Caroline Kubzansky | Chicago Tribune
The man accused of fatally stabbing a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy and severely injuring his mom days after the Hamas assault was indicted by a Will County grand jury on hate crime, homicide and different expenses, prosecutors stated Thursday.
Joseph Czuba, 71, faces three counts of first-degree homicide, one rely of tried first-degree homicide, two counts of aggravated battery and two counts of hate crime in reference to a knife assault that killed Wadea Al-Fayoume and left his mom, Hanaan Shahin, hospitalized.
Czuba, who was the household’s landlord, was pushed to assault his Muslim tenants at their shared at his unincorporated Plainfield Township dwelling after listening to conservative speak radio dialogue of the battle between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas, Will County prosecutors stated throughout his Oct. 16 courtroom listening to.
Judge Donald DeWilkins ordered Czuba held in custody. His subsequent courtroom listening to is ready for Monday.
Czuba is accused of performing “exceptionally brutal or heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty” in his alleged actions towards Wadea and Shahin, per courtroom information.
President Joe Biden talked about Wadea by identify final week throughout a prime-time speech the place he condemned antisemitic and Islamophobic violence within the wake of the Israel-Hamas battle.
Will County sheriff’s deputies responded to Shahin’s name that her landlord was attacking her with a knife the morning of Oct. 14. Officers discovered Shahin severely injured and Wadea stabbed 26 instances.
Shahin was hospitalized on the time of her son’s funeral, which drew lots of of individuals and elected officers to pay their respects.
Thousands attended a vigil to honor Wadea’s life held the day after his funeral, the place many condemned “hateful rhetoric” that allegedly pushed Czuba to assault the boy and his mom.
Federal authorities together with the FBI and the Department of Justice’s the civil rights division are investigating the assault.
Illinois authorities are investigating different potential hate crimes and threats in opposition to Muslims which have occurred in current weeks, together with the case of a Lombard man who allegedly threatened to shoot two Muslim males exterior his condominium constructing. A pair of Muslim faculties in Bridgeview additionally saved college students dwelling final week after one of many establishments obtained a threatening letter that referenced Wadea’s dying.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”