Joseph Czuba, the Illinois man convicted of a brutal anti-Muslim hate crime that left a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy dead and his mother severely wounded, has died while serving his prison sentence, officials confirmed.
Czuba, 73, was pronounced dead Thursday while in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections, according to the Will County Sheriff’s Office. His death was first reported by the New York Post.
In February, Czuba was convicted of murder, attempted murder, and hate crime charges in connection with the October 2023 attack that killed young Wadee Alfayoumi and seriously injured the boy’s mother, Hanan Shaheen. At the time of the attack, the family had been renting rooms in Czuba’s home in Plainfield, a suburb roughly 40 miles southwest of Chicago.
Prosecutors said Czuba launched the attack just days after the Israel-Hamas war began, and that he specifically targeted the family because of their Muslim faith. During the trial, Shaheen testified that Czuba suddenly turned on them, shouting that they had to leave “because they were Muslim,” before stabbing her and then her son.
Czuba stabbed Wadee 26 times, leaving the knife lodged in the child’s body. Crime scene photos and police footage presented during the trial were so disturbing that the judge shielded the courtroom screens from the public gallery, which included members of Wadee’s grieving family.
Shaheen’s 911 call and emotional courtroom testimony, along with graphic evidence, left a lasting impression on the jury, which took less than 90 minutes to return a unanimous guilty verdict. Czuba had been sentenced to 53 years in prison.
His ex-wife, Mary, testified that Czuba had become increasingly enraged about the war in Gaza in the days leading up to the killing. Prosecutors argued that his anger turned to violent hatred toward a family he had known and lived with.
The murder sent shockwaves through Plainfield and surrounding communities, many of which are home to large Palestinian-American populations. Wadee’s funeral drew hundreds of mourners, and a local playground was later named in his honor.
Reacting to the news of Czuba’s death, Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said, “This depraved killer has died, but the hate is still alive and well.”
Authorities have not released a cause of death, and it remains unclear whether foul play or health issues were involved.
