An owner of Illinois was sentenced on Friday to 53 years in prison for killing a child Palestinian-American 6 years and seriously hurt his mother during a hate crime in October 2023.
Joseph Czuba73, mortally stabbed the child, Continue Alfayoumiand wounded his mother, The faucet shahaena week after Hamas’s deadly attack against Israel on October 7 of that year. Shaheen and his son rented a room in Czuba’s house in Plainfield, about 64 kilometers southwest of Chicago.
Czuba was convicted by first degree murder, first -degree murder attempt, aggravated aggression and two hate crime charges In February.
“There is no sentence that can be imposed to do justice for the atrocious actions of Czuba,” said Will’s state prosecutor, Will, James Glasgow. “The cruelty of this morally reprehensible murderer and the impact of his violent behavior on this innocent child and mother is truly unimaginable.”
On Friday, in court, the judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak condemned Czuba to 30 years of prison for the death of Alfayoumi, to 20 years additional consecutive for Shaheen’s attack already three years for hate crimes, according to the office of the state prosecutor of Will.
Czuba’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Czuba had maintained a friendly relationship with the child and his mother before the attack in Middle Eastbuilding a house in the tree and allowing him to use the pool, he reported The Washington Post. But “something changed” in the days after October 7, 2023, and Czuba began to suspect the mother and son due to her origins and religion, he reported The Post.
In a Friday statement, the Chicago office of the US-Islamic Relations Council He described the long sentence of Czuba as “a necessary measure of justice.”
“Wadee was an innocent child,” said Ahmed Rehab, executive director of CAIR-Chicago. “He was attacked by being Muslim, Palestinian and dear.”
One of the child’s relatives, Mahmoud Yousefhe spoke on Friday during the sentence hearing. He thanked the local authorities and the Community of Plainfield for “opposing hate crimes,” said the Chicago Tribunebefore heading to Czuba.
“We want to know what prompted him to do this,” said Yousef, according to the Tribune. “What kind of news did you hear on television or radio that led him to commit such an unheard of crime, which goes beyond hatred? We are talking about a 6 -year -old boy.”
Czuba did not respond to Yousef or spoke during the audience. It was not possible to immediately contact your lawyer to obtain comments.
According to Cair, allegations of antimuse discrimination increased approximately 70% after the start of the War in Gazacompared to the same period of the previous year. Antijudíos hate crimes in 2023 also reached their highest figure since the data collection began in 1991, according to the FBI.
(c) 2025, The Washington Post
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