Landlord accused of killing 6-year-old Muslim boy to appear in court

WILL COUNTY, Ill. - The landlord accused of killing a 6-year-old Muslim boy in an apparent hate crime appeared in Will County court Wednesday for a pre-trial hearing.

Joseph Czuba, 71, was charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, two counts of hate crime and aggravated battery in the attack on his tenants, Hana Shahin and her son, Wadee Alfayoumi.

Outside the courthouse, members of the Muslim community held a candlelight vigil for the young Wadee. 

Odai Alfayoumi, the boy's father, thanked everyone for their support, describing his son as loving basketball, soccer, and Legos. 
Through a translator he said he hopes his son's short life will inspire everyone to fight bigotry.

Investigators said Czuba was intensely interested in the conflict in the Middle East and told his wife that he wanted the mother and son, Palestinian-Americans, to move out. Police said he knocked on their door on Oct. 14, argued with the mom and stabbed her and her 6-year-old son while saying anti-Muslim sentiments.

Prosecutors said Czuba stabbed Wadee Alfayoumi 26 times. Police discovered the boy in his bedroom with a knife still lodged inside his stomach. The mother was stabbed more than a dozen times. The knife used in the attack was seven inches long and serrated, officials said. They were transported to a nearby hospital, where the boy was pronounced dead. 

Shahin, 32, is recovering from multiple stab wounds. Hundreds of people attended her son’s funeral on Oct. 16 where he was remembered as an energetic boy who loved playing games. He had recently had a birthday.

The murder charge in the indictment against Czuba describes the boy’s death as the result of "exceptionally brutal or heinous behavior." The attack on the family — which renewed fears of anti-Islamic discrimination in the Chicago area’s large and established Palestinian community — has drawn condemnation from the White House.

On Oct. 30, Czuba pleaded not guilty to all eight counts.

The supporters of Wadee who gathered at the courthouse today said this case is part of an alarming uptick in cases of bullying, intimidation and worse--against Palestinian Americans.

"It's important for us to come together as a community, to keep the public's attention focused on this case, and to help people understand that violence against Palestinians and against Muslims here in America and in the Chicago area ... it's still going on." said Maggie Slavin of the Council of American-Islamic Relations. "And as long as the violence continues overseas, I think that unfortunately it's going to continue here."

Members of CAIR and other Muslims are calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East.

The Associated Press and the Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.