Overview

• Joseph Czuba, 73, was convicted in February 2025 of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, and hate crime charges in connection with the October 2023 attack.
• The attack occurred days after the Israel-Hamas war began, with Czuba targeting his tenants, Wadee Alfayoumi and his mother, Hanan Shaheen, because of their Muslim faith and Palestinian heritage.
• Prosecutors presented evidence that Czuba stabbed Wadee 26 times with a military-style knife and seriously injured Shaheen, who suffered over a dozen stab wounds.
• The sentencing follows harrowing testimony from Shaheen, who recounted Czuba yelling anti-Muslim slurs during the attack, and police testimony describing Czuba as bloodied and unremorseful at the scene.
• The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a federal hate crimes investigation, while civil lawsuits filed by the victims' family remain ongoing.