The Plainfield man convicted of killing a Palestinian American boy in an October 2023 hate crime has died in state prison just weeks after his sentencing, the Will County sheriff\u2019s office said Saturday.<\/p>\n
Joseph Czuba, 73, died Thursday while in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections, said Kevin Hedemark, sheriff\u2019s office spokesperson. Hedemark said he couldn\u2019t confirm Czuba\u2019s cause of death. An IDOC spokesperson didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
Ahmed Rehab, the executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations-Chicago, said in a statement that \u201cthis depraved killer has died, but the hate is still alive and well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWadee was stabbed to death 26 times for being Palestinian. Two years later, even as we speak, thousands of Gazan children are being shot, bombed and starved to death for being Palestinian,\u201d Rehab said. \u201cIt\u2019s the hate that must die.\u201d<\/p>\n
A jury found Czuba guilty of fatally stabbing 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi and wounding the boy\u2019s mother, Hanaan Shaheen. He was sentenced in May<\/a> to 53 years in prison.<\/p>\n Authorities charged the attacks as hate crimes. Czuba, who was renting part of his house to Wadee and Shaheen, stabbed them after he became \u201cheavily interested\u201d in the Israel-Gaza war after the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, prosecutors said. Shaheen testified during trial that Czuba grew angry<\/a> with her because she was Muslim and from Jerusalem, telling her, \u201cMuslims are not welcome here.\u201d<\/p>\n George Lenard, Czuba\u2019s attorney, said to his understanding, Czuba was held at Menard Correctional Center in downstate Illinois.<\/p>\n