The suspected perpetrator of the murder of a six-year-old Palestinian-American child in the United States, a week after the start of the latest round of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, pleaded not guilty on Monday and remained in custody.
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The man, Joseph Czuba, 71, is accused of stabbing his tenants, survivor Hanan Shaheen, 32, and his son Wadea al-Fayoume, 6, who died in the hospital, on October 14 near Chicago, Northeast.
He pleaded not guilty to all eight charges, including murder and a racial hate crime, and was held in custody at a hearing before a Wills County judge until his next appearance, scheduled for April 8.
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The mother and her son “were targeted by the suspect because they are Muslims and because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East between Hamas and Israelis,” police said, adding that the boy received 26 stabs.
During the autopsy, a serrated military knife with a 15 cm long blade was removed from the child’s stomach.
On October 15, US President Joe Biden condemned a “horrible act of hate” that “has no place in America.”