JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — A harrowing 911 call, disturbing police videos and other crime scene evidence are expected to play a key role as the murder and hate crime trial continues Wednesday for an Illinois landlord accused of killing a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy in 2023.
Joseph Czuba, 73, faces first-degree murder, attempted murder and hate crime charges in the death of Wadee Alfayoumi and the wounding of his mother, Hanan Shaheen, in October 2023 in suburban Chicago. Authorities allege that Czuba targeted them because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas that erupted days earlier.
During opening statements Tuesday, prosecutors described how Czuba allegedly pulled a knife from a belt holder and stabbed the child 26 times after attacking his mother.
“This happened because this defendant was afraid that a war that had started on Oct. 7, 2023, a half a world away in the Middle East was going to come to his doorstep,” said Michael Fitzgerald, a Will County assistant state’s attorney. “This happened because Hanan and Wadee were Muslim.”
Czuba, of Plainfield, has pleaded not guilty. He did not speak as he watched the proceedings.
His attorneys previewed their defense during opening statements, saying jurors should consider each piece of evidence carefully, including explicit photos and video, because key parts were missing.
“It is easy to get lost in the horror of those images,” said Kylie Blatti, a Will County public defender. “But the prosecution can’t convince you of their case simply by showing you how horrible the death of a little boy was.”
The family was renting two rooms from Czuba and his wife, who also lived at the single-family home where the murder killing in Plainfield, nearly 40 miles (65 kilometers) from Chicago. They shared a kitchen and living room with the Czubas.
Shaheen was the first witness Tuesday and recounted the events leading up to the attack. She said they had not had any issues previously in the two years they had rented from the Czubas.
But after the start of the war, Czuba told her they had to move out because Muslims were not welcome. She urged him to “Pray for peace.” Later, he confronted Shaheen and attacked her, holding her down, stabbing her and trying to break her teeth, she testified in court.
“He told me, ‘You, as a Muslim, must die,’” said Shaheen, who mainly spoke in English but had an Arabic translator who helped at times.
After the attack, Shaheen said, she was scared and locked herself in the bathroom, noting blood all over her body and the room. She called 911 when she heard her son screaming in another room.
“She seemed shocked, very quiet,” testified Sean Kozak, a Plainfield police officer who was the first at scene. “She was trembling and kind of staring.”
The boy — whose name was initially spelled Wadea Al-Fayoume by authorities — was later pronounced dead. Shaheen had more than a dozen stab wounds, and it took her weeks to recover.
Victoria Janovyak, a Will County sheriff’s deputy who found Wadee’s body, wiped away tears as jurors watched video.
The screen was turned away from observers, including reporters and members of Wadee’s family. But the shock of the officers on the video was audible. Some could be heard yelling profanities and “Oh my God!” as they saw the boy’s stab wounds.
The attack, which generated headlines worldwide, has renewed fears of anti-Muslim discrimination in the Chicago area’s large and established Palestinian community. The proceedings also come amid rising hostility against Muslims and Palestinians in the U.S. since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023.
