Joseph Czuba enters a Will County courtroom on Oct. 30, 2023 in Joliet. Gary Middendorf/Shaw Local News Network

A former Plainfield Township landlord who was convicted of the 2023 hate crime murder of a Muslim child died from natural causes.

On Wednesday, Randolph County Coroner Tracy Vallett said Joseph Czuba, 73, died of natural causes while in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections.

“Due to 24-hour medical care, an autopsy was not ordered,” Vallett said.

Czuba died July 24 at the Menard Correctional Center in Randolph County, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Czuba’s attorney, George Lenard, said he didn’t know his client’s cause and manner of death but that he knew he had stage 4 cancer.

The Herald-News was the first to report on July 25 that th

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