FOX 32: Wadea Al-Fayoume, Muslim boy murdered in hate crime, honored by park statue
By Dane Placko | Published June 29, 2025 10:45am CDT
Statue dedicated to remember Plainfield hate crime victim
A beautiful ceremony in southwest suburban Plainfield to remember a horrible and tragic event.
The Brief
Plainfield community members honored the memory of Wadea Al-Fayoume, the 6-year-old Muslim boy murdered in 2023.
Organizers unveiled a statue depicting Wadea in a photo that circulated after news of his murder gained national headlines.
Joseph Czuba was convicted of his murder and for attacking the boy's mother.
PLAINFIELD, Ill. - Community members in southwest suburban Plainfield gathered on Saturday to honor the memory of Wadea Al-Fayoume, the 6-year-old Palestinian American boy who was murdered in 2023.
Local perspective:
Family members and local activists unveiled a monument depicting Wadea’s silhouette at Van Horn Woods East Playground.
"We are here this morning to memorialize the life of an angel that lived in this town, and to eternalize his memory through this beautiful piece of art," said Ahmed Rehab, executive director of CAIR-Chicago.
The image was taken from a photograph of the boy at a birthday party taken shortly before he was murdered.
Wadea Al-Fayoume
The backstory: Al-Fayoume was killed, and his mother was wounded when Joseph Czuba, their landlord, attacked them on Oct. 14, 2023.
Prosecutors said Czuba stabbed Wadea more than two dozen times and critically injured his mother, Hanan Shaheen, who survived. The boy’s mother was renting a space in the home from Czuba. He told police he attacked them because of their Palestinian heritage.
The case gained national attention as the attack occurred just days after the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Czuba was found guilty of murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, and committing a hate crime for fatally stabbing Wadea and the critical wounding of his mother.
"We wanted to keep it simple and … this picture of Wadea Al-Fayoume is very popular," said Syed Rahman, the artist who designed the statue. "So we wanted people to be able to connect with their actual picture, and that's why we colored the heart red, so it kind of sticks out. You know, he was a boy full of love, and that is what we wanted to, we wanted the monument to show."
What they're saying:
Among those attending today's dedication, Wadea’s elementary school teacher Trisha Mathias.
"He was like one of those students that like you'll never forget as a teacher," she said. "He just had this smile and glimmer about him that was infectious. I think that it's great that the community is doing something for him just in our building alone, like I try to keep his memory alive. He was that student that everybody remembers."
Organizers said they chose the park to put the statue up because it’s where Wadea used to play.
The Source
Fox 32's Dane Placko reported this story. Information was taken from previous Fox 32 reporting and CAIR-Chicago.