JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois landlord found guilty of a vicious hate crime that left a 6-year-old Muslim boy dead and wounded his mother days after the start of the war in Gaza in 2023 was due in court Friday for sentencing.

A jury convicted 73-year-old Joseph Czuba in February of murder and hate crime charges in the fatal stabbing of Wadee Alfayoumi, who was Palestinian American, and the wounding of his mother, Hanan Shaheen. The family had been renting rooms in Czuba’s home in Plainfield, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from Chicago, in 2023 when the attack happened.

Central to prosecutors' case was harrowing testimony from the boy’s mother, who said Czuba attacked her before moving on to her son, insisting they had to leave because they were Muslim. Prosecutors also played the 911 call and showed police footage. Czuba's wife, Mary, whom he has since divorced, also testified for the prosecution, saying he had become agitated about the Israel-Hamas war, which had erupted days earlier.