Man pleads not guilty to murder of US Muslim boy

Wadea Al-Fayoume had recently turned six

An Illinois landlord has pleaded not guilty to murder and hate crimes charges in the fatal stabbing of a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy.

Prosecutors say Joseph Czuba stabbed Wadea al-Fayoume to death and seriously wounded his mother in the attack.

Mr Czuba, 71, allegedly targeted the two, who were his tenants, because of their religion and the Israel-Hamas war.

He is also facing attempted murder and aggravated battery charges.

In a court hearing on Monday, Mr Czuba spoke briefly to acknowledge the court.

If convicted of murder, he faces up to 20 years to life in prison.

Mr Czuba's court-appointed lawyers argued that he should be released pending trial, saying he has no previous convictions and is not a threat to the community. But Judge David Carlson disagreed and ordered him held in jail until the next hearing in the case in January.

According to court documents citing an interview with his wife, Mr Czuba regularly listened to conservative talk radio and was worried about reports of a "National Day of Jihad" on 13 October.

Joseph Czuba was indicted on murder, hate crimes and other charges

Mr Czuba's wife said he was also concerned that the country's power grid was going to go down, and had withdrawn $1,000 (£800) from a bank account.

According to court documents, on 14 October Mr Czuba confronted Ms Shahin and told her he was angry about events in the Middle East. The court filing says that Ms Shahin responded: "Let's pray for peace". It is alleged that Mr Czuba then attacked her and her son with a military-style knife.

She and Wadea had lived at the house for two years. Family members said there had been no previous hint of any conflict between Mr Czuba and the victims. An uncle and family spokesman, Yousef Hannon, said that Mr Czuba had bought Wadea a gift for his sixth birthday just a few weeks beforehand.

The mother, 32-year-old Hanan Shahin, is still recovering and is expected to survive.

Wadea's father attended the hearing on Monday but declined to comment to reporters outside the courtroom.

President Joe Biden deplored the alleged hate crime during a speech on the Middle East conflict earlier this month.