As the war between Hamas and Israel unfolded in recent days, a Plainfield man became increasingly concerned about what he was hearing on conservative talk radio — and became agitated about the tenants living in his home, a Palestinian American mother and her young son, prosecutors said.
On Saturday, he allegedly attacked her and then stabbed her 6-year-old son to death — horrific allegations that have stunned the Muslim community in Chicago and beyond and drawn condemnation from around the world, including from President Joe Biden.
Joseph Czuba, 71, appeared in Will County court Monday morning in a red jumpsuit and with matted hair, two days after the attack on Hanan Shaheen, 32, and her son, Wadea Al-Fayoume.
Judge Donald W. DeWilkins ordered Czuba held in jail while he faces three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated battery and two counts of committing a hate crime. Czuba’s next court hearing is Oct. 30.
Also Monday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department has opened a hate investigation into the attack.
“I am heartbroken by the abhorrent killing of Wadea Al-Fayoume,” he said. The FBI office in Chicago said it was working with Will County authorities.
In the 45-minute detention hearing, prosecutors detailed how the crime against Shaheen and her son allegedly unfolded.
Czuba’s wife told detectives that Czuba “believed he was in danger and [his tenant, Shaheen] was going to call Palestinian friends to come and harm them,” said Michael Fitzgerald, a Will County assistant state’s attorney.
Fitzgerald said Czuba told his wife that Shaheen was Muslim and that he wanted her out of the residence, where they had lived for the past two years.
Neither prosecutors nor Czuba’s assistant public defender provided any evidence backing up Czuba’s concerns about his safety.
Czuba’s wife, who wasn’t home at the time of the attack, told detectives that he had withdrawn $1,000 from his bank because he believed “the grid” would go down, Fitzgerald said.
He was also worried about the “national day of jihad” on Oct. 13, and even though nothing happened then, he told his wife that he believed something would happen the next day, without specifying what, Fitzgerald said.
Czuba’s wife told detectives that he regularly listens to conservative talk radio and he was very interested in current events, Fitzgerald said.
Shaheen told detectives that Saturday morning began peacefully as she had breakfast with her son, Fitzgerald said. Czuba then allegedly knocked on their door and began arguing with Shaheen about the Middle East.
Shaheen told detectives that “Czuba is an angry man, but, on the day in question, he came to the house and said he was angry at her for what was happening in Jerusalem,” Fitzgerald said.
Shaheen told Czuba, “Let’s give peace a chance,” and Czuba attacked her with a blade, Fitzgerald said.
“She said he didn’t give her a chance,” Fitzgerald said.
Shaheen tried to defend herself, then locked herself in a bathroom with a phone but was unable to bring her son with her, Fitzgerald said. She called 911 and told a dispatcher that “the landlord is killing her baby with a knife,” Fitzgerald said.
Police entered the home in the 16200 block of South Lincoln Highway and found the boy lying shirtless on a bed, Fitzgerald said.
The boy had been stabbed 26 times, according to the Will County sheriff’s office.
Officers found Czuba in the backyard, lying on his back, with a cut to his face, Fitzgerald said. He was wearing a knife holster on his belt, and there were several pocket knives on the ground near his feet, he said.
Czuba had lived in his home for five years and had no prior criminal convictions, Assistant Public Defender Kylie Blatti said in court. Czuba is an Air Force veteran, having served from 1969 to 1973, she said. He is self-employed and owns property in Joliet and Plainfield.
Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Shaheen is Palestinian American, as was her son. The mother has been in the U.S. for 12 years, and the boy was born in the United States. He celebrated his 6th birthday on Oct. 6. He said they had no previous problems with Czuba; he even built the boy a treehouse.
A small shrine was growing outside the victims’ home Monday as mourners stopped by and placed flowers and balloons.
Irene Romero, who lives nearby, placed a teddy bear at the home Monday. She said the yard was often cluttered with political posters and dolls.
“It’s an eerie house. The lady must have been very desperate to rent somewhere,” she said.
