Jury deliberations to begin in trial of landlord accused of killing 6-year-old Palestinian American boy, stabbing mother

WILL COUNTY, Ill. — Jury deliberations were set to begin Friday in the trial of a man accused of killing a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy, and stabbing his mother several times in an alleged hate crime.

Joseph Czuba, 73, faces first-degree murder, attempted murder and hate crime charges in the October 2023 attack that killed Wadee al-Fayoumi, and wounded his mother, Hanan Shaheen.

Authorities allege that Czuba — who was renting rooms to the pair in his home — targeted them because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas that erupted days earlier.

Closing arguments were delivered earlier Friday.

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On Thursday, Czuba sat motionless during the majority of his time in court. While jurors won’t hear from him directly, video shown in court shows him seated in a squad car after authorities responded to a mother’s harrowing 911 call.

In the video, the landlord says, “I was afraid for my life, I was afraid for my wife…she would not leave, they are just like invested rats. I begged her to get out for three days, she would not.”

Czuba’s wife told police her husband had been listening to right-wing radio. In the video, he also tells police, “I can’t believe all these protests people supporting the PLO. It’s so evil it’s like it’s Nazis.”

Czuba is accused of stabbing kindergartener Wadee al-Fayoumi 26 times, killing him. He also stabbed Shaheen several times.

Prosecutors on Thursday called several witnesses, including a Will County Sheriff’s Department crime scene investigator and forensic scientists from the Northeastern Illinois Regional Crime Laboratory.

One of the scientists told jurors that based on her analysis, a knife handle and blade from the scene very likely include DNA from the victims and from Czuba. A second DNA analyst was presented with several pieces of clothing, including a child-sized T-shirt she’d examined. She showed the jury a sleeve on the shirt covered in blood. While being cross-examined, she told the defense she could not tell the jury what time the blood stain got on the shirt.

The 73-year-old has pleaded not guilty.