CHICAGO (CBS) — A Plainfield Township landlord is now accused of killing a 6-year-old boy and stabbing that boy’s mother because of their religion.
Joseph Czuba, 71, now faces several charges, including two hate crime counts. According to the Will County Sheriff’s Office, the two victims were targeted because they are Muslim and because of the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and Israel.
“Oh that’s just awful. It’s sickening. I can’t even imagine how anybody could do that to a little child,” one neighbor said.
The quiet neighborhood in Plainfield has now been rocked by the horrific act. The 32-year-old mother told detectives her landlord attacked her with a knife as she ran to the bathroom to call 911.
The Will County Sheriff’s Office says Czuba stabbed 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume 26 times. His mother had more than a dozen stab wounds.
The Council on American Islamic Relations says the boy just celebrated his birthday a couple of weeks ago.
“He was a lovely boy who loved his family, his friends. He loved soccer. He loved basketball. And he paid the price for the atmosphere of hate,” CAIR Executive Director Ahmed Rehab said of how the boy’s father described him.
Neighbors like Eva Case saw the crime scene Saturday night. The gruesome details behind the stabbing left her in awe.
“I don’t care what the situation was,” she said. “Don’t take it out on somebody that innocent of life.”
Neighbors who live near Czuba say the mother and son moved into the home four years ago. Neighbors say they kept to themselves.
As for Czuba neighbors called him eccentric and said they were concerned at times about signs in front of the house. Some were political and religious.
“I see the man that lived there outside gardening all the time, every week. Every time I come home, he’s outside,” Case said.
CAIR said it just issued a release a few days ago warning about creating anti-Muslim atmospheres where someone could get hurt.
“He has no clue about these larger issues happening in the world, but he was made to pay for it,” Rehab said of Wadea.
Family members say although the father was at Saturday’s press conference, he was too in shock to speak. CAIR says it is disgusted not only by this horrible act but also by exaggeration of Jihad Day. They believe if there were no anti-Muslim narrative, this would not have happened.