Owner accused of 2023 hate crime and murder as a child ready for trial

Joliet, Ill. – The trial of a Chicago suburban owner accused of murder, attempted murder and a hate crime in 2023 Attack against an American Palestinian woman and her young son You are ready to start on Tuesday.

Joseph Czuba, 73, is accused of the fatal stabbing of Wadae Alfayoumi, six years Answer to War between Israel and Hamas That exploded on October 7, 2023 with a Hamas attack against southern Israel.

Opening statements begin Tuesday morning in a trial that is expected to last approximately one week.

Czuba declared himself innocent of three first -degree murder positions, a charge of murder attempt and other positions. His defense lawyer, George Lenard, refused to comment before the end of the trial.

The attack on the family in Plainfield, almost 40 miles (65 kilometers) to the southwest of Chicago, has renewed the fears of anti-musulman discrimination in the large and established Palestinian community of the Chicago area. The procedures also come in the middle growing hostility Against Muslims and Palestinians in the United States since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023.

“We firmly pray and hope that Mr. Czuba be locked up for the rest of his life, so that we can send a message that hate crimes against anyone on the basis of their religion and national origin are not tolerated,” Joe is not tolerated Milburn, a lawyer for the American-Islamic Relations Council, told journalists on Monday before the jury selection.

Prosecutors claim that Czuba became a growing paranoid about war due to listening to comments on the conservative conversation radio. Shaheen told the Police that Czuba was upset by war and attacked them after urging him to “pray for peace.”

The child, whose name was initially spelling Wadea al-Fayoume by the authorities, was stabbed 26 times. Shaheen had more than a dozen white weapon wounds And he took it weeks to recover.

The assassination position in the accusation against Czuba describes the child’s death as a result of “exceptionally brutal or atrocious behavior.” Czuba remained arrested with prosecutors arguing that Czuba was a danger to Shaheen and others.

Hundreds attended the child Janazah, or funeral service, where the child was remembered as kind and in sports and lay people.

Separately, the father of the child, who is divorced from Shaheen and did not live in the house, has filed a lawsuit for unfair death.