JOLIET, Ill. — An Illinois man was found guilty Friday in the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy and the wounding of his mother, an attack that prosecutors said was motivated by anti-Muslim hate, just days after Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023.

Joseph Czuba stabbed the child 26 times in October 2023, a week after the Israel-Gaza conflict began. A jury convicted him on murder, hate crimes and other charges.

A jury outside of Chicago convicted an Illinois man on Friday of murder and hate crime charges for the fatal 2023 stabbing of a Palestinian-American boy who lived on his property, an attack prosecutors said was fueled by anti-Muslim hate amid the Israel-Hamas war.

A landlord from Illinois was found guilty of fatally stabbing a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy and critically wounding the boy's mother.

Joseph Czuba, 73, faces life in prison when he is sentenced in May for a murder that prosecutors said was sparked by anti-Muslim hatred.

This photo from the Will County Sheriff’s Office in the U.S. state of Illinois shows Joseph M. Czuba, who was found guilty Feb. 28, 2025, of murder and hate crime charges for an October 2023 stabbing that killed a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy and wounded his mother.

An Illinois jury has convicted Joseph Czuba of fatally stabbing 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi in an attack prosecutors say was motivated by the Israel-Hamas war.