US man sentenced to 53 years for killing Palestinian American boy

WASHINGTON (AA) - A man in the US state of Illinois was sentenced Friday to 53 years in prison for a hate-crime attack in 2023 that killed Palestinian American Wadee Alfayoumi, 6, according to US media reports.

Wadee’s mother, Hanan Shaheen, was also stabbed in the attack.

Joseph Czuba, 73, was found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and hate crimes after attacking the Palestinian American family days after the Oct. 7, 2003 Hamas attack against Israel, NBC News reported.

The boy’s mother testified that Czuba told her that “your people” are killing Jewish people and babies in Israel and Muslims are not welcome in his home, according to the report.

The prosecution’s only witness, Wadee’s great uncle, Mahmoud Yousef, said the boy’s death shattered the family’s hopes and dreams. "No matter what the sentence is going to be, it’s not going to justify," he was quoted.

Czuba declined to speak at his sentencing.

He was found guilty in the Oct. 14, 2023, fatal stabbing in Plainfield, 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. The crime happened in Czuba’s home where the victims had been renting two rooms.

Prosecutors said Czuba targeted the family because of their Islamic faith and in response to Israel's war against the Gaza Strip that began one week earlier.

Former President Joe Biden last year commemorated one year since the "heinous" fatal assault.