The murder trial of a teenager accused of stabbing Sycamore High School senior Kaleb McCall to death in 2023 has been postponed, a judge ruled this week.

Hamza Khatatbeh, now 17, was expected to stand trial as an adult on first-degree murder charges the week of Nov. 17. He had just turned 15 less than a month before the stabbing,

But his defense lawyers, Brendon Brown and Jim Ryan, asked Associate Judge Stephanie Klein to push the trial to 2026 to give them more time to review evidence in anticipation of a potential self-defense argument.

“Also to allow, in the interest of justice, Mr. Khatatbeh to receive a fair trial,” Brown said.

Khatatbeh is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, armed violence and aggravated battery in the Sept. 7, 2023, fatal stabbing of McCall, who had just entered his senior year at Sycamore High School.

If convicted, Khatatbeh faces at least 20 years in prison. In October 2024, Judge Joseph Pedersen ordered his case transferred from juvenile court.

McCall died from a single stab wound to the chest during an incident near downtown Sycamore, authorities have said. Police said they believe McCall was stabbed after an argument involving multiple area youth, who also witnessed the attack, according to court records.

McCall enjoyed bonfires, skateboarding, fishing, playing video games and being with friends, according to his obituary. He worked with his grandmother at the Sycamore Culver’s.

Klein’s ruling to push the trial to January was over the objection of special prosecutor Derek Dion.

“Your honor, I do object given this trial has been set for some time,” Dion said as a number of McCall’s loved ones watched. “And I do believe we can proceed to trial on Nov. 17 while still maintaining Mr. Khatatbeh’s due process rights.”

Khatatbeh appeared in person at Klein’s request at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore on Wednesday. The appearance was unusual since, to date, Khatatbeh has attended hearings mostly virtually from River Valley Juvenile Justice Center in Joliet.

He shook hands with his attorneys and acknowledged the judge when addressed but did not speak otherwise.

McCall’s family, including his parents, sat and watched as Klein deliberated.

A jury trial is expected to convene the week of Jan. 20.

Prosecutors and Khatatbeh’s defense team on multiple occasions have referenced certain messages on the digital app Snapchat as part of the police investigation. Those messages have not been made public, however.

Khatatbeh’s defense team said they plan to review some of McCall’s Snapchat messages and potentially subpoena more if needed.

“From what I can tell of initial review, there’s hundreds of messages in there from the deceased,” Ryan said.

Although Khatatbeh is still a minor, Shaw Local News Network has identified the teenager since his adult felony case details are accessible in public DeKalb County court records. A judge also granted Shaw Local expanded media access to his court proceedings.