The trial of a suburban Chicago landlord accused of murder, attempted murder and hate crimes in the 2023 attack on a Palestinian American woman and her young son is scheduled to begin Tuesday.
Joseph Chuba, 73, is charged with the fatal stab wounds of 6-year-old Wadi Alphayoomi and the injury to Hanan Shaheen on October 14, 2023.
Authorities said the family was targeted because of Islamic faith and in response to the war between Israel and Hamas that broke out in the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
The opening statement begins Tuesday morning with a trial that is expected to last about a week.
Czuba pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and other charges. His defense attorney, George Leonard, declined to comment before the trial ended.
The attack on the Plainfield family, about 40 miles southwest of Chicago, renews fears of anti-Muslim discrimination in large, established Palestinian communities in the Chicago area.
The lawsuit also comes amid growing hostility towards U.S. Muslims and Palestinians since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023.
“We pray and hope that Mr. Chuba will be locked up for the rest of his life, and we will hate crimes against anyone based on their religion and the origins of the country. You can send that message,” Joe Milburn, the Attorney's Office of the Council on America and Islamic Relations, told reporters on Monday prior to the selection of the ju judge.
Prosecutors argue that Czuba has increased paranoidly about war after hearing commentary on conservative talk radio.
Shaheen told police that Chuba was angry at the war and attacked them after urging them to “pray for peace.”
The boy, originally named Wadea al-Fayoume by authorities, was stabbed 26 times. Shaheen had more than 12 stab wounds and it took several weeks to heal.
The murder charge in the charges against Czuba describes the juvenile's death as a result of “exceptionally brutal or heinous conduct.”
Czuba remained in custody with prosecutors who claimed Czuba was dangerous to Shaheen and others.
Hundreds of people attended the boy Janaza, or funeral. There, the boy was remembered by kindness and sports and Lego.
Separately, the father of a boy who divorced Shaheen and did not live in the house filed a lawsuit for illegal death.
