Defense argues teen’s brain wasn’t fully developed when Sycamore’s Kaleb McCall, 17, was fatally stabbed

SYCAMORE – While the parents of slain Sycamore teenager Kaleb McCall watched, the defense for another teen charged in his 2023 fatal stabbing argued in court Monday that the juvenile court system would better help rehabilitate their client for a future that could include college and a career.

McCall, 17, won’t get to graduate high school or go to college. He was stabbed to death Sept. 7, 2023, near downtown Sycamore. Prosecutors allege his Sycamore High School classmate, who turned 16 on Aug. 14, wielded the knife. Police said the stabbing was precluded by an argument between two groups of area youth. The teenager is charged with first-degree murder.

Dr. Ray Kim, licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in forensic psychology, was recruited and paid by the 16-year-old’s defense team to evaluate their client to determine his fitness for a potential transfer to DeKalb County Jail, where he would be tried as an adult. Kim testified his evaluation indicated the 16-year-old was remorseful, and unlikely to reoffend. Kim said teenager’s brains aren’t fully developed for impulse control or decision-making until their mid-20s.

“My opinion was that based on clinical evidence and factors of discretionary transfer, that it was not warranted for him to be transferred to the [adult] criminal justice system,” Kim said in testimony Monday.

“Despite the fact that it is a first-degree murder charge, you still hold that opinion?” defense attorney Jim Ryan asked.

“Yes I do,” Kim said.

McCall was remembered by loved ones as kind, funny and hardworking. He worked at Culver’s with his grandmother. He enjoyed bonfires, skateboarding, fishing, playing video games and being with friends, his obituary said. He died from a single stab wound to the chest, authorities have said.

Throughout Monday’s hearing – where both sides called witnesses to testify – lawyers did not argue whether the teenager was guilty or not. Instead, they presented their case for where the teen should go, if convicted: Should he serve time in a juvenile detention center through the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice? Or should he go to prison as an adult in the Illinois Department of Corrections?

No verdict has been handed down.

The teenager – who authorities have not publicly identified because he is a minor – has been held without release at the juvenile River Valley Justice Center in Joliet since his arrest. If convicted as a juvenile, he would have to serve a mandatory five years, though would begin his sentence at a juvenile detention facility with the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice. If convicted as an adult, he could face up to 40 years in prison then be eligible for parole.

Federal regulations prevent minors from serving time in adult facilities, IDJJ Acting Director Robert Vickery said Monday after he was called to testify for the defense. They can age out either at 18 or more likely at 21, he said, and finish serving time in prison with other adults.

The teenager and his family no longer live in Sycamore, Ryan previously said. The teenager appeared in person for an hours-long court hearing Monday presided over by DeKalb County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Pedersen.

Pedersen has granted the Daily Chronicle limited access to the hearings. Identification of minors is prohibited, and photos are not allowed in the juvenile courtroom.

The teenager’s defense team argued that remaining in the juvenile court system would give the 16-year-old a chance for rehabilitation. If he had to then transfer to adult prison, his rehabilitation could suffer. A juvenile sentence would include opportunities to pursue his education, the defense argued, learn skills, seek mental health services and, eventually, get out and lead a normal life.

Vickery testified rehabilitation is part of the core mission outlined in the Illinois Juvenile Court Act for young offenders. Vickery spoke of two other minors he knew who were convicted of first-degree murder. One returned to mentor IDJJ youth after getting out at 21, and another now owns his own landscaping company.

Prosecutors with the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office argued that if he were tried and convicted as an adult, the 16-year-old would still get those juvenile services provided to him anyway, until he aged out.

“What do you think the chances are that the victim in this case would ever get to start his own landscaping business?” prosecutor Roger Smith asked Vickery over the defense team’s objection.

“Zero,” Vickery said.

Loved ones of Kaleb McCall, including his grandmothers, aunts and uncles, gathered outside in the blistering heat Monday for hours. Many held signs that read “Justice for Kaleb” and “Commit adult crimes, do adult time.” Kaleb’s family members have said they want to see the 16-year-old they believe is responsible tried and sentenced as an adult.

Police have alleged that the 16-year-old stabbed McCall to death after an alleged disagreement between two groups of area youth, many of whom witnessed the attack. The defense team had previously argued their client acted in self defense.

Sycamore Police Sgt. Joseph Meeks testified Monday that on that Thursday afternoon Sept. 7, Kaleb did not have a weapon in his hand.

Prosecutors have said another teenager who witnessed the stabbing recorded it on video using a phone. That video shows the teen stabbing McCall, authorities alleged.

Kim said during the course of his evaluation, he interviewed the 16-year-old in person twice. He also consulted the teen’s mother, along with his on-site juvenile therapist. Ryan said the evaluation would not have been an option for the incarcerated teenager had his team not sought it.

When asked by Ryan if the defendant expressed remorse for his actions, Kim said yes.

“He did,” Kim said. “I might add he did that spontaneously. I didn’t ask him ‘How do you feel about what happened? How do you feel about the victim, the victim’s family?’ Spontaneously he brought that up, that he felt very bad for the family and also the victim.”

Pedersen is expected to make a ruling on the transfer at the next hearing set for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 4.