May 21, 2024
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Father of Muslim boy slain in Plainfield Township seeks legal rights over son’s estate

Attorney says divorced father and mother are ‘working together’

By Felix Sarver
Oday Al-Fayoume attends a vigil for his son Wadea Al-Fayoume at Prairie Activity & Recreation Center on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023 in Plainfield.

Odai Alfayoumi has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Will County against Plainfield Township landlord Joseph Czuba, who's been charged with the Oct. 14 murder of Alfayoumi's son and the attempted murder of the child's mother, Hanan Shaheen. (Gary Middendorf/Gary Middendorf)

The father of a Muslim boy who was killed in Plainfield Township in October has requested to become the special administrator of the child’s estate in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Odai Alfayoumi, the father of Wadea Alfayoumi, 6, on Nov. 30 petitioned for the appointment as special administrator of his son’s estate in a wrongful death lawsuit against Joseph Czuba, 71. The appointment would be needed to give Alfayoumi the authority to pursue the case.

Czuba, a Plainfield Township landlord, has been charged with first-degree murder in the Oct. 14 killing of Wadea and the attempted murder of the child’s mother, Hanan Shaheen.

Czuba also has been charged with committing a hate crime by attacking Shaheen and her son on the basis of their Islamic faith. Czuba was the landlord of Shaheen and her child, who were staying at his residence in Plainfield Township, where the incident occurred.

A hearing on Alfayoumi’s petition to become the special administrator of his son’s estate was scheduled Friday at the Will County Courthouse but was continued to a future date.

According to his petition, “due notice has been provided to all heirs and legatees.”

Alfayoumi’s attorney Ben Crane was at the courthouse and said the father and mother are cooperating in the wrongful death lawsuit.

“We’re going to figure out what’s best,” Crane told The Herald-News. “We’re all working together now.”

Crane requested that the Friday hearing be continued.

Shaheen and Alfayoumi married in 2016 but divorced in 2021 in DuPage County, according to court records.

Calls and messages to the law firm of Shaheen’s attorney Crump were not returned Thursday.

Crump, a nationally renowned civil rights attorney who represented the family of George Floyd, announced Oct. 24 that Shaheen had retained him.

Alfayoumi’s Nov. 21 lawsuit lists Czuba, his wife Mary Czuba and Discerning Property Management as defendants.

Mary Czuba, who filed for divorce after the Oct. 14 incident, is listed as the manager of the company, according to business records from the Illinois Secretary of State Office’s website.

A small memorial of balloons and toys outside of a Plainfield Township residence where a 6-year-old victim was stabbed to death on Oct. 14, 2023. The boy's mother was also attacked as well but survived. Joseph Czuba, 71, has been charged with the first-degree murder of the boy and attempted first-degree murder of the mother.

File photo — A small memorial of balloons and toys outside of a Plainfield Township residence where 6-year-old Wadea Alfayoumi was stabbed to death on Oct. 14, 2023. The boy's mother also was attacked but survived. Joseph Czuba, 71, has been charged with the first-degree murder of the boy and attempted first-degree murder of his mother. (Felix Sarver)

Alfayoumi’s lawsuit accused Czuba of wrongfully causing his son to die by stabbing him 26 times.

The lawsuit also alleged that Mary Czuba committed negligence by allowing Czuba to have contact with Wadea and failing to “appreciate the threat” that her husband posed to the child.

The lawsuit further claimed that Discerning Property Management was negligent by allowing Czuba to have contact with Wadea, failing to consider the threat he posed to the child and failing to supervise Czuba.

The criminal case against Joseph Czuba remains pending in court. He is slated to appear in court for a pretrial hearing Jan. 3.

Reporter Bob Okon contributed to this story.