The brutal murder of Wadee Alfayoumi and the assault on his mother is one of the most shocking hate crimes in the US since the outbreak of conflict in Gaza.
A landlord in the United States, previously sentenced to multiple decades for the tragic violent death of six-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi in October 2023, has passed away while incarcerated.
Joseph Czuba, aged 73, died on Thursday while in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections. The Chicago Sun-Times reported the news, citing information from the Will County Sheriff’s Office. Efforts to obtain further details from the agency were not met with a response, as reported by the Associated Press.
The vicious murder of young Wadee and the serious injury inflicted on his mother, Hanan Shaheen, marked one of the most alarming incidents of hate crime in the United States following the escalation of hostilities in Israel and Gaza.
Just three months prior, Czuba received a 53-year sentence after being found guilty of murder, attempted murder, and hate crimes related to the attack, which occurred on October 14, 2023.
The attack was reportedly motivated by Czuba’s prejudice against Muslims, sparked by the Hamas-led attacks in Israel on October 7.
Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Chicago chapter, stated, “While this depraved individual has met his end, the seeds of hate continue to thrive.”
During the trial, harrowing evidence was presented, including testimony from Shaheen and her 911 call, along with graphic crime scene photographs. Jurors took less than an hour and a half to reach a verdict.
The family had been renting space in Czuba’s home in Plainfield, roughly 40 miles from Chicago, at the time of the assault.
Key to the prosecution’s case was the mother’s poignant testimony, which revealed that Czuba targeted her and Wadee because of their Muslim faith, declaring, “You, as a Muslim, must die.”
Czuba’s ex-wife, Mary, further testified that he had shown signs of agitation regarding the ongoing war in Gaza, which has resulted in nearly 60,000 Palestinian deaths.
Investigators reported that Czuba used a knife from his belt to stab Wadee 26 times. Some evidence was so graphic that the judge opted to shield the audience, including the boy’s relatives, from viewing it.
The case garnered international attention and resonated deeply within Chicago’s Palestinian community amidst a backdrop of rising anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian sentiment in America. Wadee’s funeral was attended by a large crowd, and local officials have named a park playground in his memory.
Other recent hate-motivated incidents across the US include an attempted drowning of a three-year-old Palestinian-American girl in Texas, the stabbing of a Palestinian-American man, and an assault on a Muslim man in New York. In California, a mob violently targeted pro-Palestinian demonstrators, and in Florida, two Israeli visitors were mistakenly shot by a suspect who believed they were Palestinians.
Just weeks following Wadee’s tragic death, three young Palestinian men were also shot near a university campus in Vermont.