The Chicago landlord suspected of stabbing a Palestinian-American six-year-old 26 times had a “good” relationship with the boy and her mother before the killing, the child’s father told The Daily Beast on Sunday.
Joseph Czuba, 71, was arrested after Illinois police said he “brutally attacked” his Palestinian-American tenant and her young child with a knife on Saturday, with local community leaders alleging he screamed anti-Muslim slurs as he stabbed them dozens of times.
The Will County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Sunday that the suspect, Czuba, had been charged with a hate crime over the assault. Czuba was also charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, and aggravated battery.
“He is an angel. Basically a small angel in the form of a person. To this minute, I cannot believe how this could have happened,” the father, Oday El-Fayoume, told The Daily Beast. “My ex-wife and son knew him, and they had a good relationship. It is hard to picture this man holding a knife about to stab my son. I keep thinking that my son was probably running towards him before getting stabbed, trying to give him a hug.”
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Police said that Czuba’s tenant, a 32-year-old woman, had called 911 on Saturday morning, saying she