Joseph Czuba stabbed the child 26 times in October 2023, a week after the Israel-Gaza conflict began. A jury convicted him on murder, hate crimes and other charges.

A jury outside of Chicago convicted an Illinois man on Friday of murder and hate crime charges for the fatal 2023 stabbing of a Palestinian-American boy who lived on his property, an attack prosecutors said was fueled by anti-Muslim hate amid the Israel-Hamas war.

JOLIET, Ill. — An Illinois man was found guilty Friday in the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy and the wounding of his mother, an attack that prosecutors said was motivated by anti-Muslim hate, just days after Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023.

The boy, Wadea Al-Fayoume, was fatally stabbed by 73-year-old Joseph Czuba, who stabbed the boy's mother Hanan Shaheen as well during the Oct. 14, 2023, attack in their Plainfield, Ill., home, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said at the time.

A jury found an Illinois landlord guilty of murder and hate crime charges ... because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas that erupted on Oct. 7, 2023. Jurors deliberated less than 90 minutes before returning ...

Authorities said the family was targeted because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas that erupted on Oct. 7, 2023 with a Hamas attack on southern Israel. Opening statements start Tuesday morning in a trial that is ...

This photo from the Will County Sheriff’s Office in the U.S. state of Illinois shows Joseph M. Czuba, who was found guilty Feb. 28, 2025, of murder and hate crime charges for an October 2023 stabbing that killed a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy and wounded his mother.

A landlord from Illinois was found guilty of fatally stabbing a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy and critically wounding the boy's mother.

The trial for the Illinois man charged in the fatal 2023 stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy in what prosecutors call a hate crime is set to begin in Will County on Monday.

A jury found Illinois landlord Joseph M. Czuba guilty of murder in the stabbing death of Wadee Alfayoumi, a 6-year-old Palestinian boy.