Defense lawyers for a teenager accused of fatally stabbing Sycamore 17-year-old Kaleb McCall in 2023 asked a judge on Wednesday to delay the murder trial, expected to start next week, because a witness can’t testify in person.

Associate Judge Stephanie Klein said she intends to rule on the motion Friday, four days before Hamza Khatatbeh’s trial is expected to convene.

It’s been more than two years since McCall, a Sycamore High School senior, was stabbed to death on Sept. 7, 2023, near downtown Sycamore.

Khatatbeh, now 17, is charged as an adult. He had just turned 15 at the time of the stabbing, which authorities have said came during an alleged altercation involving a group of adolescents. Minors also are expected to testify, according to witness lists provided in court.

If convicted, Khatatbeh faces at least 20 years in prison. He’s been held in custody ever since the stabbing at River Valley Juvenile Justice Center in Joliet. He appeared in person before Klein on Wednesday alongside his defense attorneys Jim Ryan and Brandon Brown.

Brown argued the witness, an employee with the DeKalb County Coroner’s Office who performed an autopsy on McCall, was critical to the defense.

“The issue is, Mr. Khatatbeh is charged with first-degree murder. The consequences are tremendous,” Brown said. “For strategic reasons, we want the witness to testify live and in person.”

Khatatbeh was expected to stand trial in November 2025. That was postponed to January and now again to mid-February, court records show.

His lawyers sought to keep the case in juvenile court. But Circuit Court Judge Joseph Pedersen moved the case to adult court in October 2024.

Shaw Local has identified Khatatbeh publicly since he was charged as an adult and the case documents were unsealed. A judge also granted Shaw Local permission to cover the trial and proceedings.

The case is being prosecuted by Derek Dion of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

Dion told Klein that he’d offered the witness – expected to testify about the autopsy report’s findings – a chance to testify remotely. He said he also was prepared to let the autopsy report stand on its own as evidence in his arguments.

“Given that we are willing to present this witness either via Zoom, or stipulate to her entire report ... I don’t believe this should be a basis to continue the case,” Dion said. “There’s a way, there are a couple of ways, to present the facts both sides need in order for this case to move forward.”

Dion said the teenager’s defense team didn’t take to either idea.

Brown asked for about two weeks’ continuance for the witness.

“The state is going to make arguments that we’re not going to be able to rebut without live testimony,” Brown said.

When Klein asked if the state was ready for trial, Dion said yes.

McCall’s loved ones, including his parents, sat in the courtroom gallery as they’ve done for hearings over the past 30 months since their son was killed.

At the time of his death, McCall worked with his grandmother at the Culver’s in Sycamore. He’d planned to graduate from high school and then learn a trade, grandmother Sharon McCall told Shaw Local. Loved ones remember him as fun, with a contagious smile, who loved to spend time outdoors.

If Klein denies the defense’s motion on Friday, jury selection for Khatatbeh’s trial will begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday.