A landlord of Illinois has been found guilty of killing a six -year -old Palestinian boy about his religion.
Joseph Czuba, 73, repeatedly stabbed Wadee Alfayoumi and his mother Hanan Shaheen, killing the young person.
The little boy was stabbed 26 times in the crazy attack in their Plainfield house in October 2023. The family had rented a room of Czuba at the time.
Czuba was accused of stabbing, with authorities who say that the family was the target because of their Islamic faith.
In the court on Friday, a jury found Czuba guilty of killing the little boy and hate crimes, with less than 90 minutes.
Speaking after the verdict was pronounced, the father of the boy, Odai Alfayoumi, told reporters: 'I don't know if I should be satisfied or upset, or I would cry or laugh.
'People tell me that I have to smile. Maybe if I was one of you, I would smile, but I am the child's father and I have lost the child. And I feel that this decision was a little too late. '
The process had detailed testimony from police officers, medical teams and Czuba's ex -woman and Shaheen.
The little boy was stabbed 26 times in the crazy attack in their Plainfield house in October 2023
Czuba, 71, stands for his beforehand in the Will County Courthouse, Monday, October 30, 2023, in Joliet, Illinois
Shaheen described how Czuba attacked her with a knife before she went after her son in another room.
Prosecutors say that the child had been stabbed 26 times. He was found naked with a knife still in his side.
Graphic photos of the murder, a knife holder Czuba would have used that day, together with police videos were central in the Will County Officors' Case.
Sometimes video screens with explicit images were rejected from the public of the public where members of the Van Wadee family were during the process.
“If it wasn't enough for this suspect to kill that little boy, he left the knife in the body of the little boy,” Michael Fitzgerald, a lawyer of Will County Assistant State, told jury members while opening statements.
The lawyer of Czuba, George Lenard, refused comments on Friday. Czuba had not guilty.
He was confronted with murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and hate crimes in an indictment of eight counts.
Czuba is planned for conviction on 2 May, according to the office of the Will County Circuit Clerk.
After the war broke out in Israel Hamas, Czuba told her that they had to move because Muslims were not welcome
Odai Alfayoumi, father of 6-year-old Palestinian boy Wadee Alfayoumi, speaks at a press conference after Czuba was found guilty
The family had rented a room at Czuba in his house at the time of the incident
One of the critical parts of the process was the testimony of Shaheen and the 911 call she did to report the crime that took place just a few days after the recent war in Gaza began.
She said they had never had problems in the two years they rented from the Czubas. They shared a kitchen and living room with the Czubas.
When the war broke out in Israel Hamas, Czuba told her that they had to move because Muslims were not welcome.
Later he confronted Shaheen and attacked her, held her down, put her down and tried to break her teeth.
“He told me” you, as a Muslim, must die, “said Shaheen, who testified in English and Arabic by a translator.
Shaheen had more than a dozen stab wounds and it took her weeks to recover. The boy was later declared dead.
One of the critical parts of the trial was Shaheen's witness and the 911 call she did to report the crime that took place just a few days after the war started
The police testified that officers found Czuba outside the house that was sitting on the ground with blood on his body and hands.
Separately, civil lawsuits were brought about the death of the boy, also by his father, Alfayoumi, who is divorced from Shaheen and did not live with them.
Ben Crump, the national civil rights lawyer who represents Shaheen, has released a statement that called the judgment a “degree of justice”.
His statement said: “Wadee was an innocent six -year -old child whose life was stolen in an act of unimaginable violence fed by hatred.
'Although we are relieved that his murderer has been held responsible, we must remain standing against the rising tide that led to this meaningless act.
“We have to honor Wade's memory by continuing to fight against hatred in all its forms and working on a future in which every child is safe, appreciated and free of violence.”
