Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
PLAINFIELD, ILLINOIS: Oday El-Fayoume, the father of Wadea El-Fayoume, 6, who was stabbed to death by Joseph Czuba on October 14 as a result of a hate crime, recalled the brutality of the incident in an interview with The Daily Beast.
The child and his mother, a 32-year-old Palestinian-American, were attacked by their landlord, Czuba, in what authorities state was a hate crime fueled by the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Czuba, who allegedly stabbed the victims multiple times while screaming anti-Muslim slurs, has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, hate crime, and aggravated battery, as per the Will County Sheriff’s Office.
What did Oday El-Fayoume say about the incident?
Oday El-Fayoume remains in disbelief over the incident and insists that his family had shared a good bond with the accused.
"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," said Oday to The Daily Beast.
He added, "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."
After speaking with his ex-wife after the attack, Oday revealed that his son never yelled out during the stabbing, and his final words were, "I’m fine."
"The way I found out wasn’t the right way to tell a parent. I got a call from the police department, and they gave me three sentences exactly: ‘Are you Oday El-Fayoume? Are you Wadea’s father? He has been killed.’ That’s how I found out," stated the six-year-old's father.
"It was such a shock that I thought maybe I misheard. So I asked them: He died? And they said ‘No, he had been killed'," continued Oday.
Czuba, who lived on the ground floor of the residence, was on good terms with the family, stressed Oday. The landlord had even gone out of his way to build a treehouse, and helped set up an indoor play area for the six-year-old, as per the father.
Why did Joseph Czuba kill the 6-year-old child?
"Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the on-going Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis," said the statement released by the Will County Sheriff’s Office.
Czuba, who faces multiple charges, has been transferred to the Will County Adult Detention Facility and is awaiting his court appearance.
The six-year-old's father, Oday El-Fayoume, expressed that he wants his son to be remembered as a "symbol" for the Palestinian people, saying, "People know that we, too, get discriminated against. I want this to open a door for the freedom of the Palestinian people."
