Illinois landlord convicted of killing 6-year-old Palestinian American boy dies in custody, sheriff says

William Tong, Rebecca Johnson, Chicago Tribune on Jul 26, 2025

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CHICAGO — The Plainfield man convicted of killing a Palestinian American boy in an October 2023 hate crime has died in the state prison system just weeks after his sentencing, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said Saturday.

Joseph Czuba, 73, died Thursday while in Illinois Department of Corrections custody, said Kevin Hedemark, sheriff’s office spokesperson. Hedemark said he couldn’t confirm Czuba’s cause of death. An IDOC spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

A jury found Czuba guilty of killing 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi in a fatal stabbing and wounding the boy’s mother, Hanaan Shaheen. He was sentenced in May to 53 years in prison.

Authorities charged the attacks as hate crimes. Czuba, who was renting part of his house to Alfayoumi and Shaheen, stabbed them after he became “heavily interested” in the Israel-Gaza war after the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, prosecutors said. Shaheen testified during trial that Czuba grew angry with her because she was Muslim and from Jerusalem, telling her, “Muslims are not welcome here.”

Czuba stabbed Alfayoumi 26 times, and Shaheen also sustained dozens of wounds as he tried to kill her. He was sentenced to 53 years in prison.

George Lenard, Czuba’s attorney, said to his understanding, Czuba was held at Menard Correctional Center in downstate Illinois.

Plainfield community members unveiled a monument dedicated to Alfayoumi in June.