
Shaheen testified that Czuba turned to the boy and said, “Wadee, I will take care of you. I will raise you,” and “Don’t tell people I killed your mom,” before stabbing him 26 times. Shaheen managed to escape to the bathroom and called 911 while her son was being attacked. “He is killing my baby,” she cried repeatedly on the recorded call played in court.
The case gripped the nation and prompted statements from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, both condemning the murder as a hate-driven tragedy that had no place in the United States.
“This horrific act of hate has no place in America,” Biden said at the time. “The child’s Palestinian Muslim family came to America seeking what we all seek — a refuge to live, learn, and pray in peace.”
Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Chicago office, responded to Czuba’s death in a statement Saturday, saying: “This depraved killer has died, but the hate is still alive and well.”
Shaheen, who immigrated to the U.S. from the West Bank nearly 15 years ago, survived the attack but remains deeply traumatized. Her attorney did not immediately comment on Czuba’s death.
