A jury has been selected for the trial of a Plainfield landlord accused of attacking a Palestinian American woman and killing her 6-year-old son.
Joseph Czuba, 73, is charged with stabbing his tenant Hanan Shaheen, and her 6-year-old son, Wadee Al Fayoumi, killing the boy, after becoming radicalized by conservative commentary around the war in Gaza.
Czuba has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated battery and two counts of committing a hate crime.
His trial began Monday at Will County Courthouse with the selection of 12 jurors and three alternate jurors. Czuba appeared in court, alongside his attorneys, and spoke once greeting potential jurors with a “good morning.”
Before jury selection began, prosecutors asked Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak to read aloud one specific jury instruction, which defined an “implicit bias,” and directed potential jurors to issue a verdict based “solely on the evidence presented,” if selected for this trial.
Potential jurors were asked basic questions about their jobs, where they lived and whether they had heard about this case. After everyone addressed those questions in open court each potential juror went into a private room with the judge, prosecutors and a defense attorney to answer additional questions.
The 15 people selected to serve on the jury are based across Will County from Naperville to Crete and have a range of occupations including teacher, homemaker and pilot.
The majority of jurors said they had read or heard about this case.
Of the two dozen or so potential jurors questioned by the judge, only one indicated they would not be able to give Czuba a fair trial. That juror was dismissed.
In court Monday, attorneys from both parties also agreed that certain body camera footage from officers responding to the attack would be shown only to jurors, not the rest of the courtroom, because of the nature of the footage.
Bertani-Tomczak expects the trial to last the rest of the week. Court will resume at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday with opening statements.
Wadee Alfayoumi, a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy from Plainfield, was stabbed to death Oct. 14, 2023, in an alleged hate crime.
In October 2023, Czuba became increasingly paranoid about the war in Gaza after listening to commentary on conservative talk radio, according to Will County prosecutors.
His 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,” prosecutors said in earlier hearings.
He was also worried about a “national day of jihad” on Oct. 13 and allegedly told his wife that if nothing happened that day it would happen the next, without any further specifications, according to prosecutors.
On Oct. 14, 2023, Czuba allegedly knocked on the door to the family’s unit and began arguing with Shaheen about the Middle East, then allegedly stabbed her in the head and body, according to prosecutors.
Shaheen locked herself in a bathroom with a phone, according to prosecutors, but was unable to bring her son with her. She called 911 and told a dispatcher that “the landlord is killing her baby with a knife,” prosecutors said.
Officers arrived and found the boy lying shirtless on a bed, prosecutors said.
He had been stabbed 26 times, according to the Will County sheriff’s office.
Czuba has remained in jail pending trial.
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