PLAINFIELD, IL — Wadee Alfayoume’s father is suing Plainfield landlord Joseph Czuba, accusing the 72-year-old murder and hate crime defendant for the wrongful death of his 6-year-old son.
The suit, filed Nov. 21 with the Circuit Court of Will County, names Czuba; his wife, Mary; and their company, Discerning Property Management, LLC, as defendants.
In the seven-page lawsuit, Odai Alfayoume accuses the landlord of stabbing Wadee with a knife 26 times on Oct. 14 at the single-family home at 16201 S. Lincoln Highway where the boy and his mother, Hanan Shaheen, rented two rooms from Czuba.
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Prior to the Saturday morning attack, Czuba told his wife he wanted Hanan Shaheen and her son to move out. He also said he feared Shaheen’s Palestinian friends were going to harm them, according to documents. The suit also alleges Mary Czuba had texted Shaheen about her husband’s hatred of Muslims and the current conflict in the Middle East between Hamas and Israel.
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“It was reasonably foreseeable to Defendants Mary E. Czuba and Discerning Property Management, LLC, that Joseph M. Czuba intended to cause serious bodily injury to Plaintiff’s decedent, Wadee Alfayoume,” the suit reads. “On Oct. 14, 2023, defendants … were indifferent and failed to recognize a threat and prevent serious bodily harm to their tenant.”
The document details three counts: wrongful death and negligence against Discerning Property Management; wrongful death and negligence against Mary Czuba; and wrongful death and battery against Joseph Czuba.
Under each count, Odai seeks “an amount necessary to fully and fairly compensate the next of kin for their losses under the terms of the Wrongful Death Act, which substantially exceed the minimum jurisdictional amount.”
On Oct. 26, A grand jury indicted Joseph Czuba on eight felony charges in connection with the death of Wadee and stabbing of his mother. The defendant faces three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery and two counts of hate crime.
Czuba is currently detained at the Will County jail awaiting a pre-trial hearing on Jan. 3.
The initial case management for the wrongful death lawsuit is set for March 11, 2024.
Editor’s note: Patch spelled the family’s last name based on the wrongful death lawsuit filing.
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