Hamza Khatatbeh, 17, was sentenced to 17 years in prison on Wednesday, nearly three years after he stabbed Sycamore 17-year-old Kaleb McCall to death in a bank parking lot.

Khatatbeh was 15 at the time of the stabbing, which he admitted to during his trial. He testified that he didn’t know McCall. Khatabteh, who turns 18 in August, was found guilty after a three-day trial in February of second-degree murder in McCall’s death.

Associate Judge Stephanie Klein ruled that he will serve 17 years in prison for killing McCall, three years shy of the maximum sentence. He faced a minimum of four years.

Khatatbeh did not appear to show a visible reaction to his sentence.

McCall’s mother, Heather Gerken, said she was the same age as her son when she gave birth to him as when he was killed. She’s attended every court hearing since Khatatbeh was charged.

“Nearly three years have now passed, and yet every single day feels frozen in the moment I lost my son,” Gerken said, as she read a victim impact statement before the sentence was handed down.

During his hearing, Khatatbeh apologized for killing McCall.

“I’m very sorry for the death of Kaleb McCall,” Khatatbeh said. “If I could go back in time to do things differently, I would.”

While delivering the sentence, Klein said that no amount of rehabilitation will change what Khatabeh is guilty of doing.

“You, Hamza, you are a murderer,” Klein said. “You murdered Kaleb McCall. That will always be true.”

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Hamza Khatatbeh is led away Wednesday, June 10, 2026, after his sentencing at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore. Khatatbeh was sentenced to 17 years for second-degree murder in the 2023 stabbing of Sycamore 17-year-old Kaleb McCall. (Mark Busch)

As of Wednesday, Khatatbeh had spent 1,007 days in custody at River Valley Juvenile Justice Center in Joliet.

Had Khatatbeh been found guilty of his initial first-degree murder charge, he could have faced a minimum of 20 years in prison, which the family of McCall has said they feel would be a more appropriate sentencing range.

He must serve at least 50% of his sentence. Since he’s not yet an adult, he’ll remain in custody of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, who could move him to an adult incarceration facility at their discretion.

Derek Dion, the special prosecutor assigned to the case, argued that Khatatbeh should receive the maximum sentence, 20 years, for his conviction.

Katatbeh’s defense team, attorneys Jim Ryan and Brandon Brown, argued against that request.

“Our position is that that is absurdity,” Ryan said, arguing against the prosecution.

At one point, the judge spoke directly to McCall’s parents.

“To Kaleb’s parents: Your loss is every parent’s nightmare,” Klein said. “Your love for Kaleb is palpable. … His family has every reason to be proud of the person he was and was going to become.”

McCall died from a single stab wound to the chest in a downtown Sycamore bank parking lot on Sept. 7, 2023. He had just begun his senior year at Sycamore School District 427.

Gerken said she had dreamed about watching her son graduate from high school, build a career, fall in love and eventually become a father himself.

“Those were not just dreams for the future, they were the purposes of my life,” Gerken said. “Now those dreams are gone forever.”

She said her family’s future ended alongside the death of her only son. She said she has not forgiven Khatabeh.

In the days following his death, McCall was remembered by loved ones as an eager-to-graduate teenager who liked spending time outside and with his family and friends.

During his own statement, McCall’s father, Scott McCall, spoke directly to the family of Khatatbeh, who have also watched the court proceedings.

“His life is gone forever,” Scott McCall said of Kaleb. “I will never recover from him being robbed from us – all the memories that could have been, and ambitions that he had. ... Our family was not only cheated, but robbed of what he could be."

Before the sentence could be handed down, severe weather briefly knocked out the power at the DeKalb County Courthouse. Klein briefly paused the proceedings for less than half an hour.

While officials waited for the court’s systems to reboot using power from backup generators, Gerken attempted to hand a picture of her son to the family of Khatatbeh. That led to a brief, verbal confrontation before a DeKalb County sheriff’s deputy stepped between the families.

During the trial, Khatatbeh testified that he did the stabbing. He told the jury he was scared in the moments leading up to the stabbing and had brought the pocket knife to school that day. He said during testimony that he’d been tormented by McCall’s friends for months and feared for his safety, but he had no plans to meet up with McCall and his friends in a parking lot that day, however.

Trial testimony from multiple teenagers who witnessed the stabbing said the stabbing came amid ongoing tension between two separate groups of teenagers.

Khatatbeh’s lawyers argued during trial that he acted in self-defense. Dion argued that Khatatbeh’s deadly use of force was unlawful for an altercation between teenagers who didn’t get along.

Although the stabbing occurred less than a month after Khatatbeh turned 15, he was charged and sentenced as an adult.

“Knowing Kaleb died from a wound to his heart haunts me every single day of my life,” said Gerken.

Khatatbeh said he was sorry for the grief the McCall family has endured.

“I’m so sorry for their loss,” Khatabeh said. “I wish I could take back what I’ve done. I can’t imagine what your family has been through as a result of my actions. I’m hoping you can forgive me for what I’ve done.”

Gerken, who gave her impact statement before his apology, said she didn’t.

“I will forever wish you the most absolute miserable life,” Gerken said. “I will never forgive this.”

This story was updated at 5:45 p.m. June 10, 2026.