JOLIET, Ill. — The ex-wife of a man accused of stabbing a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy to death and wounding his mother testified Wednesday that he had become paranoid about his personal safety and wanted the boy’s mom out of his house after Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023.
Mary Connor was the 12th witness to take the stand for the prosecution in the murder and hate crime trial of Joseph Czuba, who prosecutors say fatally stabbed Wadee Alfayoumi and wounded his mother, Hanan Shaheen, at their suburban Chicago home because of their Islamic faith.
Connor testified that Shaheen rented two rooms from her and Czuba for two years in Plainfield Township, about 40 miles southwest of downtown Chicago, and they enjoyed an amicable relationship. Connor, 64, said she occasionally spent time with Shaheen, whom she considered a friend and a very good tenant. Connor said Czuba tried to make the home enjoyable and would sometimes bring home toys and sports equipment for Wadee.
All that changed after Hamas attacked Israel, and Czuba told her, “Mary, I feel that Hanan needs to move,” she said, adding that she asked him why and he asked her whether she was aware of what had happened in Israel.
Connor said Czuba told her, “Hanan needs to move because her friends could come and do us harm.” Connor said she tried to reason with Czuba by telling him that Shaheen had never had a guest in the home, but to no effect.
“I was angry,” Connor testified. “In my mind, there was no reason for her to move.”
She said she and Czuba should have given Shaheen 30-days notice to move, as agreed upon in their lease.
In the days leading up to the stabbings, Czuba was not acting like himself, she said. He had become withdrawn and mentioned to her that there would be a “day of Jihad.” He was concerned U.S. banking systems could fail, so he withdrew $1,000 from his account, telling her it would be important to have money on hand if that happened, she said.
Czuba allegedly forced his way into Shaheen’s room on Oct. 14, 2023, and stabbed her more than a dozen times in front of Wadee before fatally attacking the boy.
Shaheen, 33, testified Tuesday that Czuba turned on her and Wadee after the war began and that he told her she had to move before he attacked her and Wadee. She said that after she locked herself in a bathroom to call 911, Czuba attacked Wadee, who had just celebrated his birthday.
Under cross-examination by Will County Public Defender Kylie Blatti, Connor said she never heard Czuba express hatred toward any religion, and that when he had shared his fears for their safety with her after the war began, he never mentioned any plans for violence or to remove Shaheen from the residence.
Connor said she and Czuba knew Shaheen was Muslim and of Palestinian descent before they agreed to rent the rooms to her. Shaheen testified Tuesday that she is from Jerusalem.
Connor was among several witnesses to testify on Wednesday, including Brandon Vainowski, a firefighter and paramedic with the Plainfield Fire Protection District who said Wadee was in traumatic arrest and not breathing when he arrived at the house.
Vainowski described in detail how Wadee’s lungs were punctured, and the various measures he and other first responders took in the house and on the way to the hospital to try to resuscitate him. Wadee was stabbed 26 times and pronounced dead at a hospital.
“The amount of blood that was on this child, I couldn’t even count how many stab wounds,” he said.
Connor said she and Czuba married in 1994 and divorced in 2024. She filed for divorce three weeks after the stabbings.
The 73-year-old has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and hate crimes.
Prosecutors have said Czuba was motivated by hate for Muslim people.
Selina Guevara reported from Joliet, Ill., and Janelle Griffith from New York.
