A Will County judge has set what she called a “firm trial date” in a 2018 murder case against a former Joliet teacher after telling attorneys the case has “taken entirely too long.”

The case against Michael Kazecki, 45, of Oak Lawn, is set for trial on the week of July 13, 2026.

Kazecki is charged with the first-degree murder of his wife, Rebecca Kazecki, 38, by physically striking her body over several days in 2018, according to prosecutors. Michael and Rebecca Kazecki were teachers with Joliet Public Schools District 86.

In 2018, prosecutors said Kazecki brutally beat his wife to death after she intervened when he was hitting their 11-year-old son.

Since Aug. 30, 2018, Kazecki has been free from jail on a $2 million cash bond as he awaits trial, which was initially set for 2024 and then July of this year.

As with the Will County murder case against Patrick Gleason, 63, of Crest Hill, Kazecki’s case has been pending for more than seven years.

At Thursday’s court hearing, Judge Amy Christiansen made it clear to the attorneys in Kazecki’s case that it will head to trial next July with no further continuances.

“This case has taken entirely too long,” Christiansen said.

Christiansen said the trial was rescheduled last summer because of the availability of witnesses. Prosecutors requested another summer date so witnesses who are minors could be available for that time.

Christiansen denied another defense motion on Thursday, which requested the barring of Kazecki’s statements while he was in police custody.

Kazecki’s attorneys contended prosecutors should’ve provided video of a conversation between a detective and a sergeant outside an interrogation room that could shed light on whether Kazecki was properly informed of his right to counsel.

Christiansen described the motion from Kazecki’s attorney, Nathaniel Tate, as a “another bite of the same apple,” after another judge had already denied a defense motion to suppress statements in 2024.

The murder case has potentially one more pretrial hurdle to clear during the week of Feb. 9.

Kazecki’s attorneys are seeking to ban the testimony of a forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy of Rebecca Kazecki and neuropathology reports from two other doctors.