(Washington) The alleged perpetrator of the murder of a 6-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 was kept in custody. detention.
The man, Joseph Czuba, 71, is accused of stabbing his tenants, Hanan Shaheen, 32, who survived, and his son, Wadea al-Fayoume, 6, who died in hospital, on October 14 near Chicago.
He pleaded not guilty to all eight charges, including murder and racially motivated hate crime, and was held in custody at a hearing before a Wills County judge until his next appearance scheduled for April 8. January.
The mother and her son “were targeted by the suspect because they are Muslim and because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East involving Hamas and the Israelis,” police said, adding that the boy had received 26 blows. of knife.
During the autopsy, a serrated military knife with a 15 cm blade was removed from the child’s abdomen.
American President Joe Biden condemned on October 15 a “horrible act of hatred” which “has no place in America”.