For two years, Joseph Czuba, had a friendly relationship with his Palestinian American tenants in Plainfield, Illinois. But after the war on Gaza ignited, a switch flipped.
Days after October 7, 2023, Czuba told his tenant Hanan Shaheen that she needed to move out, citing the war, and insinuated she was dangerous, Czuba’s ex-wife testified. On the morning of October 14, Shaheen later told investigators that Czuba said he was angry at her for what was happening in Jerusalem. “Let’s pray for peace,” Shaheen responded.
That day, Czuba attacked her and her 6-year-old son with a knife, saying “You, as a Muslim, must die,” Shaheen recalled in testimony this week. Stabbed more than a dozen times, Shaheen escaped to the bathroom and called 911. Czuba then attacked her son, Wadee Alfayoumi, stabbing him 26 times across his body. Alfayoumi did not survive.
An Illinois jury on Friday convicted Czuba, 73, of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, and hate crimes, bringing to a close one of the most shocking hate crime trials to shake the nation after the war on Gaza broke out. He faces up to life in prison.
Czuba’s hateful comments about Palestinians and Muslims took center stage in the trial this week at Will County Courthouse, about 45 miles southwest of Chicago. It included testimony from about 20 witnesses, police footage, and 911 call recordings.
Hate crimes are notoriously difficult to prosecute, but experts say damning evidence of both the killing and the motive in this case likely paved the way for a guilty verdict.
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