Ex-wife of Will County stabbing, hate crime suspect testifies behavior changed after Hamas attack

JOLIET, Ill. (WLS) -- Inside a Will County courtroom Wednesday, the ex-wife of a man accused of murder testified for the prosecution.

Mary Conner, formerly Mary Czuba, took the witness stand late Wednesday.

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She told jurors she and her ex-husband had a good relationship with their tenants, but Joseph Czuba was not acting as normal days before the attack.

Czuba is on trial for murder, attempted murder and hate crimes.

Prosecutors contend he stabbed the mother and son who had been renting two rooms in their unincorporated Plainfield home, killing the boy, 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi.

Conner testified that Czuba reacted strongly when Hamas attacked Israel.

"He said, 'Hanan needs to move out because her friends could come and do us harm,'" Conner said. "He felt our lives might be in danger, and I refuted it."

On Tuesday, Alfayoumi's mother, Hanan Shaheen, testified she and her son lived in the home with the Czubas for two years peacefully.

But, on Oct. 14, 2023, Czuba allegedly made anti-Islamic comments, as he attacked her and her son.

Also on Wednesday, sheriff's deputies testified about encountering Czuba that day.

Video from the deputies' bodycams shows Czuba outside the house on the ground. He was described as covered in blood and profusely sweating.

A paramedic and emergency room doctor testified about seeing Alfayoumi with a knife in his stomach. He was covered in many cuts and blood, without a pulse.

They told the jury about efforts to save the boy to no avail.

Prosecutors previously told jurors the 6-year-old had been stabbed 26 times.

And Will County crime scene investigator Andre Carter testified about evidence he collected, including a 12-inch knife, with a 7-inch blade, that was taken from the child's body.

Czuba has pleaded not guilty.

The trial is expected to last one week.