A Chicago-area landlord was arrested and charged with murder and hate crimes after authorities said he stabbed and killed a 6-year-old boy and seriously wounded his mother, allegedly because the tenants are Muslim.
Joseph M. Czuba, 71, was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of a hate crime and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Authorities were called to the residence in unincorporated Plainfield Township, roughly 40 miles southwest of Chicago, shortly before noon Saturday after a woman called 911 saying her landlord had attacked her.
Czuba allegedy came at them with a knife and the mother ran to the bathroom and called 911, authorities said. She was stabbed more than a dozen times and her son, identified as Wadea Al-Fayoume, was stabbed 26 times, according to the Will County Sheriff’s Office.
The 32-year-old woman is recovering at the hospital and is expected to survive, the office said.
The boy was stabbed 26 times and succumbed to his injuries.
The landlord is awaiting an initial court appearance on Monday afternoon.