Joseph Czuba, 71, is charged with stabbing six-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume in the United States and injuring Hanaan Shahin on October 14.
A man accused of murder, attempted murder and a hate crime in an attack on a Palestinian-American woman and her young son has pleaded not guilty following his indictment by an Illinois grand jury, US -United.
Joseph Czuba, 71, is charged with stabbing six-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume to death and injuring Hanaan Shahin on October 14. Authorities said the victims were targeted because of their Muslim faith and in response to Israeli attacks. Hamas War.
Shahin told police that Czuba, his landlord in Plainfield in Will County, was upset about the war and attacked them after urging him to “pray for peace.”
Czuba appeared in court Monday wearing a red prison uniform, socks and yellow rubber slippers.
His lawyer, George Lenard, pleaded not guilty after the judge read the eight-count indictment. Czuba did not speak, staring at the podium with his hands crossed behind his back as he stood before the judge in court in Joliet, 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Chicago.
Shahin, 32, is recovering from several stab wounds. Hundreds of people attended his son’s funeral on October 16, where he was remembered as an energetic boy who loved playing games. He had recently celebrated his birthday.
The boy’s father and other family members were present at the hearing. They refused to speak to journalists.
The murder charge in the indictment against Czuba describes the boy’s death as the result of “exceptionally brutal or heinous behavior.” The attack on the family — which reignited anti-Islam fears among the Chicago area’s large, established Palestinian community — drew condemnation from the White House.
Judge David Carlson ruled that Czuba will remain detained pending his hearing on January 8.
In arguing for Czuba’s continued detention, Will County Deputy Prosecutor Michael Fitzgerald said Czuba posed a danger to Shahin and others. “We also believe he poses a threat to the safety of the community,” he said.
Czuba’s lawyers disagree, citing Czuba’s age and the fact that he is a veteran with no criminal convictions. Lenard and Fitzgerald declined to comment to reporters after the hearing.
Shahin asked the public to “pray for peace” and said his son was his best friend in a statement released last week by the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
The attack comes amid growing hostility against Muslim and Jewish communities in the United States since October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel and Israel began bombing Gaza.
