The Plainfield man accused of stabbing 6-year-old Wadea al-Fayoume to death and wounding the boy’s mother in a hate crime attack two weeks ago pleaded not guilty to all eight charges related to the brutal alleged assault Monday.
Joseph Czuba, 71, appeared briefly before Judge David M. Carlson Monday morning for his arraignment at the Will County Courthouse.
He wore an orange jumpsuit as he entered the courtroom escorted by a sheriff’s deputy. Just feet away, the boy’s father, Oday al-Fayoume, solemnly stared as Czuba arrived. Czuba did not turn to face him.
Carlson read each charge Czuba faces, including four murder charges, two aggravated battery charges and two hate crime charges. If convicted, Czuba could face life in prison, Carlson said.
Oday al-Fayoume leaned forward as Carlson spoke, his hands clasped together on the wooden pew in front of him as he sat next to family. Czuba stared forward at the judge, showing no emotion and standing still with his hands clasped behind his back.
As prosecutor Michael Fitzgerald argued for Czuba to remain detained before his next court appearance, Fitzgerald described the harrowing alleged attack.
Czuba had been deeply troubled by Hamas’ attack on Israel, Fitzgerald said. Days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Czuba asked Hanaan Shahin, the boy’s mother and Czuba’s tenant, to move from the home Czuba had rented to them for two years, Fitzgerald said.
“Mr. Czuba indicated that he was blaming her — not necessarily her personally, but her because she’s a Muslim — for what was going on in the Middle East,” Fitzgerald said.
The man stabbed Shahin, who escaped and called police from a bathroom, but Czuba went on to stab Wadea al-Fayoume to death, Fitzgerald alleged. He called Czuba a threat to Shahin and the community. Czuba’s defense attorneys described him as a veteran with no major criminal background and strong ties to his town.
Carlson ordered Czuba to remain detained. He scheduled the man’s next court appearance for Jan. 8 and assigned the case to Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak.
The judge noted that, according to typical pretrial risk assessments, Czuba’s scored risk level “is quite low.” However, he determined detention was the only way to, “quite frankly, alleviate any concerns or any threats in the community.”
News of the alleged attack spread widely across Chicagoland, the country and world. Thousands attended the boy’s funeral two days after his killing.
Wadea al-Fayoume’s father moved to the U.S. a decade ago to escape violence in the West Bank and raise the child he hadn’t yet had, he said at the funeral. The boy enjoyed playing sports and loved his family, mourners said. He’d recently celebrated his birthday.
Shahin was released from the hospital over a week ago, according to the Council on American Islamic Relations Chicago.
She remembered her son as a smart, funny boy, CAIR-Chicago said in a statement.
“He was my best friend,” she said, according to the news release.
Afternoon Briefing
Weekdays
Chicago Tribune editors’ top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon.
Oday al-Fayoume rose from his seat and looked directly at Czuba as he was escorted out of the courtroom. Czuba, who closed his eyes for stretches of the hearing, did not look back.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys declined to further discuss the case after the arraignment. The boy’s family also declined interviews, though one of the boy’s uncles, Yousef Hannon, turned back toward TV cameras as he left the courthouse.
He brought up the slaying of Talat Jehan Khan, a pediatrician reportedly stabbed to death Saturday at a picnic table in Houston.
“Yesterday, there was another woman killed because she was a Muslim,” Hannon said.
He described a perceived lack of free speech across America, apparently in reference to attacks against Muslims amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“If you speak your mind, you lose your job, you lose your money, you lose your life, you lose your family. And if you don’t speak, you lose your job, you lose your money, you lose your life, you lose your family,” he said. “There’s a double standard in this country right now. Hopefully, somebody is going to do something about it, especially our president.”