A judge ruled Friday that a murder trial of a teenager accused of killing his Sycamore High School peer is expected to convene next week as scheduled, denying the defense’s motion to delay the trial another few weeks.

Defense lawyers for Hamza Khatatbeh, formerly of Sycamore, who’s accused of fatally stabbing Sycamore 17-year-old Kaleb McCall in 2023, earlier this week asked a judge to delay the trial, expected to start on Tuesday, because a witness can’t testify in person.

Associate Judge Stephanie Klein ruled Friday against the defense’s motion, and pointed out that Khatatbeh’s lawyers hadn’t subpoenaed the witness, a DeKalb County medical examiner, for their arguments.

The medical examiner appears on the prosecutors’ submitted list of potential witnesses, however. And that witness could be cross-examined by Khatatbeh’s defense.

Brandon Brown, co-defense counsel for Khatatbeh with Jim Ryan, told Klein on Friday that they’d planned to ask the medical examiner to testify about a toxicology report collected at the time that an autopsy was performed on McCall.

Brown reiterated arguments he made Wednesday that the defense would prefer the medical examiner – who will be out of town on a personal matter during the trial – testify in person instead of via Zoom.

Special prosecutor Derek Dion said he’d offered the defense the chance to have the medical examiner – expected to talk about McCall’s autopsy – the chance to testify remotely.

“We don’t believe this stipulation would adequately convey to the jury the full breadth of our defense,” Brown said.

Authorities previously said McCall died from a single stab wound to the chest.

Dion said, if a jury is selected by Tuesday afternoon, he plans to call forward four law enforcement witnesses to start off his arguments.

Khatatbeh’s lawyers previously have spoken about plans to argue that Khatatbeh, who was 15 at the time of the stabbing, acted in self-defense when McCall was killed on Sept. 7, 2023, near downtown Sycamore.

Police previously said the stabbing was preceded by an altercation that was witnessed by multiple other teenagers. Klein said Friday that the stabbing itself also was captured on video.

Minors are among those expected to testify during the murder trial.

If Khatatbeh is found guilty, he could face at least 20 years in prison. Though he’s a minor, he’s being charged as an adult.

He’s been held in custody ever since the stabbing at River Valley Juvenile Justice Center in Joliet. He appeared in person again on Friday at the DeKalb County Courthouse.

In a separate decision Friday, Klein ruled in favor of the defense that a video clip depicting two teenage boys appearing to engage in a physical fight be allowed as evidence at trial. It’s not clear what the context of the clip is – who’s fighting, why, and where, as Klein pointed out.

Brown alleged that one of the teenagers in the video is McCall. He said the defense plans to argue that the video shows McCall had a violent nature, calling the fight “a vicious attack.”

But Dion, who argued against the clip being allowed as evidence in trial, alleged that the clip doesn’t offer enough detail to come to any conclusion about McCall or what happened.

More details are expected to come out at trial regarding what may have led to the fatal stabbing.

Jury selection is expected to begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday, with the trial expected to go for multiple days next week.

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