DeKalb County Teen Sentenced to 17 Years for Fatal Stabbing of Sycamore’s Kaleb McCall

A 17-year-old DeKalb County teen was sentenced to 17 years in prison Wednesday for the 2023 stabbing death of Kaleb McCall, a Sycamore high school senior who was killed in a bank parking lot nearly three years ago.

Hamza Khatatbeh was found guilty of second-degree murder after a three-day trial in February. Associate Judge Stephanie Klein handed down the sentence at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore, three years shy of the maximum penalty.

A mother’s three-year wait

Khatatbeh was 15 when he stabbed Kaleb D. McCall, 17, in the chest on Sept. 7, 2023. McCall had just started his senior year at Sycamore High School.

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

"Nearly three years have now passed, and yet every single day feels frozen in the moment I lost my son," Gerken said in a victim impact statement.

Gerken said she had dreamed of watching her son graduate, build a career, fall in love and become a father.

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

The stabbing and the trial

McCall died from a single stab wound to the chest in the parking lot outside Old National Bank in downtown Sycamore, according to court records.

Khatatbeh testified during the trial that he carried out the stabbing. He told the jury he did not know McCall before the attack. He said he had brought a pocket knife to school that day and was scared in the moments leading up to the stabbing.

Witness testimony showed the altercation came amid ongoing tension between two separate groups of teenagers, according to the Daily Chronicle.

Khatatbeh’s defense team, attorneys Jim Ryan and Brandon Brown, argued he acted in self-defense. Special prosecutor Derek Dion argued that the deadly use of force was unlawful for an altercation between teenagers who did not get along.

The jury convicted Khatatbeh of second-degree murder, armed violence and aggravated battery. He was initially charged with first-degree murder, which would have carried a minimum sentence of 20 years.

A courtroom interrupted

During the sentencing hearing, severe weather briefly knocked out power at the DeKalb County Courthouse. Klein paused the proceedings for less than half an hour while systems rebooted using backup generators.

In the pause, Gerken attempted to hand a picture of her son to Khatatbeh’s family. A brief verbal confrontation followed before a DeKalb County sheriff’s deputy stepped between the families.

Klein spoke directly to McCall’s parents during the hearing.

"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."

The sentence

Khatatbeh apologized to the McCall family.

"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."

Gerken said she would never forgive him.

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

Klein told Khatatbeh that no amount of rehabilitation would change what he was guilty of doing.

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

Khatatbeh had spent 1,007 days in custody at the River Valley Juvenile Justice Center in Joliet as of Wednesday. He must serve at least 50 percent of his sentence. Because he was not yet an adult, he will remain under the custody of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, which could move him to an adult incarceration facility at its discretion.

The McCall family had argued that a sentence of at least 20 years would have been more appropriate. Khatatbeh’s defense team called the prosecution’s request for the maximum sentence "absurdity."

This story was reported by Camden Lazenby of the Daily Chronicle.