Landlord Joseph Czuba, charged with Plainfield hate crime stabbing of boy, mother, pleads not guilty
JOLIET, Ill. (WLS) -- The landlord accused of targeting his tenants because of their Muslim faith pleaded not guilty in a court appearance Monday.
The judge ordered Czuba remain held in custody until his next pre-trial date.
The 71-year-old is accused of fatally stabbing a 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume and seriously hurting his mother who were his tenants in unincorporated Plainfield Township.
Czuba appeared in court alongside his attorneys, who argued he should be released, given his no criminal history, prior to this incident and the fact that he's a veteran.
But because of the ongoing threat to one of the victims and to the community, the judge ruled he remain detained.
"We are in the process of conducting our own investigation. As you know our client is presumed to be not guilty of all charges. And we are going to do the best we can to protect all his constitutional rights and make sure he receives a fair trial by an impartial jury," said his public defender George Lenard.
Last week, a grand jury formally indicted Czuba on first-degree murder, attempted murder, battery and hate crime charges.
Prosecutors said Al-Fayoume was stabbed 26 times. His mother, Hanaan Shahin, was stabbed at least a dozen times.
Czuba is accused of attacking the two because of their Palestinian origin. He is said, according to prosecutors, to have told Shahin three days before he attacked her that "He was blaming her, not her personally, but because she was Muslim, with what was happening in the Middle East."
The boy's father and other family members sat in the courtroom Monday morning for the arraignment. Al-Fayoume's uncle said the family has been receiving death threats as a result of the publicity given to the case.
"These days you speak your mind you lose your job, you lose your life, you lose your family, you lose your money. And if you don't speak you lose your life, you lose your money, you lose your job, you lose your family. That's a double standard in this country right now," said Mahmoud Yousef.
Czuba is due back in court for a pre-trial hearing on January 8.
