An Illinois jury on Friday found a man guilty of murder and hate crime charges for an October 2023 stabbing that killed a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy and severely wounded his mother, according to court documents.

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 found an Illinois landlord guilty of murder and hate crime charges Friday for a brutal 2023 attack on a Palestinian American family that left a 6-year-old dead.

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

A jury found Illinois landlord Joseph M. Czuba guilty of murder in the stabbing death of Wadee Alfayoumi, a 6-year-old Palestinian boy.

Prosecutors said the man targeted the six-year-old and his mother over their Muslim faith following the Israel-Hamas war.

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.