Hate Crime Murder Suspect Held Following Pretrial Hearing

The suspect in a deadly stabbing over the weekend in Plainfield is being held following a pretrial hearing. Joseph Czuba has been charged with three counts of First Degree Murder, one count of Attempted First Degree Murder, two counts of Aggravated Battery and two counts of a Hate Crime. Czuba appeared in front of Judge Dan DeWilkin earlier this morning, represented by a public defender, to assess whether or not he could be released, on the terms of the SAFE-T act. Given the severity of charges, Judge DeWilkin took the State’s Attorney’s office recommendations of holding Czuba in custody until his next court date.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department of Justice is conducting a hate crimes investigation into the murder of a six-year-old boy and the wounding of his mother because of their Islamic faith. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland says he was heartbroken by the senseless killing of Wadea Al-Fayoume

Czuba’s next court date is Monday, October 30th.