Landlord convicted of deadly hate crime dead at 73

Joseph Czuba stands before Circuit Judge Dave Carlson for his arraignment in the murder of 6-year old Wadea Al-Fayoume, at the Will County, Ill., courthouse, Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, in Joliet, Ill. Czuba was sentenced in 2025 after being convicted of fatally stabbing the Muslim boy and seriously wounding his mother.
Joseph Czuba stands before Circuit Judge Dave Carlson for his arraignment in the murder of 6-year old Wadea Al-Fayoume, at the Will County, Ill., courthouse, Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, in Joliet, Ill. Czuba was sentenced in 2025 after being convicted of fatally stabbing the Muslim boy and seriously wounding his mother. Photo credit AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

CHICAGO, IL (WBBM Newsradio) - Details are not immediately clear as to the cause of 73- year-old Joseph Czuba’s death, just 3 months after he was sentenced to 53 years in prison upon conviction of several serious counts including 1st degree murder and hate crime.

In October of 2023, just 1 week after the Hamas attack on Israel, Czuba entered the Plainfield Township home of his tenants and stabbed 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi 26 times, killing the Palestinian American boy.
Czuba also stabbed Alfayoumi’s mother, Hanan Shaheen, multiple times, leaving her seriously wounded.

Featured Image Photo Credit: AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast