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A 73-year-old Illinois man has been sentenced to more than 50 years in prison for the 2023
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hate crime murder of a six-year-old Palestinian boy. In February, a jury found Joseph Chuba
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guilty of murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and hate crime charges. Chuba was
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convicted of stabbing six-year-old Wadea Alfayume 26 times and stabbing the young boy's mother
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Hanan Shaheen more than a dozen times. The mother was seriously wounded in the attack and survived
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Prosecutors said Chuba was the landlord of the boy and his mother and that Chuba targeted them
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because they're Muslim. During the trial, the boy's mother testified, telling the court that
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while Chuba was stabbing her, he told her, quote, you as a Muslim must die, the AP reported
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She got away and barricaded herself in the bathroom and called the police. That's when
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she started hearing her son screaming Prosecutors played the 911 call for the jury In it Shaheen was screaming to the dispatcher the landlord is killing me and my baby He killing my baby in another room
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according to the AP. The attack happened in October 2023, just days after Hamas' attack
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on Israel, which ignited the Israel-Hamas war. Authorities said Chuba had rented out rooms to
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the Muslim family for nearly two years without any issues. Chuba's wife told the court that in
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the days after the Hamas attack that her husband became withdrawn and said he wanted the family out
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immediately, the New York Times reports. She suggested they give the family a 30-day notice
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On Friday, a judge sentenced Chuba to 53 years behind bars after denying a motion from the defense
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team to overturn the jury's conviction. Chuba's defense team also filed a motion to reconsider
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his sentencing with a hearing schedule for May 7th, WLS reports. For Straight Arrow News
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I'm Lauren Keenan. For more on this story, download the Straight Arrow News app or visit SIN.com
