Chicago Man Who Fatally Stabbed 6-Year-Old Palestinian Boy Found Guilty of Committing Hate Crime

A jury has found 73-year-old Chicago man Joseph Czuba guilty of first-degree murder and hate crimes in the "gut-wrenching" stabbing death of 6-year-old Wadea Al Fayoumi and the brutal attack on his mother, Hanan Shaheen—a crime politicians believe was triggered by "one-sided media coverage of Palestinians" and "Trump's calls for ethnic cleansing."

Czuba targeted the Palestinian-American family because of their Islamic faith and as a reaction to the Israel-Hamas war that began on October 7, 2023, authorities said. When the verdict was read, he reportedly showed no emotion.

Prosecutors revealed that just days after the Hamas attack on Israel, Czuba—who had rented part of his home to the victims for over two years—turned on them in a violent rage.

In a chilling video played in court, he is heard in a police car speaking unprompted about the attack. "I was afraid for my wife. I was afraid they were going to do Jihad on me," Czuba said. He went on to describe Shaheen as "a trained fighter" and dehumanized Palestinians, saying, "They are like infested rats."

Shaheen, who survived the attack, testified that Czuba had recently become withdrawn and angry after watching news coverage of the war. She recalled him telling her, "You, as a Muslim, must die," per local news.

Forensic experts confirmed that Czuba's DNA and blood evidence tied him to the crime, with the murder weapon still lodged in the child's body when police arrived.

"If it wasn't enough that this defendant killed that little boy, he left the knife in the little boy's body," Prosecutor Michael Fitzgerald said.

During the trial, Czuba waived his right to testify. His defense team sought to challenge evidence by calling three sheriff's deputies to the stand, but the jury ultimately convicted him on all counts.

After the verdict, Illinois State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid (D-Bridgeview) condemned the attack as a symptom of rising anti-Palestinian rhetoric.

"Wadea's murder was and remains a gut-wrenching, preventable tragedy for the entire Palestinian community in Chicago," said Rashid. "Wadea's murder didn't happen in a vacuum – it was the result of decades of dehumanizing, one-sided media coverage of Palestinians and irresponsible statements from elected officials of both parties. From the Israeli government claiming there are no innocent Palestinians to Netanyahu boasting about driving Palestinians from their homes to Trump's calls for ethnic cleansing – there is no red line that they won't cross."

He continued, "For decades, Democratic and Republican administrations haven't just stood by as Israel has instituted apartheid rule and committed a genocide – they have provided Israel with billions of American taxpayer dollars for weapons and bombs, and they repeated Israel's racist propaganda about Palestinians."

"It was in this climate that Joseph Czuba was radicalized into killing a child he had once embraced. If we want to honor Wadea's memory and stop tragic crimes like this from happening again, we must hold our government accountable for the failed policies and dehumanizing rhetoric that catalyzed his brutal murder," said Rep. Rashid.

Czuba was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated battery, and two counts of committing a hate crime.

With the conviction settled, focus now turns to Czuba's sentencing, where he could face life in prison.