Landlord pleads not guilty to hate crime and murder charges in attack on Muslim mother and her six-year-old son
An Illinois landlord accused of murder, attempted murder and a hate crime in an attack on a Palestinian American woman and her young son pleaded not guilty today (Monday, October 30) following his indictment by an Illinois grand jury. The landlord, 71-year-old Joseph Czuba, is charged in the fatal stabbing of six-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume and the wounding of the boy’s mother, Hanaan Shahin, back on October 14, according to The Associated Press.
On October 15, the Will County Sheriff’s Office shared that story of a hateful man who allegedly stabbed the six-year-old boy to death – and who also stabbed the boy’s mother at least 12 times – because they were Muslim. The violence went down on October 14 in the suburbs of Chicago.
On that fateful Sunday at approximately 11:38 a.m., deputies with the Will County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a residence located near the 16200 block of S. Lincoln Highway in Unincorporated Plainfield Township regarding a stabbing that occurred involving a landlord and his renters.
Investigators in Will County, Ill., southwest of Chicago, described a gory scene. They said a 71-year-old landlord turned on the boy and his mother, who were his tenants, at their home in Plainfield Township on Saturday morning, stabbing them repeatedly with a serrated knife that had a seven-inch blade. ~ The New York Times
When the police arrived on the scene they located their suspect, 71-year-old Joseph M. Czuba of Plainfield, sitting upright outside on the ground near the driveway of the residence. Czuba had a laceration to his forehead and was later transported to a local area hospital for treatment.
Deputies located the two victims inside the residence in a bedroom. Both the mother and child were suffering from multiple stab wounds to their chests, torsos, and upper extremities. Both victims were transported to a local area hospital for treatment.
The thirty-two-year-old mom, Hanaan Shahin, was transported in serious condition and had over a dozen stab wounds to her body.
The other victim was a six-year-old boy, Wadea Al-Fayoume, who did not survive his landlord’s violent attack. The six-year-old child was transported to the hospital in critical condition. Tragically, he later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased by a doctor at the hospital.
The family is Palestinian and “came to America seeking what we all seek—a refuge to live, learn, and pray in peace,” according to the White House. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden said they were “shocked and sickened” over the attack and offered their condolences to the family in a statement released by the White House Sunday. ~ CNN
On October 15, an autopsy was conducted on the six-year-old. The forensic pathologist conducting the autopsy removed the knife from the abdomen of the boy at that time.
The six-year-old boy was stabbed twenty-six (26) times throughout his body. The knife used in this attack is a twelve-inch serrated military style knife that has a seven-inch blade. ~ Will County Sheriff’s Office
Murder suspect, Joseph M. Czuba, was treated and released from a local area hospital and was transported to the Will County Sheriff’s Office Public Safety Complex for questioning by detectives. Czuba did not make any statements to detectives regarding his involvement in this heinous attack. Despite the suspect not providing a statement to detectives, officials gathered enough information through interviews and evidence to formally charge Joseph Czuba with numerous criminal offenses.
Joseph Czuba was charged with:
- First Degree Murder,
- Attempted First Degree Murder,
- Hate Crime (2 counts), and
- Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon.
Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the on-going Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis.
The boy and mother had rented the ground floor for the past two years, with no issues arising until the day of the stabbings.
“What we have is a murdered Palestinian child by someone who is radicalized by the environment in which we live right now, that casts Palestinians as human animals,” said Ahmed Rehab, president of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Chicago. “This person had no track record with the family. As a matter of fact, the father says he had built a treehouse for the boy, and allowed him to swim in a makeshift pool and brought him toys.” ABC-7, Chicago
For more on this tragic story, see the video accompanying this article.
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(Source and Joseph M. Czuba mugshot: Will County Sheriff’s Office)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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