The trial of the alleged perpetrator of the murder of a 6-year-old American-Palestinian Wadea al-Fayyum, a week after the October 2023 war between Israel and Hamas began, entered the crux of the case on Tuesday.

The first day of the trial of Joseph Juba, age 73, in the Wills County, Illinois, courthouse concluded with jury selection

He is accused of stabbing his tenants, Hannan Sahin, age 32 at the time the events unfolded, and her son, Wadea al-Fayoum, age 6. Shaheen survived but her son died in hospital on October 14, 2023, near Chicago.

“As the trial begins, Hannan Shaheen continues her incredible fight to bring justice to Wadea,” attorney Ben Crump, who handles cases of violence against minorities, and the American-Arab Committee Against Discrimination said in a joint press release, expressing their confidence in the prosecution.

The trial is expected to last about a week.

Juba has been in custody since the day of the murder. He maintains he is innocent of the eight charges he faces, including murder and committing a crime motivated by racial hatred.

The two victims were “targeted by the suspect because they were Muslims and because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East between Hamas and the Israelis,” police said, explaining that the boy had been stabbed 26 times.

During the autopsy, a military serrated knife with a 15-centimeter blade was removed from the boy’s abdomen.