An Illinois man has been sentenced to 53 years in prison for the brutal 2023 stabbing death of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy, Wadee Alfayoumi. The tragic attack, which also left the boy’s mother seriously injured, took place on October 14, 2023, inside their home in the Chicago suburb of Plainfield.
Wadee Alfayoumi was killed in an act of senseless violence that saw him stabbed 26 times. His mother, Hanan Shaheen, was also severely wounded, suffering more than a dozen stab wounds. The brutal assault was carried out by their landlord, 73-year-old Joseph Czuba, who was convicted in February 2024 on multiple charges, including first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, and hate crimes. A Will County jury found Czuba guilty of all charges after deliberating for less than two hours, delivering a swift and resounding verdict.
In the weeks following the conviction, Czuba’s defense team filed a motion to overturn the jury’s decision, claiming that he had not received a fair trial. However, the motion was denied by the judge before the sentencing on Friday, and Czuba was sentenced to 53 years in prison. His defense team has since filed a motion to reconsider the sentence, with a hearing scheduled for May 7, 2025.
The attack occurred amid a climate of heightened tension following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict earlier that month. Authorities believe that Czuba, who had rented a portion of his home to the Alfayoumi family for two years, targeted his tenants because they were Muslim, as well as Palestinian, and in response to the war. According to law enforcement, Czuba believed he was acting in self-defense, fearing that the family would harm him due to the escalating violence overseas. During a law enforcement interview following the attack, Czuba was heard stating, “I thought they were going to do jihad on me,” and claiming he feared for his life, as well as his wife’s, in what he described as an “infested rats” situation.
Wadee’s great uncle, Mahmoud Yousef, spoke to reporters outside the courthouse after the sentencing, expressing the family’s deep pain. “It doesn’t matter what numbers are. He took a life from us. He took a future,” Yousef said. The loss of a young child, especially under such brutal circumstances, has left the family devastated and mourning the future that was stolen from them.
The sentencing has sparked a broader conversation about the dangers of hate-driven violence and its impact on individuals and communities. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, welcomed the sentence as an important step toward justice. In a statement, CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab said, “No sentence can restore what was taken, but today’s outcome delivers a necessary measure of justice. Wadee was an innocent child. He was targeted because of who he was – Muslim, Palestinian, and loved. Our work now is to ensure that no other child suffers from the deadly consequences of hate.”
The prosecution’s case presented harrowing details of the attack, with Wadee’s mother being the first to testify during the weeklong trial. Shaheen recounted the horror of the stabbing, describing how Czuba attacked her with a knife, repeatedly stabbing her while shouting, “You devil Muslim, you must die.” All the while, her young son Wadee watched in terror. In a desperate attempt to save her life, Shaheen managed to flee to the bathroom and call 911. However, she soon began to hear her son’s screams from the other room. “I started hearing my son screaming, screaming, screaming, ‘Oh no, stop,'” she recalled during her testimony.
The courtroom was also shown the chilling 911 call Shaheen made from the bathroom, where she pleaded with the dispatcher, “He’s killing my baby.” In those agonizing moments, it was clear that Wadee’s life was already slipping away. The jury also heard Czuba’s own words, as he was recorded making further alarming statements in a law enforcement vehicle after the attack. “I thought they were going to do jihad on me,” he said, revealing the depths of his misguided fears and prejudices that led to the tragic deaths.
Czuba’s actions and words were described as an example of how deep-seated biases and hatred can drive individuals to commit senseless acts of violence. His now-ex-wife, who had testified for the prosecution, revealed that Czuba had become increasingly withdrawn and agitated in the days following the outbreak of the conflict, expressing a desire for the family to leave immediately, despite her desire to give them notice. This emotional instability, combined with the volatile political climate, appears to have fueled his violent actions.
In the wake of the sentencing, the Alfayoumi family is left to mourn the loss of a young life that was full of potential. Wadee Alfayoumi’s death serves as a painful reminder of the destructive power of hate and the far-reaching consequences it can have on innocent lives. While the prison sentence may bring some semblance of justice to the family, it cannot undo the irreparable loss they have suffered.
As the legal process continues with a motion to reconsider the sentence, the broader community remains committed to ensuring that justice is served and that the horrors of hate-driven violence are not allowed to define their future. For now, the family and the community must find ways to heal, as they grapple with the heartbreak of losing a bright, innocent child to an act of unprovoked hatred.
