ABC: Man sentenced to 53 years in prison in hate crime murder of 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy
Wadee Alfayoumi's father, Oday Al Fayoume, seated right, and his uncle Mahmoud Yousef attend a vigil for Wadee at Prairie Activity and Recreation center in Plainfield, Ill., Oct. 17, 2023.
Nam Y. Huh/AP, FILE
JOLIET, Ill. (WLS) -- The man found guilty in the hate crime murder of a 6-year-old boy was sentenced Friday to 53 years in prison.
Joseph Czuba, 73, of Plainfield is was found guilty of killing Wadee Alfayoumi and seriously wounding his mother.
The judge sentenced Czuba to 53 years in prison minus 566 days for time served.
There were a few pre-trial motions heard before the actual sentencing took place.
Czuba's defense team asked the judge to overturn the jury's guilty verdict, claiming he did not receive a fair trial. The motion to overturn the verdict was denied by the judge.
The defense team accused prosecutors of making prejudicial statements against Czuba.
There were tense moments in court Friday afternoon, as Alfayoumi's grandfather stared down Czuba.
"No matter what we say, no matter what kind of sentence, it's definitely not justified," Mahmoud Yousef said.
He pleaded for Czuba to make a statement and explain why he murdered the 6-year-old.
"I was hoping for him to come up and say something just to justify it," Yousef said.
Czuba declined to comment in court, and remained emotionless. He did not look at the victim's family.
A jury convicted him in February on charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder and hate crimes.
Alfayoumi was killed in October of 2023, when police say Czuba stabbed him more than 24 times.
He also seriously injured Alfayoumi's mother, who was stabbed at least a dozen times.
Prosecutors said Czuba called the boy's mother a "devil Muslim," while he stabbed them in the home they were renting from him.
The family now has wrongful death lawsuits filed against Czuba.
This is a tragedy that caught the country's attention in 2023, even leading former President Joe Biden to speak out on it.
On Friday, loved ones said they're ready to close this chapter, and continue honoring their little boy.
They said no specific prison time would be a proper service of justice for what happened to Alfayoumi.
His father was emotional, thinking about the future he no longer has with his son, but he wants more to come from this tragic death: peace among people of all cultures in the U.S.
For the family, Friday was a form of justice, but they still have many questions. The last year and a half have been difficult.
The victim's family said they're still shocking how quickly Czuba changed, as he was once very kind to Alfayoumi and his mother before the stabbing.
"He was a grandfather figure; he took care of this little boy. After the news (of Hamas attacking Israel), that's when everything changed. So we needed him to come up and say something: What did he hear?" Yousef said.
Alfayoumi's father left court Friday with little to say, except for the fact that this tragedy has changed his view of the American dream.
"The same guy who was looking about my son as an angel, right now he calls him a devil. So I don't know: This is America? That's what that means? That's a free country?" Odai Alfayoumi said.
Alfayoumi mother is now doing OK, but she declined comment Friday.
For the Palestinian American family, there's still a massive void that can't be filled.
"It's never enough; it doesn't matter what the numbers are. He took a life from us; he took a future," Yousef said. "Some people are bringing this war into this country; you can't do that. You can't bring that war here; you can't bring hatred into this country for things you have in your mind. We need that to stop."
Czuba will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.
The defense has filed a motion to reconsider the sentencing. That will happen next Wednesday.
The Chicago Office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement: "No sentence can restore what was taken, but today's outcome delivers a necessary measure of justice. Wadee was an innocent child. He was targeted because of who he was-Muslim, Palestinian, and loved. Our work now is to ensure that no other child suffers from the deadly consequences of hate. As we speak, boys and girls, just like Wadee, are mass murdered weekly in Gaza. But rather than being brought to justice, their killers are protected by the majority of our politicians and whitewashed by much of our media."
FBI Chicago said in a statement: "The heinous murder and depraved violence committed by Joseph Czuba against innocent 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi and his mother Hanan Shaheen continue to haunt our community. The FBI and our dedicated federal, state, and local law enforcement partners work tirelessly to investigate anyone who dares to compromise the safety of our communities. We encourages the public to report concerning or threatening behavior immediately to law enforcement at 9-1-1, 1-800-CALL-FBl, or submit a tip, even anonymously, to tips.fbi.gov."