Plainfield landlord gets over 50 years for murder of Palestinian-American boy
A Plainfield landlord has been sentenced to 53 years in prison for the Islamophobic hate crime murder of a Palestinian-American boy and the stabbing of the boy's mother.
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A Plainfield landlord has been sentenced to 53 years in prison for the Islamophobic hate crime murder of a Palestinian-American boy and the stabbing of the boy's mother.
Joseph Czuba was convicted of one count of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated battery, and two counts of hate crime in the attack that killed Wadee Alfayoumi and seriously injured his mother, Hanan Shaheen, in 2023.
Jordan Padilla, 21, of Plainfield, was charged with battery, domestic battery, aggravated battery, aggravated domestic battery, and aggravated battery of a child.
The boy's mother, Hanan Shaheen, who also was stabbed, took the witness stand on Tuesday.
Guilty on all charges; late Friday afternoon, a jury convicted Plainfield landlord Joseph Czuba in the hate crime murder of his 6-year-old tenant Wadee Alfayoumi, and the attempted murder of the boy's mother, Hanan Shaheen.
A Will County jury has convicted a Plainfield landlord of all charges in the murder of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy and the stabbing of the boy's mother in an attack prosecutors say was motivated by his hatred of Muslims.
Will County, Illinois, prosecutors positioned a screen in a way that the jurors and judge could see but not the people watching from the gallery.
The prosecution in the trial of Plainfield landlord Joseph Czuba also showed several photos Wadee Alfayoumi's injuries to the jury — positioning the screen in a way that the jurors and judge could see but not the people watching from the gallery. Sara Machi reports.
Prosecutors have said Joseph Czuba attacked his two tenants, Hanan Shaheen and her 6-year-old son, Wadee Alfayoume, because they were Muslim.
Testimony began Tuesday in the hate crime murder trial of a Plainfield, Illinois, landlord accused of killing a 6-year-old Palestinian boy, as the prosecution's star witness – the boy's mother, who also was stabbed – took the witness stand.
Joseph Czuba pleaded not guilty to murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and hate crime charges in the stabbing that killed Wadee Alfayoumi, 6, and wounded his mother in Plainfield. Tara Molina reports.
Eighteen potential jurors were questioned, six were excused, 12 were sworn in, and three alternates.
If convicted, Joseph Czuba, 71, could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Prosecutors said Joseph Czuba, 71, stabbed 32-year-old Hanan Shaheen and her 6-year-old son Wadee Alfayoumi, who were tenants of an apartment inside a Plainfield home.
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