Hate crime trial proceedings intensified Wednesday as prosecutors presented a harrowing 911 call and police bodycam footage in the murder of 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi. Joseph Czuba, 73, faces life in prison for allegedly stabbing the Palestinian American boy 26 times and attacking his mother in October 2023.
Authorities assert Czuba targeted the family due to their Muslim faith amid escalating Israel-Hamas conflict tensions.
This happened because Hanan and Wadee were Muslim,stated prosecutor Michael Fitzgerald during opening arguments. Czuba pleaded not guilty, with his defense urging jurors to scrutinize missingevidence gaps.
Key trial moments included:
- Mother Hanan Shaheen’s testimony about Czuba yelling You, as a Muslim, must die
- Graphic police video showing officers discovering Wadee’s body
- 911 audio capturing Shaheen’s whispered pleas amid her own stab wounds
Shaheen described renting rooms from the Czubas for two conflict-free years before the attack.
He told us Muslims weren’t welcome after the war started,she testified, detailing how Czuba later pinned her down and broke her teeth during the assault.
The case has amplified concerns about anti-Muslim discrimination in Chicago’s Palestinian communities. Jurors visibly reacted to video showing deputies swearing upon seeing Wadee’s wounds – footage withheld from observers. With U.S. anti-Muslim violence rising post-October 2023, advocates warn this trial could set critical precedents for hate crime accountability.
